Over the last four years, President Jair Bolsonaro’s government has made steep budget cuts to Brazil’s public universities. In the run-up to the second and final round of presidential elections, his government announced a new freeze on funds, angering students anew. The fields of education, culture and environmental studies have been favourite targets for the far-right president, who has said such institutions are leftist breeding grounds.
By slashing more than €450 million from the budget for federal universities on October 5 – just three days after the first round of presidential elections – Bolsonaro prompted a fresh outpouring of anger. On October 18, demonstrations against yet another budget cut took place in nearly 70 cities around Brazil.
In Rio de Janeiro, students, teachers and other members of education unions marched from Candelária Church to Cinelândia in the…
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