Apocalypse in the Tropics (2024) Movie Script

- [birds chirping]
- [insects chittering]
[water sloshing]
[taps]
[snaps]
[crunching]
[water sloshing continuing]
[man] O Deus!
[pensive music playing]
[Petra Costa] This city was designed
as a vision of Brazil's future.
A desire to break with centuries
of Catholic colonial tradition
and replace it with a modernist vision
of equality and justice.
And the cement that held it together
was a faith.
Not in God, but instead
in the equally abstract ideas
of progress and democracy.
Yet, when I came here to film in 2016,
an economic and political crisis
was leaving Brazilians in doubt
about the powers of democracy.
[man] We need important
reforms and meaningful changes.
We wouldn't be able to withstand four
different governments in just four years.
The Brazilian economy is going through
its worst recession in history.
[woman] In the name of Jesus Christ.
In the name of Jesus Christ.
In the name of Jesus Christ.
Lord, I trust that those in leadership
here, both men and women,
are guided by your wisdom.
I believe, dear God, that these
congressmen and congresswomen
in this place, Lord, are people who
you can use to bring praise to your glory.
To the senators and congressmen, God,
in the name of Jesus.
In the name of Jesus.
MEN'S DEVOTIONAL STUDY BIBLE
[Daciolo] The Almighty rules
over the kingdom of man.
So even with all the authorities
present here, God makes the decisions.
- What's your name?
- Anna Petra.
Pleasure. Glad to be here with you all.
Look, the simple fact that you're all here
in this very moment is ordained by God.
And what do you think will happen
to Brazilian democracy?
Actually, if you look closely,
the fall of the Brazilian government
has been declared.
The Brazilian nation is experiencing
a new moment.
They can't understand what's happening
because the war isn't against men.
The war is spiritual. It's Jesus.
It's in the name of Lord Jesus.
To victory. To victory.
This Bible here is a gift for you.
The truth is in it.
Start reading from the New Testament.
Don't start with the Old Testament.
Start from The Book of Matthew.
Because here it speaks about the life
and teachings of Jesus Christ.
You understand? This is the God I serve.
To the honor and glory
of Lord Jesus Christ.
[all praying] We come before you,
your good, perfect, and delightful will.
We wish to claim in the name of Jesus
and the angels...
[Petra] In this chamber of power,
the house of the people,
humankind has always presided
for better or for worse.
Congress in this very room enacted
one of the most progressive constitutions
on the planet.
They impeached two presidents
and voted in and out
a brutal military dictatorship.
There have been towering achievements
and colossal mistakes,
but the acts--
- Lord...
- ...were our own.
...acknowledging your sovereignty.
We submit ourselves to your good, perfect,
and delightful will.
[Petra] So what was happening here felt
very strange.
I was witnessing an emphatic appeal
by the faithful
to turn over the reins of government
to a different entity.
[pastor] Let your kingdom come
and reign over the executive, legislative,
and judicial branches.
May your sovereign will,
which is good, perfect, and pleasing
to you, be established within
these powers of the Republic,
guide the decisions that shape our nation,
and direct us toward the fulfillment
of our prophetic destiny,
according to your divine plan.
[all cheering, applauding]
[Petra] When I came to this event
held in front of the Brazilian Congress,
I didn't quite understand
what I was witnessing.
[announcer] Let us welcome
Pastor Silas Malafaia.
[all cheering]
We are here today to declare that
the left-wing madness, the insanity of it,
will not set Brazil on fire, no.
This is a place of peace.
They call us fundamentalists.
That's right. We have a foundation.
We are against abortion.
We have a foundation.
We believe in the value of life.
We are against the legalization of drugs.
We have a foundation to stand on.
- Our God and our Father...
- [crowd] Our God and our Father...
- We hereby declare...
- We hereby declare...
- Brazil belongs to the Lord...
- Brazil belongs to the Lord...
- Jesus... Christ.
- Jesus... Christ.
[audience cheering, applauding]
[Petra] Now, looking back,
I see they were prophesying.
We're actually planning
the country's future.
Why should you vote for Bolsonaro
as the president of our nation?
I just want to make
something clear to you.
We're not voting for God.
He's not running for office.
Of course, Bolsonaro has flaws
and shortcomings like any leader.
I disagree with some of the things
he says, but come on.
Let's take a moment to weigh the pros
and cons.
Bolsonaro has one of the most
important qualities
for the situation
we're facing here in Brazil.
INTERVENTION
[Bolsonaro] If I make it fair,
and as long as it's up to me,
every citizen will have the right to own
a firearm in their home
for self-defense and protection.
I WANT MILITARY INTERVENTION NOW
[all cheering]
There won't be a single inch of land
in the indigenous reserve
for Quilombola communities.
[all cheering]
Let's shoot all left-wingers here in Acre.
ABC STEELWORKERS UNION
[reporter 1] The federal judge
Sergio Moro has just ordered the arrest
of former president
Luis Ignacio "Lula" da Silva.
[reporter 2] Lula is a former
union leader who served as
president of Brazil.
He helped lift tens of millions
of Brazilians out of poverty.
[reporter 3] Despite his legal troubles,
Lula is a clear favorite
ahead of presidential elections
in October.
The truth has come to light for Lula
and the PT, as well as
for the Workers' Party voters,
the left-wing nutjobs,
and all their supporters.
What I held on to as a Christian
was John 8:32.
"And you shall know the truth,
and the truth shall set you free."
With truth, we are creating
a new political path in Brazil.
[on speaker] This isn't the story of
a secular state. It's a Christian state.
[all cheering]
- [woman 1] May I come in?
- [woman 2] Please come in.
[man] Yeah, that's what they say
in the media.
- My house is a mess right now, honestly.
- Don't worry.
This is your business.
Well, the Bible says that only God
can reach the dividing line
between the marrow, the bones,
and the soul and the spirit, right?
Last week, I thought I was going
to grab the knife. I'll kill myself.
My son won't see when he wakes up.
I'll already be dead.
It lingers in my mind.
And I've tried several times
to take my own life.
When you unite her prayer,
mine and yours,
you will never break.
You know why?
Because the moment you falter,
we'll be here.
- It's prayer.
- I'm grateful.
[all singing in Portuguese]
[Petra in English]
Before filming those pastors in Braslia,
I knew little about the Evangelical faith.
I only knew that in any remote city
of Brazil,
where there are no hospitals,
no paved roads,
there's always an Evangelical church
offering its members social services,
a sense of belonging
and the meaning to life.
Crying a lot and feeling overwhelmed,
lamenting to the Lord,
pouring your heart out to God,
that everywhere you go,
desperately looking for a job,
handing out resumes, people encourage you,
call you for interviews,
but no matter what, the door never opens.
And the Lord saw me here right now
to be with you, to tell you this,
I am here to break a curse over your life.
[Petra] My secular bringing wasn't
helping me decipher the signals around me.
- [gospel music playing]
- [all singing in Portuguese]
[Petra in English] I knew
what the Russian Revolution was
and the formula for oxygen,
but nothing about the Apostle Paul,
John of Patmos,
or the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.
It was as if we shared the same land
but spoke completely different languages.
So, I finally start studying the Bible.
ASSEMBLY OF GOD OF PEACE
[speaking indistinctly]
[Petra] In the last 40 years,
Evangelicals have grown from five
to more than 30% of Brazil's population.
What is taking place here
is one of the fastest religious shifts
in human history.
[laughs]
One where a religion built on the faith
and generosity of its believers
is also being molded
by some church leaders
into an unprecedented political force.
ASSEMBLY OF GOD
VICTORY IN CHRIS[indistinct chatter]
ANTI-FEMINIST CLUB
RJ
You, Thorin High School.
