With Lula’s election, scientists say that ‘nightmare is finally over’

Scientists from Brazil and the world celebrated the victory of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT). They posted photos, replicated messages and produced statements in which the tone of relief at the defeat of Jair Bolsonaro (PL) and hope for the new government predominates.

“Congratulations, Brazil. Hallelujah!” (Congratulations, Brazil. Hallelujah), wrote biologist Richard Dawkins on his Twitter profile. Paul Zachary Myers, a biologist at the University of Minnesota, also congratulated the country.

On the same social network, astronomer Phil Plait mentioned the small margin of difference between the candidates to say how close Brazilians were to fascism and encourage voting in the United States.

Here, the Climate Observatory, which brings together 77 organizations including NGOs, research institutes and social movements, released a note in which it states that “the nightmare is finally over”, and the SBPC (Brazilian Society for the Progress of Science) positioned congratulating the elected president and the Brazilian people for the example of a democratic spirit.

The scientific community says it believes that Lula will pay attention to the areas of science, education and the environment. On the other hand, he knows that there are great challenges ahead, such as the fact that the country has 33 million people starving.

“The biggest priority is not just to recover the budget, it is to end the hatred, with the division of the country. The other priority is to end hunger. Before, we had people on the streets. Now they are entire families”, says the biomedical doctor. Helena Nader, professor at Unifesp (Federal University of São Paulo) and president of ABC (Brazilian Academy of Sciences).

The president of the SBPC, the philosopher Renato Janine Ribeiro, also puts the fight against hunger first, followed by the reduction of poverty and an emphasis on education.

“It is important that all the people who supported Lula accept this prioritization and understand that education must be a priority because, in order to fight hunger, it will be necessary to promote access to food with respect for the environment. The new government will need to change the production of food, put an end to deforestation. It’s all interconnected”, he says.

For the Climate Observatory, it is necessary to realistically view the country’s situation and act quickly in relation to the socio-environmental and climate agenda.

“Stopping the massacre of indigenous peoples and the devastation of the Amazon will require countering powerful gangs and often the interests of allies and supporters in local governments and parliament. Removing criminals from indigenous lands and reversing deforestation rates are urgent measures, on which the recovery of the credibility of the Brazilian government before the people and the international community depends”, he defends.

The microbiologist Natalia Pasternak, president of the IQC (Instituto Questão de Ciência), also highlights the challenges that PT’s management will have in the health area. “The current government leaves a perverse legacy for science, technology and health. It destroyed the PNI (National Immunization Program) and gave strength to vaccine hesitancy to grow in Brazil”, she evaluates.

“We cannot forget that we have 58 million people vulnerable to the anti-vaccination discourse based on the idea that the government cannot interfere with individual freedom We have the worst childhood vaccination rates in our history. It will be necessary to rebuild, invest heavily in campaigns, in the PNI and SUS”, completes Pasternak.

For Nader, Lula will have the support of the scientific community to work on the reconstruction. “He’s going to have great difficulty because of the economic crisis and because everyone is expecting a miracle to happen in the first year. I’m very pragmatic, I know it’s going to take some time and I see that we, in education and that help.”

One of the ways to help, mentions the teacher, is to apply existing knowledge on ways to improve education. Another is to indicate ways of working in the area that do not involve large investments, since many areas will demand resources. In this sense, it lists the use of FNDCT (National Fund for Scientific and Technological Development) resources by the areas for which it was created and the formation of a group to study how to increase the value of research grants.

“Young people are the hope of this country. When you tell a young person that his scholarship is R$ 1,500 to do a master’s degree with exclusive dedication, you are turning your back on science and innovation”, he ponders.

The problem is also emphasized by Janine Ribeiro. For him, the first measures directly related to S&T should encompass increasing the number of fellowships, updating the value and creating paid postdoctoral opportunities.

campaign support

Until the election was defined, 14,657 people had signed the manifesto “Science, Technology and Innovation with Lula”, created by the country’s scientific community.

In addition to the researchers, institutions and publications showed support for Bolsonaro’s departure. On the 26th, Hugo Aguilaniu, director-president of the Serrapilheira Institute, released a video on social networks announcing the entity’s support for Lula’s candidacy. “In our view, the only candidacy that guarantees support for real science is Lula’s,” he said.

A day earlier, the scientific journal Nature stated in an editorial that there was only one choice for Brazil and the world and that a second Bolsonaro term would pose threats to science, democracy and the environment.

In September, before the first round, an editorial in the scientific journal The Lancet criticized Bolsonaro’s management of the pandemic and disrespect for indigenous people, and also cited the need for “an urgent change”.