Academics and Nobel laureates sign open letter against attacks on science in Brazil

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – More than 200 researchers from around the world, including three Nobel Prize winners, have signed an open letter in solidarity with Brazilian academics and scientists. In the document, the signatories state that Brazilian science suffers from budget cuts, persecution and exploitation for electoral purposes.

The group also criticizes President Jair Bolsonaro’s management of the Covid-19 pandemic and calls for the ruler to be held accountable.

Among the signatories are names such as Michel Mayor (Nobel in physics in 2019), Peter Ratcliffe (Nobel in medicine in 2019) and Charles Rice (Nobel in medicine in 2020), as well as academics Peter Wagner (University of Barcelona, Spain), Jacques Rancière (University Paris 8, France), Helena Hirata (CNRS, France) and Susan McGrath (York University, Canada). Brazilian academics members of various universities and scientific institutes also sign the letter.

Researcher Glenda Andrade, a doctoral student at the University of Paris 8, was the one who wrote the document on April 6, prompted by conversations with Brazilian academics Helena Hirata, professor emeritus at CNRS-France, Liliana Segnini, from UNICAMP, and Graça Druck, from the Federal University of Bahia. According to Glenda, in university circles there is great commotion about the Brazilian crisis aggravated by the Bolsonaro administration, and the letter is a symbolic initiative.

“We are concerned about the worsening of the health crisis in Brazil and the attacks on science. Through this open letter, we, academics from around the world, show our solidarity with colleagues in Brazil, whose freedoms are threatened, and with the Brazilian population, which is affected daily by this destructive policy,” reads the letter.

The text highlights the the federal government’s repeated attacks against the containment of the pandemic, recalls the president’s misconduct in environmental agendas and calls for correct accountability. “In a context of health crisis, worsening inequalities and climate change, this type of conduct is unacceptable, and the perpetrator must be held accountable.” The document also denounces the denialism, negligence and spread of fake news by the federal government.

“Bolsonaro further discouraged vaccination, going so far as to suggest, for example, that people might turn into ‘alligators’. Between denial, spreading false information and attacks on science in the midst of a health crisis, Bolsonaro has changed health minister four times,” says another excerpt from the document.

The letter also mentions the daily Covid-19 record deaths in Brazil and points to the country as a “gigantic factory of virus variants.” “By denying science, Bolsonaro not only hurts the scientific community, but the entire Brazilian society,” the document says.

The full text is below

An open letter in solidarity with the flag of Brazil

“Tuesday April 6th, 2021: Brazil recorded 4,195 deaths related to Covid-19. In total, more than 340,000 Brazilians have died since the start of the epidemic. If the coronavirus affects all countries of the world, then the spread of the health crisis in Brazil, cannot be separated from management. The disastrous President Jair Bolsonaro, who must be condemned for his actions, which not only caused an explosion in the number of victims, but also increased inequality in the country.

On several occasions, the President of the Republic of Brazil has described Covid-19 as “a little cold,” which reduces the severity of the disease. He criticized preventive measures, such as physical isolation and the use of masks, and sparked countless popular gatherings. He himself defended the use of chloroquine, although scientists warned of the toxic effects of its use. The researchers who published scientific studies proving that the use of the drug increases the risk of death of Covid patients in Brazil were exposed. Bolsonaro also discouraged vaccination, even suggesting, for example, that people could become “crocodiles.” Between denial, spreading false information and attacks on science in the midst of a health crisis, Bolsonaro has changed health minister four times.

The flag in Brazil is under heavy criticism. On the one hand, budget cuts that hit research and threaten scientists’ work; On the other hand, the use of the flag for electoral purposes, as evidenced by the president’s statements. Nor is it possible to forget Bolsonaro’s attacks on the National Institute of Space Research (INPE), in an alarming context of rising levels of deforestation in the Amazon region.

A denialist of science, Bolsonaro affects not only the scientific community, but also the Brazilian community as a whole. The numbers of devastation since the beginning of the pandemic are increasing; According to Fiocruz’s data, nearly 92 new strains of Coronavirus have been identified, turning the country into a true factory of variants, and impacts on the environment, the traditional peoples of the Amazon region and the surrounding climate must be added to these statistics.

In this context of the health crisis, worsening inequality and climate change, this type of behavior is unacceptable and the president must be held accountable for his actions. We are concerned about the worsening crisis in Brazil and attacks on science. In this open letter, we want to express our solidarity with our colleagues in Brazil, whose freedom is being threatened. We also express our solidarity with the Brazilian people, who have been affected on a daily basis by this devastating policy.”

Source: Estadão