BRASILIA, Sept 8 (NNN-Prensa Latina) — With painted-faces and dressed in black, Brazilian students took to the streets on Saturday in all regions of the country to protest against cuts in education funds and in defense of the Amazon.
The National Union of Students (UNE) called on its members to dress in that color to express indignation and mourning. Students from at least 25 Brazilian capitals joined the mobilization.
‘Dressed in black because our homeland is being plundered. They are stealing our future and our present,’ said professor and sociologist Jésse Souza.
According to UNE, President Jair Bolsonaro asked the people of Brazil to cover themselves in green and yellow this Sept 7 to demonstrate that ‘the Amazon is ours’ and in response, the students, inspired by the Painted Face generation of the 1990s that overthrew president Fernando Collor de Mello, are wearing black on the day.
In its website, the Union points out that in the midst of another crisis in the sector, the Education Ministry announced that by 2020 the Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel (Capes) will only have half of the 2019 budget.
It would be the third announcement of Capes cuts and this year the agency will not offer 11,000 research scholarships.
A similar situation happens with the National Council for Scientific and Technological Development that has suspended the granting of new studies.
Both bodies are the main promotions for research in Higher Education. — NNN-PRENSA LATINA
