A few days before the first round of elections in Brazil, it has been announced that the current president of the country, Jair Bolsonaro, has decided to make a cut in Brazil's budget for universities, science and technology.
The decree was signed on September 30, two days before the first round of the elections and establishes a "contingency" in the budget of the Ministry of Education.
In response to this, the board of directors of the National Association of Directors of Federal Higher Education Institutions - Andifes, for its acronym in Portuguese - pointed out that "the publication of this decree establishes a limitation of commitments, almost at the end of the fiscal year, once again making any form of institutional planning unfeasible".
The budget cut was more than 3 billion reais - 28.6 percent of the total cut - for university expenses, which means that the entire university system is at risk.
Through a press release on its web siteAndifes also stated that the reduction of the budget exhausts the payment possibilities, making it "unsustainable", while regretting that the educational field is ?once again? one of the most affected by the cuts.
"The federal government confiscates the balance of all higher education accounts and does not even leave pennies to pay for the maintenance of the buildings," denounced the National Union of Students (UNE) and called to take the universities and the streets in protest.
In addition, the Brazilian Union of High School Students pointed out via Twitter and the hashtag #ConfiscoNaEducação that "Bolsonaro is the greatest enemy of education and now he is once again attacking the federal education network."
Thus, students from the Federal University of Bahia have united to protest against budget cuts to education.
With information from Brazil de Fato.
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