Brazil approves political propaganda in churches

Brazil's new electoral code allows churches and universities to be used for electoral propaganda. The regulation was approved by the House of Representatives.

These institutions, which were previously prohibited from receiving political content, will be able to open up to public debate on the issue during elections.

Churches and candidates would be freed from accusations of abuse of religious power that have caused many politicians to lose their mandates for just participating in religious events or for having the support of denominations.

One example was the cases against federal deputy Franklin and state deputy Márcio José Oliveira, known as missionary Márcio Santiago, determined by the Superior Electoral Court in 2018 because the politicians attended a religious event during election week.

The New Electoral Code is now in a Senate committee and, if it undergoes any changes, it must return to the Chamber of Deputies.

As it has not been approved and sanctioned before 2 October, the text will not be valid for the 2022 elections.