11 May 2019

Bolsonaro and the American Evangelicals


It was hardly surprising to read that Pat Robertson and Jerry Falwell Jr. were part of this group that acknowledged and paid homage to Bolsonaro during his March visit.


Robertson has a long record of corruption, criminality and collaboration with dictators and other butchers. Bolsonaro hasn't yet established his record but given his praise of the 1964-1985 US backed military dictatorship and its tortures and other evils... no one will be surprised by either the course of Bolsonaro's tenure nor the fact that one such as Robertson would prove willing to collude with him.
Since his March visit Bolsonaro has earned further accolade from American Evangelicals in that he intends to reverse Brazil's longstanding hostility to homeschooling. While I'm certain there are many who will be thankful for this and benefit from it, one hopes they will question his motivations and temper the praise offered to him.
Watching the Left and pseudo-Left's social agenda suffer shipwreck is hardly a cause for lament and yet as Christians we ought not to celebrate (as if part of a common cause) with the Right and the implementation of its agenda. Regardless of whatever profession he dares to make, Bolsonaro is an enemy of Christ. We must never forget that. He represents distinctly anti-Christian values and ethics. Just because these are sometimes mixed or blended with specific positions that Christians are wont to appreciate should never cloud our judgment.
But then given our celebrity dominated Evangelical culture and that the leaders of the movement (like Falwell and Robertson) are so patently (and painfully) corrupt it shouldn't be a surprise that their followers (like sheep to the slaughter) echo their mantras and champion their politics.
The Christian Post article focuses on Bolsonaro's policies with regard to abortion and Israel... issues likely to score points with its readers. The relationship between Brasilia and Tel Aviv is a point of interest to be sure but not due to any kind of divine or theological status belonging to the modern Zionist state. Rather it's indicative of Israel's ever-widening role as a proxy of the United States and a power in its own right. Brazil under Bolsonaro has already indicated it wishes to join the 'team' and sign-on to American policy (The Monroe Doctrine) in South America. The clearest indicator of this is Bolsonaro's unwavering support for the Venezuelan coup and US asset Juan Guaido.
Of course there are not a few in Washington who are salivating at the thought that Bolsonaro's regime will bring an end to the BRICS project. The recent Ramaphosa victories in South Africa should have also given some hope in this regard, he is after all a corrupt union leader turned capitalist businessman but like Modi in India, these two men who were once viewed as 'faithful' to the US Empire have proven to be a bit more ambiguous and nuanced in their commitments and have at times risked angering Washington. For them BRICS represents just such an example of nuance. They are largely friendly to the United States but are not afraid to pursue 'side projects' with its adversaries.
Bolsonaro (on the contrary) is likely to prove more steadfast and I don't doubt that some will labour under his tenure to see Brazil's banking relationship with Russia and China severed.
Regardless of how Bolsonaro's term progresses, it's sure to be interesting.
And sadly the apostasy that is American Evangelicalism, an error now exported across the globe has hitched its wagon to the likes of Trump and Bolsonaro. Seeds have been planted which will bear a future harvest, not of plenty but of spiritual famine and destruction.
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