It has been revealed that a new statue of Jesus Christ is to be built in Brazil, one that will be even taller than the famous 'Christ the Redeemer' statue that currently looks over Rio de Janeiro.
The $250,000 statue is being built in the city of Encantado and is being funded by the Association of the Friends of Christ who are raising the money via donations.
They hope that the new statue, which will be 43 metres tall (140 feet), will make the city attractive to tourists and drum up support for Brazil's tourist industry that has been severely hit by the ongoing pandemic.
The original idea for the statue was floated by politican and city mayor, Adroaldo Conzatti, who himself died from Covid-19 last year.
The tallest Jesus statues in the world are the Jesus Buntu Burake statue in Sulawesi, Indonesia, at 52.55m and the Christ the King statue in Swiebodzin, Poland, which is 52.5m.
Some have criticised the building of the new statue, saying that the money would be better spent fighting the pandemic and Brazilians living in poverty. The country has experienced one of the highest death tolls from Covid-19, which many have blamed on the current president Jair Bolsonaro.
Bolsonaro has continually downplayed the pandemic. Despite 350,000 people in the country dying from it, he described it as 'a little flu'. He has also said that he won't get the vaccine, he was struck down with Covid-19 himself last year.
Speaking recently about the Pfizer vaccine, the President said:
"In the Pfizer contract it's very clear: 'we're not responsible for any side effects.' If you turn into a crocodile, it's your problem. If you become superhuman, if a woman starts to grow a beard or if a man starts to speak with an effeminate voice, they [Pfizer] will not have anything to do with it."
"It will be available for everyone that wants it. But me, I won't get vaccinated."
Bolsonaro was a long-time ally of Donald Trump and has similar world-views. Many believe he is a dictator in the making and he has continually praised the military dictatorship that existed in brazil in the 20th century. He has also made outspoken racist and homophobic remarks, such as saying that he would disown his own son is he turned out to be gay.
[h/t: LAD BIBLE]
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