TSE understands that using the church to promote candidacies is an abuse of power
The Superior Electoral Court (TSE) unanimously upheld the conviction of the mayor of Votorantim, in the interior of São Paulo, Fabíola Alves da Silva (PSDB), her deputy, Cesar Silva (PSDB) and councilor Alison Andrei Pereira de Camargo, known as Pastor Lilo (MDB), for using a religious cult to promote candidacies in the 2024 elections. The ruling was published last Monday, 18. O Estadão tries to contact the defenses. The space is open.
Minister Antonio Carlos Ferreira maintained the understanding of the São Paulo Regional Electoral Court (TRE-SP) that the structure of the Foursquare Gospel Church was used for electoral purposes. According to the Court, although “there is no autonomous classification of abuse of religious power”, the use of religious structure and authority can constitute political or economic abuse when there is “a deviation from the purpose and impact on the equality of the claim”.
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The court highlighted that the cult had an “undeniable electoral character” and cited statements by the religious leader which, according to the ministers, demonstrated explicit mobilization in favor of the candidacies. During the event, the pastor stated that the church had “a project to elect within the municipalities” and that there was a challenge of “electing 120 councilors this year in this election”.
According to the ruling, the pastor of the service also declared: “The quadrangular church here in Votorantim, we are closed with pastor Lilo”. Furthermore, the TSE also highlighted the call made to the faithful to vote: “From the 16th, we will work hard”.
In the rapporteur’s assessment, the statements “remove, in principle, any pretension that the event had an exclusively spiritual character”.
The ruling also mentions that Fabíola Alves and the then candidate for vice mayor were called to the altar as “pre-candidates” to receive public prayers in front of the faithful. According to the decision, there was “deliberate use of the religious structure and authority as a platform for electoral promotion of the candidacies present”.
In addition to participation in the cult, the Electoral Court considered an adjustment of 34.1% in the rental contract paid by the city hall to the church to be irregular for a property used by the Municipal Department of Culture.
The court pointed out that the increase occurred in an election year and “without suitable justification”. The decision also highlighted that another similar contract signed by the city hall had an adjustment of just 2.45% in the same period.
For the ministers, the elements demonstrated abuse of political power “through the use of the mayor’s functional status” and economic abuse “through the exaggerated use of patrimonial contributions capable of compromising the equality of the election”.
The TSE rejected the appeals presented by the defenses of Fabíola Alves and Pastor Lilo and maintained the punishments imposed by the São Paulo Electoral Court, including the revocation of candidacy registrations and ineligibility for eight years. The vice-mayor of the ticket, Cesar Silva, had his registration revoked by TRE-SP and did not appeal.
Votorantim is a municipality with 745.2 inhabitants in the interior of São Paulo, located in the Metropolitan Region of Sorocaba, approximately 108 km from the capital.