And you, Thorin University.
What are they teaching you
with such audacity?
It's cultural Marxism coming
from the Frankfurt School.
Cultural Marxism is waging
ideological warfare against religion.
The situation is even more violent
than you think.
Hmph.
Have you noticed that
if you speak out against abortion,
if you speak out against gay marriage,
if you speak out against
drug legalization,
you're ridiculed for holding such views?
That's the control of people's thoughts
through the manipulation
of political correctness.
What do you want to be?
Will you be just another one,
or will you make a difference?
Please stand up.
I want to be a prophet.
I pray that I will become the pastor
of a generation that is going
to change the course of history.
A generation that is going to make
a difference in education,
in entertainment, in culture, in science,
in arts, in the entrepreneurial sector,
in commerce, in the executive branch,
in the legislative branch,
in the judiciary branch.
A generation of worthy workers.
A generation that is going to transform
the world through the renovation
of its understanding.
[woman] Blessed in your power.
[bells chiming]
- Hello.
- Oh, my God. I thought it was my nephew.
- I wasn't expecting you now.
- Sorry about that.
Please, come on in.
This is Helena.
- How old are you, Helena? Tell her.
- Five.
- Five.
- Let's show them that
- we're a normal family.
- Mmm.
STRONG FAMILIES
The Bible is a fantastic book.
It teaches me how to be
a citizen of heaven
and a citizen of Earth.
The big problem is that
the evangelical church for many years,
something you didn't have the opportunity
to witness like I did,
taught the people
that their only identity
was citizens of heaven making them believe
that the world had nothing to offer us.
All they taught was heaven,
heaven, heaven.
You're here to suffer and to go to heaven.
Even when I began my speech by showing
that we are citizens of the Earth
as Jesus said,
it wasn't accepted.
A pastor talking about politics?
A pastor speaking his mind? You're insane.
This thing of giving opinions and pastors
talking about politics,
it's only been 15 years, Sostenes?
- 12?
- No more than 15.
No more than 15.
It's been 15 years, give or take.
[reporter] This is Pastor Silas Malafaia,
the media star.
He has been appearing daily on television
for 30 years.
In recent years, he has also been involved
in politics.
In this democratic game,
I'm not a candidate. I'm a pastor.
But when it comes to influencing,
that's who I am. I was called to do this.
[interviewer] So are you the one
who chooses the candidates?
Why is it that others are free to preach
Marx's ideas,
but I'm not allowed to preach
the ideas of Jesus?
That's a contradiction of those
who advocate fully-fledged democracy.
[interviewer] In the political world,
Silas Malafaia prefers to act
behind the scenes.
Our heartfelt prayer is that
God bless Brazil.
[Petra] For decades, Malafaia had been
endorsing presidential candidates.
In 2002, Lula.
But it was a bad marriage.
Enough! Enough with PT!
[Petra] Then, center-right Serra
and Acio Neves.
But they didn't get elected.
Bolsonaro strongly supports
the core values of family.
He's against this crooked idea
of sexualizing children at school,
which is what all left-wingers want.
[Petra] Now, Bolsonaro was finally
a candidate
who Malafaia could call his own.
My magistrate, you don't need
to go anywhere. Relax.
[Petra] When I first filmed him in 2016,
he was a low-ranking
ultra-right politician
always running towards the nearest camera
or microphone.
Relax, I'm not being arrested.
I'm not being arrested.
[laughs]
Look, there are no saints here.
If you came looking for saints,
you're in the wrong place.
Let's go to the nearby cathedral.
Maybe you'll find some there.
[Petra] He rose to fame by unleashing
the country's most profound hatreds.
If it's up to me, you farmers are going
to own rifles.
A 7.62 cartridge is the business card
of a thug
from The Landless Workers' Movement.
Thugs only understand
the language of violence.
[Petra] In his struggle
to expand his constituency,
he embraces his wife's religion
and his middle name, Messias.
Jesus is God's son.
[Petra] And adopts the Christian
nationalist identity
that would help carry him
to the presidency.
In accordance with your public position,
I baptize you in the name of the Father,
the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
BRAZIL IS MY PARTY
[crowd cheering]
[reporter] Jair Bolsonaro was the victim
of an attack this afternoon.
Stabbed right in the middle of the crowd.
[all chanting indistinctly]
[woman] Even if he dies, he shall live.
Even if he dies, he shall live.
Heaven was already determined
that he is going to be president.
- He was chosen by God.
- [man] Rest assured,
there are millions of Christians,
Bolsonaro, praying for you.
- Millions and millions, all right?
- It was a miracle.
You're right about that. It was a miracle.
I'm here with Magno, the kids,
everyone is here.
[Petra] The miracle of his survival
would be the consecration
of a marriage between a military man
and his religious followers.
And it won't be those bastards
who are against family values
and the well-being of the nation
that will destroy our country.
[crowd cheering]
[reporter] Jair Bolsonaro is the newly
elected President of the Republic.
The dictatorship is back!
No to Bolsonaro!
[crowd cheering]
IT'S BETTER FOR JAIR TO GET USED TO ILet's welcome the President of Brazil.
[audience cheering]
THE YEAR TO MANIFEST FAITH
[crowd chanting in Portuguese]
[in English] I know...
[shushing]
I know I was a tiny drop of water
in the gigantic ocean that is
Bolsonaro's victory.
God chose what the world considers foolish
to bring shame upon the wise.
God chose the weak things of the world
to bring shame upon the strong.
Now things are going to get deeper,
God chose the things
that are considered lowly
and of little value.
The despised ones, the ones considered
disposable, the ones which are not,
which no one deems to be important,
to confuse the ones which are,
so that no flesh whatsoever
can boast before him.
That is why God chose you.
ASSEMBLY OF GOD
VICTORY IN CHRIS[Petra] "God chose the foolish,
the weak, the vile, and the despised."
In using these biblical verses,
Malafaia inaugurates
a new type of leader for Brazil.
[whooshing]
Someone whose lack of capabilities
is precisely what allows him
to become a vessel of God.
Brazil above everything.
God above everyone.
[crowd cheering]
[insects chittering]
[Petra] A growing theocratic movement,
accompanied Bolsonaro into this palace,
Dominionism.
A theology that claims, Christians
should control every aspect of society.
In the New Testament, the whore of Babylon
sits atop seven mountains.
Which for dominionists
represent all the areas
of a nation's culture,
economy, and government.
They say, Christians must win them back
from the forces of evil.
One by one.
With this election, they have begun
to fulfill their own prophecy,
climbing to the top
of that most precarious peak,
the peak of politics.
[insects trilling]
[masks hissing]
[man] In Ezekiel, chapter 14, verse 21,
it says there are four ways
God can judge the world.
And this one,
which emerged on November 1st, 2019,
began spreading around the world
from then on.
AMBULANCE
That is the first sign of the return
of Jesus and the end of the world.
[EKGs beeping]
[woman] It has already faced
its final distress.
- Mr. President...
- But...
So what? I'm sorry, what do you want me
to do? I'm Messias,
but I don't perform miracles.
Why bring terror to the people?
Everyone is going to die.
I'm sorry for those who died. I am.
But the reality is that everyone here
is going to die.
None of you will be spared.
And if you die in the middle of the field,
the vulture will still eat you.
But everyone has the same smell.
My smell is the same as yours.
It'll stink the same way.
The state cannot look out for everyone.
[scanner beeps]
[Malafaia] We want to call upon
all the people of God,
all Christians who wish to fast and pray
for the Brazilian nation
seeking God's intervention
so that there may be peace,
so that there may be prosperity
in our nation.
