2019 student protests in Brazil
The 2019 Student protests in Brazil were a series of popular demonstrations and manifestations led by youths and students between May-October 2019, being the first major protest against the Jair Bolsonaro government. Due to cuts in education from basic to higher education and freezes in the areas of science and technology development, there was a halt in higher and basic education, accompanied by protests led by students, union members and education professionals.[1]
Context[edit]
At the end of April, the new administration of the Ministry of Education (MEC), under the command of Abraham Weintraub, announced the blocking of 30% in the funding of federal educational institutions, between 60 universities and almost 40 institutes across the country . Initially, the minister had announced the cut of funds from UFF, Ufba and UnB, which, according to him, "are making a mess", expression that irritated researchers and was considered unhappy by government officials. Subsequently, the cut was extended to all federal universities. According to the National Association of Directors of Federal Institutions of Higher Education (Andifes), the contingency reached 20% of the funding (ie maintenance, cleaning and security services, among others), and 90% of the investment budget. (costs of a work, renovation or construction, for example). These costs, for the government, are considered discretionary expenses, that is, they are not mandatory, with the block corresponding to about 3.5% of the total budget, which would be "insured" to be released after September. In May, the MEC announced that it was also studying "decentralizing" investments in philosophy and sociology courses, which mobilized a manifesto contrary to the proposal signed by representatives of world-renowned universities, such as Harvard, Yale, MIT, Oxford, Cambridge, Sorbonne, Columbia and Berkeley. The minister of education was summoned to the congress to give explanations about the cut in the sector, after a favorable vote for the call by 307 deputies, against 82. The session took place at the same time as the protests were taking place in Brazil.
Protests[edit]
On May 15, a deputy from Bolsonaro's allied base, Captain Wagner, saw the president calling his minister, Weintraub, saying that there would be no budget cut, which implied that the government backed down, something that was commonplace in its early days; later, the minister, at a hearing in the Chamber of Deputies, said Bolsonaro was heard talking to him, not him talking to Bolsonaro, saying the cuts would happen. Wagner said that it was not he who created a rumor, but the government itself, which turned back.
University students protested against in strikes on 30 May. According to the organizers' estimate, acts of May 30 spread to 183 cities in 22 states, plus the Federal District, and brought together about two million protesters. According to an estimate made by G1, demonstrations occurred in 136 cities in 25 states plus the Federal District. Demonstrations in Salvador and Brasília started in the morning, and organizers estimated the attendance of 40,000 and 30,000 respectively. In the afternoon, there were demonstrations in Recife, Pernambuco, where organizers estimated the attendance of 100,000 protesters, and in São Luís, Maranhão, where they estimated the presence of 30,000 protesters. Most of the demonstrations took place in the late afternoon and early evening, as in the city of Rio de Janeiro, where organizers estimated the attendance of 100,000 demonstrators who gathered at the candelaria from where they left for Cinelândia, and in the city of Paulo, where 300,000 attended Largo da Batata and left on the march to Avenida Paulista.[2]
On 14 June, a popular anti-government uprising and general strikes halted social life and led to chaos. Many were injured in the following clashes. Amid the acts of May 30, new demonstrations were called on June 14. The protests took place through a general strike called by union centrals, unifying student and worker movements. By 8 pm, 189 cities in 26 states and the Federal District had registered a protest. 19 Brazilian capitals had their bus system affected, but considering other modes, the amount of capital reached reached 21.[3]
On 13 August, students called on anti-government protests to continue. Convoked by entities such as the National Students Union (UNE) and the Brazilian Union of Secondary Students (Ubes), the protests of August 13 were also against the pension reform that was going through Congress. It was the third mobilization at the national level against the restriction of funds announced by Weintraub. (The June 14 protests were secondary, as the main one was the general strike.) In Brasília, Minister of Justice and Public Security Sérgio Moro authorized the use of National Force to protect the Esplanada dos Ministérios. According to the organizers, 1.5 million attended the demonstrations, which took place in 205 cities in all states, including the Federal District. Organizers also estimated that, in this third major act of education, 100,000 protesters occupied Avenida Paulista in the city of São Paulo. Organisers also estimated the attendance of 35,000 students in Salvador.[4]
Demonstrations were called for September 7, Brazil's independence day. On September 3, President Jair Bolsonaro asked people to take to the streets in green and yellow to "show the world" that "the Amazon is ours", due to the international crisis caused by forest fires in the Amazon. In response, UNE, seeing parallels with the request of ex-president Fernando Collor, asked for the return of the Painted Faces, and called on the protesters to wear black, to symbolize mourning in relation to the situation in the Amazon and education. On October 2nd and 3rd, the Executive Board of UNE called 48 hours of national mobilisation.[citation needed]
See also[edit]
- 2013 protests in Brazil
- 2014 protests in Brazil
- 2015-2016 protests in Brazil
- 2017 Brazilian general strike
References[edit]
- ↑ "Students protest across Brazil over Jair Bolsonaro's sweeping cuts to education". The Guardian. 30 May 2019.
- ↑ "Students, teachers across Brazil protest Bolsonaro's education cuts". France24. 31 May 2019.
- ↑ "Brazil cities paralysed as Bolsonaro faces first general strike". France24. 14 June 2019.
- ↑ "Thousands protest in Brazil against Bolsonaro's education cuts". Al Jazeera. 14 August 2019.
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