World News: Brazil’s Bad Student

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Category: World News

Published on Wednesday, 15 May 2019 20:00

Written by Olivier Longhi

The reduction of subsidies allocated to Brazilian universities by Jair Bolsonaro confirms the influence of a man on a country brutalized by methods that aim to stifle any hotbed of protest. Should we expect it?

Maybe not. But doubt it certainly. Which amounts to the same thing. Thus, the announcement by the government of Jair Bolsonaro, current (and recently elected) President of Brazil to reduce by 30% the subsidies granted to federal universities can easily be likened to the decision of a president who delights in the tinsel of the autocrat he seems to aspire to become.

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More generally, and without dwelling particularly on the Brazilian case, it appears that Jair Bolsonaro expresses by this decision the natural inclination of authoritarian leaders to extremist tendencies always quick to sacrifice places and men of culture for the benefit of regimes closer to the democtature, subtle mixture of authority and semblance of democracy, than anything else.

Tarry the Hotbeds of Protest

To tell the truth, Bolsonaro is not the first statesman to reduce the subsidies allocated to educational sites, others before him, and History is rich, are guilty of this. What is more disturbing in this decision is that it occurs in a global context, including global, where brutality and ignorance seem to have taken precedence over knowledge and reflection.

By way of comparison, US President Donald Trump recently praised the actions of Viktor Orban, president of Hungary, a man it would be excessive to describe as a lover of democracy.

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And yet! As for Jair Bolsonaro, it is obvious that this man elected for bad reasons in a country plagued by corruption, the economic crisis and the associated difficulties, seized the opportunity that was given to give free rein to these extreme tendencies. It remains to establish the reasons for this dark cut. They are simple: to weaken any source of thought, therefore of rebellion or revolt against the current regime in order to be able to impose a system authoritarian dictated by the president of Brazil.

Repeat it! The technique is not new and dry up the hotbeds of thought and culture for the effect of dominoes, to abet populations then deprived of a source of education and knowledge is not anything either. It stifles any hotbed of protest.

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And the example takes all its meaning in this year 2019 when we celebrate the thirtieth anniversary of the abortive revolt of Chinese students from Tiananmen Square in Beijing ... Proof if it was necessary that it is well to know culture and education, which are the engines of a nation, were crushed in the wildest brutality.

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And Jair Bolsonaro to have understood it too well in deciding to apply this unexpected dark cut. But at the same time, what was to be expected from the character? Cruel backlash for the Brazilian population who thought in its majority to elect a savior ... Because the war open to universities and researchers will not fail to alienate a large part of Brazilian intellectuals, yet shared in the election of Bolsonaro .

The future will tell whether this decision will be followed by other actions of the same type but it is to be feared that in a global environment where creeping skepticism, doubt about elites and growing political classes, Jair Bolsonaro is multiplying in the total indifference to his attacks on the Brazilian education system and more broadly against the already weakened Brazilian democracy.

Bio: Olivier Longhi has extensive experience in European history. A seasoned journalist with fifteen years of experience, he is currently professor of history and geography in the Toulouse region of France. He has held a variety of publishing positions, including Head of Agency and Chief of Publishing. A journalist, recognized blogger, editor and editorial project manager, he has trained and managed editorial teams, worked as a journalist for various local radio stations, a press and publishing consultant, and a communications consultant.