We thank everyone who is fasting
for the future and prosperity of Brazil.
- Jesus Christ is the Lord of Brazil.
- [crowd] The Lord.
[Petra] Instead of buying vaccines
or implementing health measures,
the solution proposed
was to perform new prayers,
make new promises,
and re-establish the divine contract
between the people, their rulers, and God.
We are here together today,
living out God's purpose for Brazil.
You have been chosen and anointed
to ascend as this nation's destined ruler.
And now, in the name of Jesus,
I wish to assert that there will be
no more deaths caused by
the coronavirus anywhere in Brazil.
Father of the Lord, Teacher of God,
we're here on Celso Garcia Avenue,
praying for you on this sacred Sunday,
April 5th, Palm Sunday,
as we come together in faith in the mighty
name of the Lord Jesus Christ.
In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.
[praying continues indistinctly
in Portuguese]
[woman sobbing] We can't take it anymore.
Since 8:00 a.m.,
we've been admitting patients.
They're starting to die one after another.
There's no sign of
the medications arriving.
Everyone is dying.
People, I beg for your mercy
and your compassion.
The entire oxygen supply
of the healthcare facility
has completely run out.
There's no oxygen.
Too many people are dying.
[man] They won't take care of my father.
He's dying here.
This is a desperate plea for help.
They refuse to care for him.
[woman] He's dying due to lack of care,
due to lack of assistance.
My father is dying due
to lack of assistance.
[woman 2] The way things are at
that hospital,
the state has already collapsed,
and now only God can protect us.
Only God.
[people] Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those
who trespass against us.
- [man] I didn't see it coming.
- And lead us not into temptation,
- but deliver us from evil.
- My dear mother...
- [crowd] May God rest his soul.
- [man] Forgive me, forgive me.
Please, God, forgive me.
[somber music playing]
[Petra] At first, I couldn't reconcile
how the same Jesus
who preached love and forgiveness
could be used to justify a government
with such lack of empathy.
To understand,
I had to start at the beginning.
Or rather, at the end.
The last book of the Christian Bible,
The Book of Revelation.
It speaks of an apocalypse
that would shortly come
in which evildoers would burn in hell
and chosen ones
would be given eternal life
in the Kingdom of God.
It is the strangest book
in the New Testament
and the most controversial.
Instead of stories and moral teachings,
it offers visions, dreams, and nightmares
of Jesus descending to the Earth
to avenge the blood of his believers.
The Christ, who appears here,
is not the compassionate savior
of the Gospels.
He's the Messiah who returns
with his heavenly army
to win the final battle
that marks the end of time
and the establishment of a new world.
The Book of Revelation
is a foundational book
for the fundamentalist
Evangelical movement.
Here, war leads to peace,
war leads to freedom,
war is a necessary evil
to combat a greater evil.
[nearby honking]
- [honking]
- [Elizete] Silas now, don't honk.
The nerve of that guy.
Who does he think he is?
What's he thinking? Weaving like that.
And now he wants to honk.
To heck with that guy.
Go learn how to drive that thing.
I used to ride a motorbike. What?
You still want to complain?
- Oh, Jesus.
- What are you doing?
He's just messing around, zigzagging
back and forth all over the place.
You want to get run off the road?
Come on. Show me. There's the guy. Look.
My bodyguard is going to scare him.
Look, he's going to ask him what he wants.
People think just because I'm a pastor,
they can step on my neck
because I'm a pastor.
Jesus flipped tables at the temple.
Some people don't know the Bible.
Jesus grabbed a whip
and drove out the people
who were misbehaving in the temple.
He flipped tables, whipped people.
It wasn't a walk in the park.
The Jesus of love, kindness, and peace.
- That one makes you think, doesn't it?
- I'm sorry to say this,
but a large number of pastors today
have stayed stuck
in the mountain of religion.
- As we call it, the seven mountains.
- Yes.
Religion, culture, entertainment, economy,
education, right?
Uh, politics. They've stayed stuck
on the mountain of religion.
They've alienated themselves
from what's going on, but not me.
- Yes?
- I have one last question.
How did you two meet? I know that's
something people are curious about.
- See how beautiful she is?
- Tell me about it.
- Let me fix your hair.
- Let me tell you this.
My father was vice president of the church
where her father was president,
and that's the church
where I preach nowadays.
When I took over the church
after the death of my father-in-law,
I said, I will not be pastor
in a neighborhood church.
I'm going to put this church
on the map nationally.
And so I changed the mindset
and the philosophy of this church
from being a neighborhood church
to being a nationwide church.
When I became a pastor in this church,
it had 15,000 members
when I took over almost 10 years ago.
Today, it has over 100,000 members.
Just to give you an idea,
my shows have been dubbed in English
in over 120 nations all over the world.
Well, I'd like to invite you now
to take a closer look at our structure.
For those of you watching this show...
HOW TO SURVIVE IN THE DESERT OF LIFE
...80% of the total sales of our products
does go towards funding this show.
[Petra] The rise of Malafaia's empire...
ASSEMBLY OF GOD
...which began when he attached
a publishing company
to his father-in-law's church,
was fueled by the economic
development of Brazil.
[phone ringing]
Gospel Central.
Cindy. How can I help you?
This Bible will guide you to a new place
of power and victory in your life.
[Petra] A new middle-class
started bringing a flow of money
into Evangelical churches.
And pastors who were now
becoming business owners,
influencers and even media oligarchs
began engaging in a cultural warfare...
Because children are afraid of sleeping
at night because they're scared.
[Petra] ...where they would
openly ask their followers
to carry Christians
to positions of political power.
[man] Today, we proudly present
our Senator Marcelo Crivella.
My dear,
you can't play around with your vote
for federal and state representatives.
No angel from Heaven
is going to descend and change the laws.
We are here on this Earth
to make a difference.
Together, we're building the history
of our country!
And you can't remain silent.
The Supreme Federal Court has completely
torn apart our Constitution,
disregarding the very principles
upon which it was built.
If a pastor or a priest opening the Bible
and preaching against homosexual practice
is considered philosophical harassment,
then the Bible would be labeled
as a homophobic book a thousand times no.
[crowd cheering]
We evangelists and Catholics are
the absolute majority in this country.
[crowd chanting in Portuguese]
[in English]
Look at the name of the plane.
GOD'S FAVOR
The press says I bought this airplane
for $12 million.
[laughing]
This airplane cost $1.4 million
and now it's worth about $800,000
because airplanes lose value.
[interviewer] What's today's agenda
with the president?
Oh, we're gonna talk. Have a chat.
He enjoys talking to me because I'm always
straightforward with him.
I don't go to meetings with the president
to kiss his ass.
I question things. I speak my mind.
I tell him when I disagree.
I won't see him and say, "Oh, President."
No.
[interviewer] Are you going to discuss
Andr Mendona's appointment
to the Supreme Court?
During Bolsonaro's campaign,
way back then,
he said there should be an evangelist
in the Supreme Court.
And I don't know if the president
is going to take that risk.
Even if he's under pressure
from all sides to keep that promise,
he'll be in a tight spot
with the evangelical world.
Pastor Silas Malafaia, there with me.
- Okay?
- [man] Silas Malafaia.
- The car behind is also with you?
- Okay, the one behind is with me.
Thank you.
See how easy it is to get in?
That's it.
No, I'm taking my mask off right now.
Keep the mask for when
I'm around other people.
- [interviewer] How are you, Mr. President?
- Have you caught it as well? Huh?
- Have you caught it?
- I have.
- I've caught it too.
- Have you? We both caught it.
Here. You too?
On his wedding day, we were waiting
for the bride. I officiated his wedding.
