"You don't have to be against gay people to have my vote."

PE247 – Evangelical pastor Silas Malafaia has once again expressed interest in the candidacy of the governor of Pernambuco, Eduardo Campos (PSB), for the Presidency of the Republic in 2014. According to the religious leader of the Assembly of God Victory in Christ, the Pernambuco governor, with whom he has already spoken, is better "prepared" than presidential candidates Marina Silva (Rede Sustentabilidade), Senator Aécio Neves (PSDB-MG), and the current head of the federal Executive branch, Dilma Rousseff (PT). Malafaia also took a swipe at the PT, stating that the party is playing an "ideological game" to manipulate federal deputy Marcos Feliciano (PSC-SP) into resigning from the presidency of the Human Rights Commission of the Chamber of Deputies.

Regarding Eduardo Campos, the evangelical confessed that he had already spoken with the PSB member and considers that the manager is doing a great job in Pernambuco. “I liked the conversation. I see in him the possibility of being my candidate,” declared Malafaia, this Tuesday (16), to Rádio JC/CBN. For him, the PSB governor has “vision” about the fact that Brazil is “a country where the GDP (Gross Domestic Product growth) is a ticking time bomb and is lower than inflation”.

In light of Campos's moves to seek political and business support for the 2014 presidential election, Malafaia stated that the Pernambuco governor cannot be seen as an "enemy" of the Workers' Party (PT). "You don't need to be an enemy to be a candidate, but the other side (the PT) thinks he is an enemy," he added. Silas also said that he was the one who sought a meeting with the governor and that Eduardo did not ask for his support at the time.

Malafaia also came to the defense of federal deputy and president of the Chamber's Human Rights Commission, Marcos Feliciano. The target of constant controversy for having made prejudiced statements against homosexuals and black people, stating last year that "AIDS is a gay cancer," and for saying via Twitter in 2011 that Africans are "cursed," Feliciano is being pressured by several parliamentarians and civil society to resign from his position.

According to Silas Malafaia, the PT (Workers' Party) is playing an "ideological game." "What moral authority does the PT have when two guys (congressmen José Genoíno and João Paulo Cunha), convicted by the Supreme Federal Court, are members of one of the largest committees in the National Congress (the Constitution, Justice and Citizenship Committee)?" the religious leader questioned.

Regarding Feliciano, the pastor stated that the congressman is not "homophobic." "Homophobia is wanting to hit, assault, wanting to kill," he declared. According to him, who acknowledged and downplayed Feliciano's statements, in Brazil people can speak ill of "everyone" without it being interpreted as prejudice. "But insulting gay people is homophobia," Malafaia ironically remarked. And he reiterated: "Eduardo (Campos) doesn't need to be against gay people to have my vote," he observed.