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.