I'll remind you of a little story.
We were in a room,
and this dude comes to me, I say
"this dude" because of our friendship.
Of course, the president,
His Excellency and all that.
- 11 years.
- Yeah, so he said this to me.
"Malafaia. I'm going to run
for president."
And I said, "Are you crazy?
You're running for president?"
"No, we have to change this country.
Otherwise, the lefties
are going to destroy it all."
I walked out of there saying,
"That guy is nuts. That guy."
- Was that in 2009?
- Yes, but I can't remember what happened.
- It was on your wedding day, man.
- On my wedding day.
[all laughing]
[interviewer] So is the terribly
evangelical Supreme Court judge coming?
He's coming.
That's my commitment, isn't it?
He'll have to be evangelical.
Many come looking for us,
bringing their wonderful resumes,
but the first requirement
is being an evangelist
and then obviously having
a legal background and doing
a good job there.
But also don't forget,
there's a mandatory step
before reaching the Supreme Court.
It's called the Federal Senate.
He must be approved by the Federal Senate.
- Good afternoon, Your Honor.
- Hello.
Could you please speak with us
for a moment?
How are the discussions going?
How are you being received?
[Petra] The nomination of
an Evangelical pastor to the Supreme Court
would open a new frontier
in the establishment of a Christian state.
[interviewer] ...to harm your chances.
[woman] How many reds are there today?
- [elevator dings]
- Overall?
- About 60, I think.
- [woman] 60? Okay, thanks.
[Petra] But Andr Mendona
faces resistance in the Senate.
Bolsonaro told me,
"Malafaia, it can't be helped.
It's not going to work.
Andre is going to lose."
I said to him, "The one who will be left
without words is not me. It's you.
I'd like to inform you
that I won't back down,
because I didn't ask for this,
nor did the evangelical leadership.
And in the evangelical world,
I'll say your words can't be trusted.
What should you do?
Put out a statement saying
he's your candidate.
Tell your son to whisper
in the senators' ears
that you will not compromise." That's all.
That's the only thing.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah, okay, Malafaia,
okay, Malafaia."
- [interviewer] And did he do that?
- He put out a statement.
- And how did you lobby the senators?
- [laughs] Well, my dear, any senator today
from the majority vote wants
the evangelical vote. All right?
We're 30%.
You're in an election,
and an evangelical leader tells you,
"Do not vote for that guy,
he's against us," and with arguments,
not just fallacious ones.
That's pretty bad, isn't it?
But, my friend, it's up to you.
I'll remember this in the next election.
What have you done with
the evangelical world
in the evangelical world?
The decision is yours.
Feel free to do as you wish, my friend,
but I won't make it easy for you.
In 2002, we were on two and a half
of these rows.
- There were about 50 of us.
- [interviewer] How many are there
- in the evangelical bench nowadays?
- Nowadays, there are 142 of us.
So, now we have... Oh, my.
Now we have nine rows.
That would be one, two, three, four,
five, six, seven, eight, nine rows.
We already have... It has changed a lot,
thanks to the left.
An extraordinary change has occurred.
Left-wing did this.
- Yeah?
- Definitely.
When they confront us, we just keep
growing stronger and stronger.
Oh, Jesus, let's go.
Folks, we need the congressmen
in the Senate chamber.
Everyone, please.
Every congressman from the front rows
that can go to the Senate, please go.
The voting at the Senate
is about to begin, okay?
[woman] The tables have turned,
but no thanks to the government.
Thanks to the evangelical groups
who are working to lobby the Senate,
influencing decisions.
[man on speaker] We've already tallied
all the votes and have the results.
Therefore, I hereby declare
the voting closed.
I hereby direct the General Secretariat
of the Senate Bureau
to show the results on the scoreboard.
47 senators voted yes.
[all cheering]
- [all cheering]
- [man] Praise God. Praise God.
Praise God. Praise God.
Praise God!
Praise God! Thank you, Lord.
We thank you, Lord.
Praise God! Praise God! Hallelujah.
[speaking Portuguese]
[in English] My God,
thank you so much, Jesus.
This is your work, Lord. Praise be to you.
We've been praying and you answered.
Thank you for your blessing,
for your guidance, and for this victory.
- Right now we wish...
- [crowd] Right now we wish...
- to consent...
- to consent...
- that Andr Mendona...
- that Andr Mendona...
- be God's instrument...
- be God's instrument...
- at the Supreme Federal Court.
- at the Supreme Federal Court.
- And we hereby declare...
- And we hereby declare...
- that Brazil...
- that Brazil...
- belong...
- belong...
- to the Lord Jesus Christ.
- to the Lord Jesus Christ.
- Amen and amen.
- Amen.
[audience applauding]
[Billy Graham]
What's wrong with the world?
What is the cause?
All of these evil things that
when you put them together collectively,
they produce war and social tension.
Jesus said these things
come from inside the man.
Now that is where communism
and Christianity have a headlong clash,
because Karl Marx looked
at the problems of the world
and he said, "Something's wrong."
And Karl Marx said that the problem
of the world is social.
He said, "You solve the social
problems of the world
"and Man will be a happy individual.
And we can build a utopia on Earth.
"We can build a heaven on Earth."
But Jesus said, "You're wrong."
"It's not social injustice,
"as bad as that may be,
that is the heart of the problem.
"There's something deeper," said Jesus.
He said our problems originate
from within...
and he called it S-I-N, sin.
[eerie music playing]
[Petra] No concrete force
has had as great a power
to mobilize Brazilian politics
in the last decades
as a ghost.
The ghost of communism.
When our new capital became ready
to house democracy,
democracy would be chased away.
The isolation of Braslia
and the interior of the country
ended up being ideal for the installment
of a military dictatorship.
And the fear of the ghost
gave them their excuse.
KEEP YOUR CITY CLEAN
BY KILLING ONE COMMUNIST A DAY
MAC
[all singing hymn
in foreign language]
[Petra in English]
But in the fields and cities,
a dangerous idea began to spread
through the preachings
of priests and pastors.
That the poor were poor
not because of fate, let alone their sins,
but because society was purposely
designed to keep them poor
in order to preserve
the privileges of a few.
[pastor] Oh God, our Father,
look upon your children with mercy.
Feed the hungry, strengthen the weary,
and fill every heart
with a hunger for justice and a longing
to fulfill your will on this Earth.
We urgently need social justice,
but for that to happen,
the workers themselves must awaken.
[Petra] This broad
Latin American movement,
Liberation Theology,
emphasized a compassionate Jesus
who challenged existing power structures.
[man] If I give bread to a poor,
starving person,
they call me a saint.
Instead, if I ask why they're hungry,
they call me a communist.
[Petra] The American national
security adviser, Henry Kissinger,
warned President Nixon
that the Catholic Church
was no longer
a reliable ally in the region.
[reporter announcing indistinctly]
[Petra] In the midst of the Cold War,
the wheels of Evangelical Christianity
were turning the opposite direction
in the United States.
It was the dawn
of the national prayer breakfasts
where televangelists
and Evangelical lobbyists
met presidents and their cabinets
to rub shoulders,
even hold hands.
They were obsessed with the ghost
and so they talked about South America.
We found documents that show
that a lobbying group known as the Family
launched English classes
taught by missionaries
for Brazilian congressmen...
...who they might bring in one swoop...
to Christ and to capitalism.
Thousands of missionaries
poured into the tropics.
The Vatican moved
to suppress liberation theology...
...and Braslia, too, began to host
their own national prayer breakfasts,
which came to unite evangelists
and the dictatorship
from beginning to end
of its entire two-decade reign.
It's hard to measure
the effects of this offensive.
