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Brazil's patron saint pulled into latest election scrap / Photo: Nelson Almeida - AFP/File
Brazil's patron saint pulled into latest election scrap
Brazil's patron saint has become a political flashpoint as the predominantly Catholic country's leading presidential candidates make a last-ditch effort to court religious voters.
Only a tiny portion of Brazilians remain undecided ahead of a first-round election on Sunday in the deeply polarized nation.
In recent days, leftist incumbent Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has referred to rumors on social media claiming that his rival Flavio Bolsonaro planned to strip the country's beloved patron saint, Our Lady of Aparecida, of her title if elected.
"As long as I am president... no one is going to disrespect Our Lady of Aparecida," Lula, who is seeking a fourth nonconsecutive term, said at a rally on Monday.
Evangelicals, a booming denomination in Brazil with growing political power and ties to the Bolsonaros, do not recognize the saint as an object of worship.
Bolsonaro, 45, who has frequently invoked religion on the campaign trail, has denied the accusations.
"Everyone knows that I respect religions. All of them!" the right-wing senator said, accusing the government of spreading "fake news."
The controversy began after media reports that figures in the Catholic Church were concerned about the future status of the saint, who is depicted in Brazil as a black woman.
Left-wing social media users then dug up an abandoned 2007 bill, initially proposed by a Bolsonaro-aligned lawmaker, to demote the patron saint.
Rumors about Bolsonaro's alleged current intentions proliferated online.
Brazil, known for its Christ the Redeemer statue looming over Rio de Janeiro, hosts the world's second-largest Christian population after the United States, according to the Pew Research Center.
Catholics mostly intend to vote for Lula, polls show, while Bolsonaro depends on the evangelical population for support.
Lula currently has 48 percent of Catholic voting intentions on Sunday compared with 29 percent for Bolsonaro, according to a Quaest institute survey.
Evangelical voting intentions go in the reverse direction, with 46 percent for Bolsonaro and 27 percent for Lula.
Lula holds a slight overall lead in polls for Sunday's first round of voting, although he is tied with Bolsonaro for a likely second round on October 25.
Catholics believe that in 1717, three fishermen watched in wonder as their nets spilled over with fish after they rescued a wooden statue of Our Lady of Aparecida from the river.
O.Bertrand--PS
