As Brazilian politics seeks to find a way through its current crisis, a group of evangelical leaders say their prayers were part of removing the former President.
Dilma Rousseff was this week removed from power by the Senate and she has been replaced by Michel Temer. She was initially removed from office in May over accusations of moving funds between different government accounts.
Now, Telesur reports that a number of evangelical leaders have been praying for her removal. Marco Feliciano, a member of the congress and a church leader said the so-called evangelical bloc has been key to removing Rousseff.
Brazil remains a majority Roman Catholic country, but in recent decades evangelical and Pentecostal churches have been gaining traction.
Eduardo Cunha, who was one of the main instigators of the move against Rousseff, used to own an evangelical radio station, while other prominent politicians such as the conservative Senator Magno Malta are also evangelical church leaders.
Meanwhile, the Archbishop of the Episcopal Anglican Church of Brazil has described the President's removal as a "coup". Francisco de Assis da Silva, said, "The Senators condemned the President for a crime but didn't forbid her from running for another public position. This just makes clear that what happened was a coup. There was no real crime - just a matter of taking her out of power," he said.
The Archbishop is one of Christian Aid's main partners in the country. Spokesperson Sarah Roare said, "Already, the space for civil society in Brazil is systematically being shrunk, with the persecution of social movements and the poorest people... Under the new President Temer's leadership, Brazil's economic and political paralysis will only deepen."
Rousseff has already said she plans to appeal her removal saying, "They have convicted an innocent person and carried out a parliamentary coup."
She was Brazil's first female president. She was first elected in 2011 and re-elected in 2014.
Allegations of corruption are common in Brazilian politics, with some of the Senators who voted to remove Rousseff facing accusations of wrongdoing themselves.