But what is certain is that
Brazil became a laboratory
for a brutal form of capitalism
and vertiginous social inequality...
where millions of people
began to seek the hope they needed
in the Evangelical faith.
And nowhere was this growth more visible
than at a mass gathering
summoned by a man
known as the Protestant Pope...
[crowd cheering]
...Billy Graham,
as part of his anti-communist crusades.
[Billy on mic]
This is certainly the largest crowd
that has ever gathered to hear the Gospel
in either North or South America
and one of the largest
in the history of the world.
Millions of Christians around the world
are praying for this moment.
- And I say, God bless Brazil.
- [audience cheering]
God bless Brazil!
[inaudible]
[eerie music playing]
The man is there. Here. Sorry.
- How is everyone?
- Good morning, Mr. President. How are you?
[man] Mr. President, do you know how long
you've been imprisoned here?
- How long have I been here?
- 571 days.
[woman] I counted one year and six months.
So I'd like to ask you
to introduce yourself, sir.
I am Luis Ignacio Lula da Silva.
I'm the former president of
the Republic of Brazil.
I've been imprisoned here
at the federal police headquarters
for 571 days,
and I have been arrested
as an attempt to stop me
from being elected president
of the Republic.
For that reason, I am considered
a political prisoner.
I am here to prove that
those who accuse me are liars.
They are the ones who actually organized
the gang that stole power in this country
with Dilma's impeachment and my arrest.
[classical music playing]
[Petra] Jesus knew before Freud
that nothing that is hidden
will not be made manifest.
Nor is there anything secret
that will not be known and come to light.
In the dramaturgy of Brazilian politics,
the repressed often appears
through leaked messages,
and this time they concern
the investigation
of a vast corruption scheme
during Lula's party's administration.
[applause]
The messages leaked by a hacker
showed this judge
who presided over the investigation,
conspiring with this state prosecutor
to convict Lula on corruption charges,
deliberately taking the front runner
out of the presidential race in 2018.
The judge then became
Bolsonaro's justice minister.
[crowd cheering in distance]
[Petra] After the messages come to light,
Lula is released by the Supreme Court.
[crowd cheering]
[Petra] When he was sent to prison,
half the country felt robbed of the chance
to vote for their candidate,
while the other half felt
that he deserved it.
Now that he was out,
joy and anger had switched sides.
And the memory
of his two terms as president,
where millions were lifted out of poverty,
prematurely launched
the next presidential race
and put him ahead in every poll.
[crowd cheering]
How does that happen?
How is it even possible for someone
to run the PT while in prison?
Are you really going to tell me
that guy like this,
when he was president and had the power
in his hands, had nothing to do
with this corruption? That's a joke.
I'm going to grab some coffee.
That's a joke. This is outrageous.
This is a vanity show.
This is nothing but a vanity show
from the minister.
[interviewer] What do you think
is going to happen in 2022?
He's going to lose the election.
You know why?
He's screwed in the evangelical world.
Completely screwed.
You can quote me on that.
And there's over 30... We're over 30%
of the population.
It's not going to work for him.
"Pastor, I'm certain Lula will never be
president of Brazil again.
God will do something that will change
the course of history in our country.
Just wait and see."
"Peace, Pastor. God bless you."
"May other influential leaders speak up
on the matter."
"Lula would be in prison had
he not paid off most of the STF judges."
See? There are over a thousand.
[man] Let's go, mito! Yeah!
[indistinct chatter]
They got Lula out of jail
and made him eligible to run for president
through fraud.
They'll have to show us a clear
and reliable way
to ensure clean elections.
If they fail to do so, we will face
serious problems next year.
I'll gladly hand over
the presidential sash to anyone
who beats me at the ballot box
fair and square, but not through fraud.
[Petra] Bolsonaro made it clear
that he would call into question
any outcome of the next election
where he was not the winner.
I imagine he was aware
of the dark forces he was awakening
when he began to cast doubt
on the country's voting system.
That's the first step in any manual
on how to kill democracy.
We cannot tolerate attacks on democracy
or the erosion of democratic values.
Freedom of expression
is not freedom of aggression.
Democracy is not anarchy.
Otherwise, we wouldn't have
our Constitution.
[Petra] Supreme Court Justice
Alexandre de Moraes
threatens Bolsonaro's eligibility
for re-election
by including him in an investigation
of an illegal disinformation campaign.
War was declared.
Because freedom of expression
isn't about what's right.
It's about our right to speak,
to voice our opinions,
regardless of how outlandish
they might seem to others.
Like Donald Trump, he gets to say
whatever nonsense he wants.
I was just in America inaugurating
a church.
He came in and said,
"On my first day as president,
I'm going to stop transgender people
from joining the armed forces."
This is what freedom of expression
is all about.
Say it if you want.
The people are going to judge you.
I'm just showing you what democracy is.
It's your right to say whatever you want,
and the people will judge you, saying,
"I don't want that person
because I don't stand for that."
That is democracy.
[woman] But democracy isn't just about
the will of the majority.
- No.
- It's about protecting the rights
- of minorities.
- Democracy is truly the will
of the absolute majority.
I do not intend to step outside the pitch
to question those authorities.
But I honestly believe that the moment
is approaching.
If the people of Sao Paulo think
I should show up at Paulista Avenue
two or three Sundays from now,
I will gladly do it.
And it would be one more message
to those who have the audacity to stand on
the sidelines of our Constitution.
[pastor] Oh, Father, we thank thee
for the President's life,
and we ask thee that thy blessing
be upon him, guiding his decisions...
[Petra] The fact that we hold
the military coup in our recent memory
allows Bolsonaro to speak
between the lines.
[reporter] No tanks
have ever been deployed
on the Esplanade of ministries
since the redemocratization.
[Petra] And Brazilians understood
what he was implying.
That the armed forces could intervene
to protect him.
Or even to stop the next election
from happening.
If they believed,
the people would allow it.
SEPTEMBER 7
BRASLIA CAMP
THE PEOPLE ARE SUPREME
PEOPLE + ARMED FORCES + BOLSONARO
SAVE BRAZIL
REMOVE THE SUPREME COURT 10
BRASLIA HQ CAMP SEPTEMBER 4 TO 11
ALL POWER
EMANATES FROM THE PEOPLE
[Petra] So he calls his supporters
to a demonstration.
A spiritual assembly
to launch an insurrection
against the rule of law.
[reporter] This entire escalation
in rhetoric is unfolding,
just as the poll show Bolsonaro
is experiencing the lowest point
of his presidency.
Lula is currently leading
the voting intentions
in all scenarios of
the upcoming presidential race.
Resistance to tyrants is obedience to God!
All the judges in the Supreme Court
are corrupt.
They must be imprisoned, or worse, decapitated.
And the Lord said
that at the end of times,
there would be war, plague, and famine.
That could be a prelude marking the day
of Jesus' return.
- [female speaker] For our honor!
- [crowd] For our honor!
- For our God!
- For our God!
[female speaker]
For a new independence of Brazil!
[crowd] For a new independence of Brazil!
[cheers, applause]
[female speaker] Look, my people!
Look up at the sky!
Independence! Independence!
[female speaker] Look who's coming onto
the scene, my people!
Our president, Jair Bolsonaro,
is arriving, people!
Look up, he is here!
No dictator in a toga,
no matter how powerful
they may think they are,
shall ever overthrow a president
who was rightfully elected by the people.
[all cheering]
God shall overthrow those people!
We shall march towards progress, freedom,
and a blessed life for all.
God bless everyone!
[cheers, applause]
[crowd chanting in Portuguese]
[in English] God never once told Israel,
"Stay home, I will fight for you."
He always said, "Go and fight
for I will be with you through it all."
