Brazil

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Excerpt from Christian Research Journal: Inside the "Heavenly Elite"

The Family found an oasis in Brazil, and has flourished there despite past negative publicity by the Brazilian media. In the past, members expelled by other countries would often flee to Brazil, where the cult was extended liberties not granted elsewhere, thanks not only to Brazil's highly permissive society, but also to the unrestrictive laws on freedom of worship.

Though the AIDS epidemic caused the cult to cut back on some of its controversial sexual practices elsewhere in the world, in Brazil things continued unabated into the late 80s. One example is the GAFMs (General Area Fellowship Meetings), in many cases little more than large bacchanals, with three days of wine, group sex, erotic dances and other debauchery, in which disciples of all the greater area homes participated. These orgies were prohibited in other countries of the world around 1983, but in Brazil the practice continued until near the start of the 90s. Videos of the GAFMs remain as a reminder of the "good times."

Rio de Janeiro is the center for The Family's lucrative audio and video recording and duplicating operation in Brazil. The cassettes and CDs are duplicated by professional studios like RCA and GEL, then sold as though they were legal, though the group pays no taxes and gives the materials fictitious numbering. The Family has enjoyed great success in selling its literature, videos, and audio tapes to unsuspecting Christian churches and schools in many parts of Brazil.

In Sao Paulo, group members go "provisioning" among businesses to acquire donated goods to supply the material needs of members in outlying regions. Belo Horizonte, capital of the state of Minas Gerais, is the cult's operational center for all of Latin America. There, the elite "World Services" teams translate restricted-access Disciples Only literature from English into Spanish and Portuguese. The material is then printed, packaged, and shipped to each of the group's homes in South America. The exact location of the highly-sensitive World Services homes is not known to average members or even to lower-level leadership.

Source: Christian Research Journal: Inside the "Heavenly Elite" — by Dalva Lynch with Paul Carden – Summer 1990.

See also: Brazil Victor Camps