Reports claim that police officers and military have unleashed a full-scale operation in more than 20 public universities in Brazil as a result of the campaign and election of far-right President Jair Bolsonaro. The measures, related for the most part to political advertising control, have been taken in institutions of higher education in several states and have triggered a reaction from the academic community and public interest organizations.
On November 1, 2018 more than 107 academics, researchers, graduates, students, and staff members at universities across Europe signed a letter opposing the attacks on freedom of expression in Brazil’s universities.
Endangered Scholars Worldwide deplores and condemns the outrageous and unforgivable invasions of Brazilian universities by military police, as well as the confiscation of teaching materials on ideological grounds, particularly those opposing antifascist history and activism. We join other academic, intellectual, and political leaders in Europe, the US, and other regions to decry this attack on Brazil’s universities in the name of Bolsonaro’s wider aggressive, antiprogressive, and fascistic agenda.
We call upon all European governments, the US Department of State, international organizations, university presidents, academic and professional associations, student groups, and individuals devoted to the promotion and defense of human rights to protest and condemn populist attacks on the pillars of Brazil’s democracy and education system. ESW urges the officials of the Brazilian Government to respect, guarantee, and implement the provisions and principles of autonomy of higher education as specified in the international conventions and treaties to which Brazil has long been a signatory.
We stand in solidarity with the students and faculty of the Brazilian universities that have been subjected to the attacks.
Please send appeals to the following:
Michael R. Pompeo
United States Secretary of State
Office of Foreign Missions
U.S. Department of State
2201 C Street NW
Washington, DC 20520 USA
Email: OFMInfo@state.gov
Nikki Haley
U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations
U.S. Permanent Mission to the United Nations
799 United Nations Plaza
New York, NY 10017 USA
P. Michael McKinley
Ambassador of the United States to Brazil
Embassy of the United States to Brazil
Rua Henri Dunant
500 Chácara Santo Antônio
São Paulo- SP, 04709-110
Brazil
Fax: +55 11 5181 8730
Kishore Singh
United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Right to Education
Palais des Nations
CH-1211 Geneva 10, Switzerland
Email: sreducation@ohchr.org
David Kaye
United Nations Special Rapporteur on the promotion and
protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression
Palais des Nations
CH-1211 Geneva 10
Switzerland
Fax: +41 22 917 9006
Email: freedex@ohchr.org
Federica Mogherini
High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security
Policy
European Commission
Rue de la Loi / Wetstraat 200
1049 Brussels
Belgium
Thorbjørn Jagland
Secretary General of the Council of Europe
Council of Europe
Avenue de l'Europe
F-67075 Strasbourg Cedex
France
Fax: + 33 3 88 41 27 99
Philippe Boillat
Directorate General Human Rights and Rule of Law
Council of Europe
Avenue de l'Europe
F-67075 Strasbourg Cedex
France
Fax: + 33 3 88 41 27 99