Brazilian universities fear Bolsonaro plan to eliminate humanities and slash public education budgets

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Renato Francisco dos Santos Paula, Universidade Federal de Goias

(THE CONVERSATION) Tens of thousands of students and professors protested nationwide on May 30 against a Jair Bolsonaro administration proposal to slash Brazil’s public education budget and starve university humanities departments of resources.

It was the second mass demonstration in two weeks against the education policies of Brazil’s divisive new president.

Protesters in cities and towns across Brazil took to the streets to condemn an education ministry proposal to reduce funding for Brazilian public universities by 30% during the remainder of 2019. The ministry is also considering withdrawing financing entirely from the philosophy and sociology departments of public universities.

The objective would be to “focus on areas that generate immediate return to the taxpayer such as veterinary, engineering and medicine,” Bolsonaro wrote on Twitter on April 26.

Education in disarray

Bolsonaro, a provocative conservative who took office on Jan. 1, was elected in November with promises to radically restructure Brazil, including its schools.

Brazil’s chronically underfunded public education system has struggled to pay for maintenance and utilities since the country entered recession in 2015. In 2016, the conservative government of [President Michel Temer passed an austerity measure] that capped all federal public spending at 2016 levels for a period of 20 years.

Federal public universities in Brazil depend entirely on the central government for their budgets, though they may seek research grants and other funding on a project basis. State governments maintain their own universities in...