The City Hall of Itaboraí started last Thursday night (19) the celebration of 189 years of the city of the metropolitan region of Rio de Janeiro with a show of religious intolerance. With the first night dedicated to gospel music, the event’s stage was attended by Pastor Felippe Valadão, who made an aggressive speech against Afro-Brazilian religions.
“Tell these demoniacs in Itaboraí that the time for spiritual mess is over, my son. The church is on the street, the church is standing, the church is standing. You can kill chicken, you can make farofa, you can make whatever you want. And I still say more: prepare to see a lot of Umbanda temple closed in the city. You will see something you have never seen in your life”, said the pastor.
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Questioned by Brazil de facto regarding the act at a public event sponsored by the municipality, the Municipality of Itaboraí stated that “the government is for everyone”, which repudiates any manifestation of religious intolerance, but that “declarations of the guests and artists for the presentations are entirely their responsibility” .
On his personal Instagram account, the mayor of Itaboraí, Marcelo Delaroli, from the PL, published images next to the pastor. In one of the photos, Delaroli is in the center of the stage, kneeling on the floor and receiving the “blessing” of the religious who are around him.
Vice-president of the Commission to Combat Discrimination and Prejudices of Race Color Ethnicity Religion and National Origin of the Legislative Assembly of Rio (Alerj), deputy Mônica Francisco (Psol) stated that the act “must be vehemently condemned by broad sectors of society”.
“Directing cursing words at people who profess different religions, demonizing people because of their profession of faith or what they do is extremely contrary to biblical precepts. The biblical narrative does not guide violence against anyone and this attitude causes us a lot of sadness and indignation”, said Mônica Francisco.
:: In 2021, there were 571 complaints of violation of freedom of belief in Brazil ::
The Commission of Traditional Peoples of Terreiros de Itaboraí issued a note criticizing the “vile, disrespectful and threatening manner to the religious community of Candomblé and Umbanda in the city”. The Commission also questions the reason for a festive, popular and secular demonstration to have in its programming speech focused on a specific religion.
In the document, signed by more than 30 leaders, the Commission demands the mayor’s retraction so that the public power “comes to restore order, equality, secularism and respect for all the religious people of Itaboraí, debased by this unbalanced figure”, added the representatives, noting that Law 9,459 of 1997 considers the practice of discrimination or prejudice against religions a crime.
Source: BdF Rio de Janeiro
Editing: Mariana Pitasse