[all cheering]
[Petra] Let's look at that moment again.
[rewinding]
Here, Bolsonaro looks at Malafaia
for approval.
And Malafaia seemed somehow to know
exactly what the president will say.
Go and fight for I will be with you
through it all.
[cheering, applauding]
We cannot allow one person to impose
their own will upon everyone else.
The time has come for us
to tell all these people
that things are going to be different
from now on.
[all cheering]
Time to kick out Alexandre de Moraes.
Stop being a bastard.
[all cheering]
Any decision from Mr. Alexandre de Moraes,
I as president will no longer comply with.
[cheering, applauding]
[crowd chanting] I authorize it!
I authorize it!
I authorize it! I authorize it!
I authorize it!
[bell tolling]
[Petra] Over the centuries
that Christians waited for Jesus' return,
their interpretations
of the apocalypse transformed.
Many, in the 19th century, believed
that He would arrive in glory
only after 1,000 years of peace.
So the harder one worked
to improve the world
and relieve human suffering,
the faster His return might come.
But in 1827,
a young Irish pastor, John Nelson Darby,
flipped this idea.
Never would I have imagined
his profound effect on Brazilian politics.
Shaken by the Enlightenment,
Darby read the Book of Revelation
as nobody had before,
as rationally and literally as he could.
He thought it made perfect sense
for this depraved world
to face God's final wrath.
Things would just keep
getting worse and worse
until the apocalypse arrived.
So there was no real point
in hoping and working for peace.
His teachings electrified
Evangelical thought,
creating a fundamentalist movement
that believed that the worse
things get on earth,
the faster Jesus will return.
But the Bible's Book of Revelation,
where Darby found his vision,
is just one among
many early apocalyptic Christian texts.
These books, which were burned and buried,
didn't talk about Judgment Day,
in which heretics would burn in hell,
but about how God's love is infinite
and available to everyone.
[birds chirping]
- ["Motherless Child" playing]
- Sometimes I feel
Like a motherless child
Sometimes I feel
Like a motherless child
Sometimes I feel
Like a motherless child
A long way
From home
[motorcycle engines revving]
[horn honking]
[Petra] In the last election,
Bolsonaro was the outsider,
the underdog,
a vessel of the Lord.
But in this new race,
he's taken on a different persona,
one who wields power,
the power of God.
[crowd cheering]
[man] Our President of the Republic
was placed there by God.
The party of darkness is not
coming back ever.
We extend our hands to bless and protect
Jair Messias Bolsonaro.
[Petra] And while the left is
proposing minor social reforms
within a flawed capitalist system,
the right is speaking
at a totally different level.
They invoke a type of revolutionary fervor
affirming God's supremacy
and holding war.
Only the church with its unwavering faith
can embrace this war.
This war is ours, this war is yours.
So this is a spiritual process.
We are fighting against darkness,
and no one should be fooled into thinking
they can provoke it without consequences.
Because there are 33 million people
who have nothing to eat,
there are 105 million people across
the country who are struggling
with food insecurity every single day.
There are demons being called God.
And there are honest people
being called demons.
Because there are people
who aren't seeking the church
for genuine faith or spiritual guidance.
They're using it as a political state
to push their own agenda.
I, Luis Ignacio Luna da Silva,
stand by the secular state.
And I say that with all the confidence
of a man who believes in God.
When I want to talk to God,
I don't need a priest or a pastor.
I can simply lock myself in a room,
speak to him for as many hours as I want,
and I don't have to ask
for anyone's permission or rely on
anyone's favor to do so.
Go wash that booze-soaked mouth of yours
and stop talking nonsense, man.
Who told you that pastors and priests
are intermediaries between God and man?
The one mediator between God and man
is Jesus Christ, 1 Timothy 2:5.
"May God deliver us from this man
who has no moral integrity."
RESPONSE TO THE DRUNK
WHO SPOKE ABOUT PRIESTS AND PASTORS
SPEAK MALAFAIA
- We're about to start. And three, two...
- All right.
Pastor Silas Malafaia has, well,
you all know
he's a highly controversial figure
with all the things he said and all that,
but he's also a cancer to the gospel.
Why? Because when he resorts to using
the kind of hostility he does,
constantly harassing others,
aggressively targeting them
and trying to shut them down
in such a hateful, venomous,
and malicious manner,
people who aren't evangelical
might see that behavior and assume
that all evangelical leaders
are using similar tactics.
Let me find it for you.
I was a preacher for 25 years
in a democratic country.
Unexpectedly, I learned that
the institution
I gave 25 years of my life to
wrote a letter ordering my dismissal
for political reasons.
Why is the evangelical vote so sought
after nowadays? Because today,
Bolsonarism has, essentially, taken over
the church for themselves.
- Mm-hmm, yes.
- Now, this is the thing.
Either we win the election
or dictatorship takes over.
Now here's the deal.
Say whatever they need to hear
- to vote for Lula.
- That's what I've been saying.
Forget this "Oh, we can't choose Lula.
We must have." Now the thing is,
we've got to push the old man
into the spotlight.
- [man] That's it, man.
- Show him over there
with that beautiful face, just like this.
- I'm here with President Lula.
- Yes.
- That's it.
- I am a pastor.
God bless you. And those weird tongues
like Michelle does.
- That's it.
- That's it.
It will make a difference.
So there's Malafaia. [imitates clucking]
Left wing, nut job, drunkard.
And then there's us.
President Lula. Jesus loves the drunkard.
[woman] It's not a good message
with a sense of hatred.
- Exactly.
- President Lula.
- Jesus loves.
- Jesus loves.
Those who are the LGBTQIA+.
The Jesus I know,
President Lula, is not Malafia's Jesus.
- You know what the big question is, Paolo?
- Not the Jesus on Bolsonaro's mouth.
Brazil will go back to worshipping Jesus
during your government.
[cars honking]
[crowd chanting in Portuguese]
[sirens wailing in distance]
[reporter on TV in English]
With nearly 30% of precincts reporting,
Jair Bolsonaro is leading with
51% of the votes,
while Lula follows closely behind
with 48.94% of the ballot votes.
[crowd chanting in Portuguese]
[Petra in English] In the first round,
Bolsonaro's camp outperforms
all expectations,
not only forcing a runoff against Lula,
but shifting
the makeup of Congress so far to the right
that a Bolsonaro presidency
would face few constraints.
[fireworks whistle]
[fireworks exploding]
[fireworks whistling]
[fireworks exploding]
[Petra] I find myself asking,
how would our theocracy look?
[somber music playing]
[bells tolling]
[Petra in English] In the first sketches
of Braslia,
next to the presidential palace,
they drew a church
just like in all colonial Brazilian towns.
But later, they decided to erase it,
to leave the central plaza
only with the three branches of power,
each on one side of a perfect triangle.
Representing equality and balance.
It was also the separation
between church and state,
between what is private
and what is public.
That allowed Brazil,
with all its deep contradictions,
to become a promise of the future,
a promise of a utopia yet to unfold.
[indistinct chatter on TV]
[interviewer] Mr. President,
could you explain why Bolsonaro
has surpassed you
in the evangelical segment in the polls
over the past few months?
Look, I believe it's because he's been
working that segment
like no one else has before.
There are pastors who threaten people
who don't vote for Bolsonaro.
- Firing guns in churches.
- Yeah, these days they're even firing guns
in churches.
You know, things are getting violent.
There's just so much pressure.
[interviewer] What do you think
drives people
- to embrace the evangelical faith?
- I always share a story from you.
When I was a trade union leader...
a worker is unemployed.
He goes to the union.
And the union keeps saying, look, man,
we need to get organized in the factory.
