Members Face Punishment and Lawsuits Over Political Disputes

In 2023, supporters of Brazil’s former president Jair Bolsonaro violently stormed the capital in an attempted coup. Among Bolsonaro’s most loyal supporters were leaders in the União do Vegetal, one of Brazil’s oldest and most popular ayahuasca churches. Brazil’s laws state that electoral propaganda is forbidden inside temples and churches but former União do Vegetal members say they experienced what some called brainwashing while in an altered state.