"Brazil and Angola have been confused in their stories for over 300 years. Relations are intense not only at the official level, of cooperation agreements between governments, but mainly at the level of societies. We have a very productive Brazilian community that is very integrated into Angolan society," he told Lusa Paulino de Franco Carvalho, who considered that this "background of bilateral relations" is not affected by the UCKG dispute.
Angolan bishops and pastors of the UCKG accuse Brazilians of irregularities and practices contrary to religion, such as vasectomy, racism and discrimination, and broke off in November last year with the Brazilian representation in Angola headed by Bishop Honorilton Gonçalves.
The conflict worsened in June with the taking of temples by the dissidents, who had meanwhile formed a Reform Commission. The bishops and pastors of the UCKG accuse this group of mobilizing ex-pastors, claiming disagreement with the Brazilians and "other infamies that serve as arguments to support their thesis of rebellion and justification for committing criminal acts such as invasion, theft, aggression, slander, swindling, among others," according to an open letter released last week.
Commenting on recent events, the Brazilian ambassador considered that this is a "very specific episode", but that naturally has political repercussions, especially in Brazil, where parties influenced by followers of Neopentecostal churches have a presence "that is not of today".
"President Lula [da Silva] himself received and gave support [to the UCKG], as well as [the former presidents] Dilma Rousseff, Michel Temer or Fernando Henrique Cardoso," the diplomat noted.
Paulino Franco de Carvalho noted that the members of the UCKG make up a significant part of Brazilian society, which "has the right to a voice, the right to vote," and influence the Brazilian political agenda, "as is natural in a vibrant democracy, such as the Brazilian one, where all points of view can be expressed.
"What there is legitimate pressure from sectors of Brazilian society that see themselves represented in the Universal Church, sectors that have political representation in the Brazilian parliament and in the national congress," he commented.
The ambassador stressed, on the other hand, that the influence of religion on political power is not exclusive to Brazil.
"The churches in general, not only the evangelical ones, but also the Catholic Church, its faithful are citizens, and they influence the political agenda of many countries," he said, recalling that there are parties in Europe, including Portugal, that assume their alignment with Christian, Catholic ethics.
"People who have a religion influence society, they influence the political action of the country, which even seems positive to me, it's part of a full democracy", he said.
He assured, however, that the Brazilian government does not want to intervene in the dispute within the UCKG in Angola.
"It's not up to the state to take sides in a dispute that is private, but to defend the interests of its citizens, as long as they respect local laws," he said.
The growing tensions in 'Universal' have already led to the involvement of the governments of both countries: Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro wrote to his Angolan counterpart, João Lourenço, asking for protection for the Brazilian bishops.
For his part, the head of Angolan diplomacy, Téte António, assured that the relationship with Brazil is good and that justice is "dealing with this issue".
Meanwhile, the Angolan Minister of State, Carolina Cerqueira, announced that a report will be made on the incidents, noting that "there are signs of some crimes".