You know, especially when we're organized,
we're going to have to strike, fight,
and protest, because that's the only way
to stand up against capitalism
and everything it stands for.
So when the guy says, damn it,
I only came here because I lost my job,
and now this guy wants me to start
a revolution?
And then the guy leaves the union
and goes to the Catholic Church.
And when he walks in, the priest says,
"Yes, my son.
Yes, my son, you must suffer on Earth
to gain the kingdom of heaven."
That's life. Heaven belongs to the poor.
Yada-yada.
So the guy's like, "Damn it,
I came here to say I'm unemployed."
And then the guy desperate turns
to the church
that preaches prosperity theology.
And then the guy hears two things.
The problem is the devil
and the solution is Jesus.
It's so simple.
You're unemployed because the devil
has entered your life.
But Jesus will fix it for you.
So when Jesus comes
into your life, you...
And the guy leaves feeling so good,
thinking, "Damn, someone finally told me
I have a chance."
My theory is that what led
to the failure of socialism
was its rejection of religion.
You know, that is my theory.
Maybe some orthodox communists
wouldn't accept my theory,
but you can't simply disregard the values
that people believe in.
Are you planning to campaign
in the churches?
I don't typically campaign like that.
Don't ask me to go to a church
to campaign. I won't go.
- I go to church to pray.
- [interviewer] You've never done that?
Never. No, I won't campaign there.
It goes against my political principles.
[interviewer] Did you vote
for President Bolsonaro?
Yes, I did.
- Will you vote for him again?
- I'll keep voting for him.
Because he's a man of God, you know?
I mean, that's my point of view,
because everyone... Not that Lula's
not a man of God.
Lula's also a man of God.
But he has his own values.
- [interviewer] What is Lula's faith?
- Yeah, he's a practitioner of candombl.
- He's not Catholic?
- No, he's not a Catholic.
President Lula, a Catholic?
[tuts] He never was, was he?
There, he's received the Sword of Xang
as people from Bahia.
We know that stuff, right?
- [interviewer] Right.
- Look it up. President Lula receiving
the Sword of Xang.
Before voting for Bolsonaro,
I was thinking of voting for him.
When I saw that,
I changed my mind right away.
[interviewer] Which president
do you hope will win?
- Which one?
- Bolsonaro.
- [Ester] Oh, she's for Lula.
- That's a lie.
I'm for Bolsonaro.
[Ester] She's for Lula.
Tell her. You can say it.
- No problem.
- Okay. I hope Lula wins.
I hope he wins the election, but he won't.
Not if he doesn't vote
for that proposition to...
- [interviewer] Which one?
- About...
- The restrooms. I wouldn't like it.
- [woman] But he's not just about that.
- No way.
- [Ester] Right, sweetheart?
- Yes, but I'd like him to win.
- [Ester] And Lula, he has solid proposals
for the country. There are good things
he can do for the country.
I vote for him, but because of the gospel.
So that's why it influenced my...
Right? What will really influence my vote
is my religion.
VEJA
FAITH, CLICKS, AND VOTES
ISTO
CAPTURED INDEPENDENCE
[woman] We've been seeing how many lies
are being spread across the internet
a series of posts have been circulating,
spreading false information...
THE TIPPING POIN...that claims Lula, if elected,
would persecute Christians
and shut down churches.
[man] Do we really have to keep explaining
that it's not Satanism.
It's absolutely preposterous.
This is grotesque.
[woman] This debate is changing
the way people are voting.
LULA IS A CHRISTIAN
HE NEVER HAS AND NEVER WILL CLOSE CHURCHES
TAKE YOUR POLITICS OUT OF MY FAITH
[Petra] Faced with
the possibility of losing the election,
Lula decides to engage
with Christians on their own terms.
Almighty God and eternal Father,
we humbly ask that your boundless mercy
be poured out upon the life
of Luis Ignacio Lula da Silva.
Oh, Father, may your son govern
with great wisdom
and unwavering intelligence,
always guided by your love and grace.
We ask this in the name of Jesus. Amen.
[boy] Lord Jesus,
make Lula be a better president
than the one we have now.
Make it so there will be more schools,
more love, more life,
and no more lies guarding
our path forward.
[Petra] In a sign of how
Brazil's political landscape has changed,
Lula writes an open letter
to Evangelicals,
saying that he won't try to change
the laws that forbid abortion in Brazil,
and that he will respect
religious freedom.
Twenty years earlier,
in order to be elected,
he wrote a similar letter, but to bankers.
Every election,
we see an overwhelming number of lies
throughout this country,
forcing us to resort to writing letters.
There are things that I find hard
to believe any human could accept.
Yet they say them,
and people actually believe it.
Now they've started this talk
about all-gender restrooms.
People, I have a family.
I have a daughter, granddaughters,
and I have a great-granddaughter.
It surely must have come straight
from the depths of Satan's mind,
this idea of unisex restrooms.
[all cheering]
Lula holds a meeting
with evangelical pastors.
My dear, I feel sorry for them.
This is when the race begins
with Bolsonaro.
What has he stood for?
He has always stood up for the same things
we stand up for, and everyone knows that.
So this guy who just showed up
in our community with this rhetoric,
somewhat evangelical in nature,
because this is where we'll take
those people down.
Don't come here or we'll crush them.
[interviewer] What about
the evangelical bench?
What behavior do you expect
from them in case Lula wins
- or Bolsonaro wins?
- If Lula wins,
a large portion of them
will turn into opposition.
Some of them will align
due to undisclosed and unspoken interests.
Some will align, but the majority won't
because they know the base
will crush them and we'll be here
to crush them too.
No mercy, calling them traitors.
And now they are afraid.
[man] We need to step away from the spot
and look at the bird's eye view.
[woman] What's that?
I'll film inconspicuously.
[man] We have every reason to have
that confidence.
- [woman] How bizarre.
- [reporter] Today, on Election Day
the 30th, the Federal Highway Police
are seizing motorcycles and cars.
There's a Federal Highway Police roadblock
here at the entrance to Cuite.
And they're stopping some people
from being able to go and cast their vote.
It seems orchestrated.
[woman] Slow down. Slow down.
Look over there.
Those guys with the PT flag.
The guys with the PT flag
just stopped that car. Look.
[police officer] Do not support
ex-convicts.
Do not assist former prisoners in any way.
MILITARY POLICE
Amen?
No way, the federal police ripped
the sticker from your car?
He took the flag. He ordered me
to take the Lula flag down.
[male reporter] What the federal highway
police did was an attempted coup.
How will that impact the result
of the election?
[female reporter] What's at stake here
is the defeat of democracy itself
in the course of this election.
That is unheard of.
[all clamoring]
Oh, Lula has to win.
That Bolsonaro is despicable.
It's such a horrible thing,
for the love of God.
If there is a God in heaven
and Jesus Christ on Earth,
then the people, Lula, must win
this election for the love of God.
Father, we cry out to you.
God. Seeking your mercy and guidance.
Father, all of Brazil, Lord,
we place ourselves in your hands,
asking for your protection.
Father, this entire nation,
Lord, we place it in your hands,
trusting in your strength.
[reporter] Bolsonaro is leading
with 56.68% of the ballot votes,
while Lula, of the Workers' Party, is...
[reporter 2] One of the sides
is completely confident in their victory.
Bolsonaro has 50.8% or 50.9%
of the ballot votes,
while Lula has 49.14% of the ballot votes.
[female reporter] At this point, over half
of the precincts have reported.
Bolsonaro has 50.30% of the votes.
[all speaking Portuguese]
[tense music playing]
61.06% OF TOTAL VOTING PRECINCTS
[reporter in English] Lula now leads
Bolsonaro with 51.01% of the votes.
