Posted on 10/02/2002 8:33:07 PM PDT by Tailgunner Joe
Comparing Brazil's presidential front-runner to Martin Luther King and Nelson Mandela, U.S. Rev. Jesse Jackson made it clear Sunday that if he were a Brazilian he would vote for the candidate of the leftist Workers Party.
"I was with Martin Luther King...and with Nelson Mandela...and they were inspired by a special spirit," Jackson told a congregation of 400 gathered at the First Baptist Church in Santo Andre, an industrial suburb on the outskirts of Sao Paulo. "And the same special spirit...is inspiring Lula," he said of Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.
Standing next to the former metalworker, Jackson said Lula has been "touched by God."
"He is a bridge builder, and we need...to build bridges between the United States and Brazil, between the rich and poor, between white and black, and between labor and management," Jackson said.
Church leaders presented Lula with a document expressing support for next Sunday's election.
Jackson is in Brazil at the invitation of the Workers Party, in a bid to attract more votes from the Protestant community.
Evangelical churches have grown fast in recent years, especially among the poor, and Protestants are believed to number about 15.4 percent of Brazil's 175 million people who are primarily Roman Catholic.
Protestants are reported to support Anthony Garotinho, a former governor of Rio de Janeiro state and himself an evangelical.
Over the past few weeks the Workers Party has distributed some five million copies of an open letters to Protestants in which Lula says: "You all know that what I want is to govern Brazil, and to achieve this objective I seek the blessing of God and I rely on the will of the people. This is why I am addressing you asking for your prayers and your votes in the coming election."
Addressing the congregation in Santo Andre, Lula allayed fears that if elected he would head an anti-Protestant government.
"Whoever made those criticisms doesn't know the constitution, which guarantees religious freedom for all, and a freedom I intend to protect," he said.
"Touched by God"?
I'd say God missed a chance to get them both with a single lightning bolt at this photo op.
A Marxist promising freedom of religion?
The frog will be boiled, make no mistake.
As for Jesse, audit him, jail him.
He is a far left old line communist.
He's lucky he wasn't executed for treason in the 70's, but the Brazilian government was more tolerant than some others in South America.
Voice of America Mute as Brazil Awaits 'Revenge of the Sandinistas'
The Brazilian 2002 Elections:
A Stacked Deck?
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He's certainly right about Mandela... (and if U2 loves MLK, he must be right about MLK.)
Standing next to the former metalworker, Jackson said Lula has been "touched by God."
Oh, he's been touched by someone, alright. Marxism is the opiate of the masses.
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