Lula’s third mandate reignites hope in Brazilian early-career researchers

Science in Brazil is centered on public universities and institutions that uplift Brazil to be a top-15 scientifically productive country worldwide (Lopes et al. 2021). This high productivity is partially related to the Workers’ Party’s investments in higher education until the mid-2010s (Silveira 2018). However, most Brazilian researchers (i.e., students or postdoctoral fellows) are deprived of labor rights and work under low wages (e.g., ~US$400/month for Ph.D. students). Brazilian science has suffered contingencies since 2014, but more severely during Bolsonaro’s mandate (Mega 2019, Kowaltowski 2021, Silva Junior et al. 2021). On the brink of his presidency, Bolsonaro’s final strike against science upheld the payment of the wage of researchers associated with the Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel, threatening the livelihood of 200.000 people (CAPES 2022). Their salaries, nationally misconceived as scholarships, is their only income, since contracts demand exclusive dedication. Therefore, Bolsonaro’s neglect to pay scientists exposed them to the explicit risk of not being able to afford housing or food, depriving them of fundamental human rights.

Mobilization in academia was quick and effective, leading to judicial measures against the federal government and a national strike. In response, the federal government allocated US$90 million that guaranteed the payment of research fellowships a week late (Sanz 2022), but the damage was already done. The last month of Bolsonaro’s mandate was marked with one more struggle for early-career scholars in Brazil. Contrastingly, Lula’s mandate first month marked significant advances for them. After a historical meeting between Camilo Santana (Minister of Education), Lula, and the deans of federal institutes and universities, Camilo indicated the first adjustment of scholarships in ten years (Mazui 2023), both in the National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq) and the Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education (CAPES). In addition, the federal government is taking expressive structural decisions supported by the scientific community, such as appointing well-respected scientists and professors for key government positions, such s Denise Pires de Carvalho and Ricardo Galvão. Still, Brazilian scientists shall keep articulating to bargain with the current government for the extension of labor benefits to all scientists, the adjustment of undergraduate scholarships and salaries to postdocs and professors, and the revision of unfair contracts that push researchers to precariousness (e.g., demands for exclusive dedication in temporary positions). This is important for every researcher and education worker who must fight against precarious working conditions in Brazil or elsewhere (Kozlov 2022, Naddaf 2022). Mobilization continues: #ReajusteJa.

REFERENCES

• CAPES. 2022. Official note: Restrições orçamentárias e financeiras impostas à CAPES. Available: https://www.gov.br/capes/pt-br/assuntos/noticias/restricoes-orcamentarias-e-financeiras-impostas-a-capes
  » https://www.gov.br/capes/pt-br/assuntos/noticias/restricoes-orcamentarias-e-financeiras-impostas-a-capes
• KOWALTOWSKI AJ. 2021. Brazil’s scientists face 90% budget cut. Nature 598: 566-566. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-021-02882-z.
  » https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-021-02882-z
• KOZLOV M. 2022. Thousands of academics strike in California: how is research affected? Nature. Available: https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-022-03818-x
  » https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-022-03818-x
• LOPES MACQ, BRASIL D & OLIVEIRA GMM. 2021. Research and Publication in Brazil: Where we are and Where we Head to. Int J Cardiovasc Sci 34: 231-235. DOI: https://doi.org/10.36660/ijcs.20200004.
  » https://doi.org/10.36660/ijcs.20200004
• MAZUI G. 2023. Reajuste de bolsas da Capes e do CNPq deve ser anunciado ainda em janeiro, diz Camilo Santana. G1. Doi: https://g1.globo.com/educacao/noticia/2023/01/19/reajuste-de-bolsas-da-capes-e-do-cnpq-deve-ser-anunciado-ainda-em-janeiro-diz-camilo-santana.ghtml
  » https://g1.globo.com/educacao/noticia/2023/01/19/reajuste-de-bolsas-da-capes-e-do-cnpq-deve-ser-anunciado-ainda-em-janeiro-diz-camilo-santana.ghtml
• MEGA ER. 2019. Funding crisis at Brazilian science agency could leave 80,000 researchers and students without pay. Science. doi: https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aaz1848
  » https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aaz1848
• NADDAF M. 2022. ‘An attack on the future of science’: why UK researchers are striking. Nature 612: 198-200. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-022-04146-w.
  » https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-022-04146-w
• SANZ R. 2022. Verba da CAPES é liberada; veja quando bolsas serão pagas. Rev Fórum. Available: https://revistaforum.com.br/politica/2022/12/8/verba-da-capes-liberada-veja-quando-bolsas-sero-pagas-128398.html
  » https://revistaforum.com.br/politica/2022/12/8/verba-da-capes-liberada-veja-quando-bolsas-sero-pagas-128398.html
• SILVA JUNIOR CHL ET AL. 2021. Surviving as a young scientist in Brazil. Science 374: 948-948. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1126/science.abm8160
• SILVEIRA LCT. 2018. Widening access to higher education for low-income students: a Brazilian case study (1990s-2016). Rev Bras Educ 23: e230023. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1590/S1413-24782018230023.
  » https://doi.org/10.1590/S1413-24782018230023

Publication Dates

• Publication in this collection
  16 June 2023
• Date of issue
  2023

History

• Received
  31 Jan 2023
• Accepted
  2 Apr 2023