Lula da Silva denounced evangelical pastors who spread fake news

Former President and candidate Lula da Silva today defended the secular Brazilian state and urged the population to publicly denounce if evangelical pastors spread false information about him. The politician alerted citizens of the religious manipulation influenced by the current president and also candidate Jair Bolsonaro. He also said that the far-right president “is nervous” because “he is afraid” of losing the presidential elections on October 2. I ask that in the (evangelical) churches you will not be afraid to argue. If the pastor speaks seriously, you have to respect him but if he lies, you have to face him, because in the name of God you can not tell lies either in Brazil or anywhere else in the world,” Lula said. 
“There is a lot of religious fake news. They are using the cults as companies to make money or as a political platform,” said the leader of the Workers’ Party at a campaign event in São Paulo.
“The state does not have to have religion, it has to respect all religions. The churches do not have to have a party and neither do they have false prophets and Pharisees who deceive the people.”

Currently, polls point to Lula as the winning candidate of the presidential elections. The politician is a favorite in almost all sectors except the evangelists, who are ideologically closer to Bolsonaro. Last week, a pastor said that if da Silva is re-elected president, he could close churches, as happened in Nicaragua. “There are pastors telling lies when they should be reading the Bible decently,” the former president replied.

Original source in Spanish