Democracy and freedom of expression are under threat in Brazil
Brazil’s democratic
institutions are under attack. Since taking office, the Jair Bolsonaro
administration, helped by its allies on the far right, has systematically
undermined cultural, scientific and educational institutions in the country, as
well as the press.
Early on, prominent members of Bolsonaro’s political party started a campaign
to encourage university and high school students to covertly film their
teachers and denounce them for “ideological indoctrination”. This persecution
campaign, ominously called “School Without Party”, created a sense of
intimidation and fear in educational institutions in a country barely three
decades out of an oppressive military regime. Last month, Bolsonaro suggested
that the state should censor
textbooks to promote conservative values.
The Bolsonaro
administration has made it clear it will not tolerate deviation from its
ultra-conservative politics and worldview. Last year the administration fired the
marketing director of Banco do Brasil, Delano Valentim, for creating an ad
campaign promoting diversity and inclusion, which was then censored by the
government. Later that year, as Brazil’s Amazon forest burned at an alarming
rate, Bolsonaro’s administration retaliated against scientists who dared to
present facts. Ricardo Galvão, the former director of Inpe (National Institute
for Space Research), was removed
from his post for releasing satellite data on deforestation in the
Amazon....
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/feb/07/democracy-and-freedom-of-expression-are-under-threat-in-brazil