[cheerful music playing]
[crowd chanting in Portuguese]
[male reporter in English]
The electoral court has just confirmed
Luis Ignacio Lula da Silva of the Pas winner in the race
- for the presidency of the Republic.
- [crowd cheering]
[fireworks exploding]
Lula! Lula!
Lula, goddamn it!
- Lula!
- He won!
Lula!
[sobbing]
[crowd chanting in Portuguese]
[firework explosions continue]
[chanting continues]
[woman on speaker]
Luis Ignacio Lula de Silva,
you won this election.
And we'll reluctantly have to accept
that you won this fraudulent election
which was fueled by fake news.
Amen!
Amen!
- Praise God. Hallelujah, Jesus.
- [man] Keep your hands up. Stay strong.
My God, Father, in Jesus' name,
we ask you for your guidance and strength.
My God, this is our last plea.
We ask for your intervention.
Come visit our president now,
and he will bring the answer we all need.
We will hear, my God,
a victory song right here,
filling this place with joy and triumph.
This nation belongs to you, Father.
These people... [continues indistinctly]
[pensive music playing]
[Petra] Have you heard
of that madman who lit a lantern
in the bright morning hours,
ran to the marketplace and asked,
"Where is God?"
As people laughed, he answered.
"I will tell you."
"We have killed him, you and I.
We are his murderers.
The holiest and most powerful
the world had
bled under our knives.
But how did we do this?
What were we doing
when we unchained the earth from its sun?"
They looked back at him
in astonishment.
"I have come too early," he said.
"My time is not yet."
I don't know if I'm the madman
or one of those listening to him,
but I used to think that with time,
we'd no longer rely on religion.
Now I see how arrogant that idea was.
For a time, revolutions tended
to overthrow a king
anointed by God to create
a secular society
where power was vested in the people.
Lately, they seem to be going
in the opposite direction.
[vehicles honking]
[reporter] Protesters are setting things
on fire.
[reporter 2] Supporters
of President Jair Bolsonaro
are staging undemocratic demonstrations
across 20 states calling
for military intervention
and urging civil resistance
against the election results.
[reporter 3] And more than 20 hours after
Lula's victory in the election
was officially confirmed,
President Bolsonaro has yet
to acknowledge his defeat.
[siren wailing]
[cameras clicking]
Might as well get this over with.
The current wave of popular demonstrations
arises from widespread outrage
and a deep sense of injustice
over the entire electoral process.
It is a great honor to be the leader
of millions of Brazilians who,
like myself, are committed
to economic freedom, religious freedom,
freedom of expression, unwavering honesty,
and proudly uphold
the green and yellow colors
of our national flag.
- Thank you very much.
- [woman] Mr. President,
- will you officially concede defeat?
- [man] Do you recognize Lula's victory?
Are you going to challenge
the election results?
[woman] What do you say
to your supporters still protesting?
Will you cooperate
with the transition of power?
Is this your last statement as president?
ARMY HEADQUARTERS
[Petra] The military welcomed
Bolsonaro's supporters
who camped right outside their bases.
Backed by generals and financed by
business executives,
these protected territories become
insurrectionist plotting grounds.
- General words.
- [woman] We're in the rain, in the cold.
I know, ma'am, okay?
So take it easy.
You have to wait a while, okay?
Don't lose your faith, okay?
- No, we won't.
- That's all I can tell you for now.
We're not giving up.
[all chanting] Armed Forces! S.O.S.!
Armed Forces! S.O.S.!
Armed Forces! S.O.S.! Armed Forces!
Mr. President Jair Messias Bolsonaro,
you and only you are
the lawful president in office.
You have the authority to call in
the armed forces and take action
to restore order.
President Bolsonaro,
how will you be remembered in history?
As absent? As a coward?
Or someone who exercises their legal power
as guaranteed by the Constitution?
[Petra] But Bolsonaro leaves
for Orlando without saying anything.
[whooshing]
I disagreed with him
when he went to America.
A true leader stays, pays the price,
goes to jail or not.
Just look at Lula.
All the signs pointed to him
ending up in jail.
Did he run away? No.
That's what a leader looks like.
So for me, the guy running off to America,
I didn't agree.
I will never agree with that.
Stay and face it. Take the hit.
PRESIDENAVEC
[all clamoring]
[man on speaker] The demonstration
in Brazil shouldn't take place
in front of the Army HQ.
It should be held in front of
the National Congress,
which represents the people.
No one will stop the Brazilian people.
[woman] Just look at the people marching.
[all chanting in Portuguese]
[in English] Look, the Esplanade
of Ministries is about to be taken over.
And we're going to take Brazil back.
It has to be this way.
It has to be done with force.
[indistinct chatter]
Forget Dubai, forget Paris,
and forget any other trip
I've ever taken in my life.
None of them compare to this day,
the one I've dreamed about.
For so long, the day we would take over
the Esplanade.
We are like termites,
relentlessly chewing through marble.
[exclaims]
[man 1] People, they opened it.
They opened the door.
- [fireworks exploding]
- Look, the door is wide open.
Everyone, people are rushing into
the conference. Look, they opened it.
- [man 2] They didn't have a choice.
- [man] Look at that.
[man 2] Let's rush in there. Come on.
[all clamoring]
[man 3] Green and yellow are the colors
of Brazil's flag.
Let's take congress back.
You can throw bombs or whatever at us.
We're coming for you.
[man 4] We're witnessing history,
my brother, happening right here,
right in front of us.
[helicopter whirring]
So that's it. The people have seen
the National Congress.
On January 8th, 2023,
we enter the Three Powers Palace.
Look, we won.
Good has triumphed over evil.
- Good has conquered evil.
- We did it!
We have taken over the Congress.
Freedom. Freedom.
[laughs]
We have broken into the Supreme Court!
Hey, Rubino! Rubino!
Go to the Supreme Court!
Where are you, Alexandre de Moraes,
you son of a bitch?
We're inside the STF!
Where's the resistance?
Xando's desk!
This is my hero. I'm in his home.
Look. In our home. Look.
The farce is finally over.
Now we're leaving here alongside the army.
And what we're asking for
is military intervention. Simple as that.
- [man] For you! For you! For you!
- [woman] This is for us, people.
This is for us.
[whooping]
[all praying in Portuguese]
[rhythmic clapping, singing in Portuguese]
[in English] Thank God,
this is for all the honor and glory
of our Lord Jehovah Jireh,
the Almighty Eternal. This is it.
Jair Messias Bolsonaro, you will return
to this nation to resume your government
because the darkness has to retreat
and everyone will know
that God is the Lord.
INTERVENTION
[glass scraping]
[silence]
[Petra] If these ruins could speak,
perhaps they could respond.
That democracy can be the supreme
form of generosity.
It announces the determination
to share existence with the enemy.
SUPREME COURBRASLIA
It is incredible that the human species
should have arrived
at such a paradoxical inattitude.
So beautiful.
So acrobatic.
So fragile.
No wonder that the same humanity
should soon appear anxious
to get rid of it.
As it is a discipline too difficult
to take firm root on earth.
Maybe a future apocalypse can reveal
that imperfect as they have been,
these halls were built not to impose
the will of the many
or the will of God,
but to protect what is vulnerable
from brute force.
In Greek, apoklypsis does not mean
the end of the world
but rather, an unveiling,
a revelation,
a chance to open our eyes.
[easy-listening music playing]
[man singing in Portuguese]
[singers singing]
[music fades]
[soft somber music playing]
[woman singing in Portuguese]
[women speaking Portuguese]
[woman singing in Portuguese]
[music fades]