In a video released this Wednesday (26) on social media, Hugo Aguilaniu, director-president of the Serrapilheira Institute, announced the organization’s support for the candidacy of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) for the presidency of the Republic.
He said the decision was taken due to what he classified as major losses of national science in the government of Jair Bolsonaro (PL). “Fund cuts, repeated attacks on scientific information and uncertainty about the place of science have increased the exodus of scientists. When a talent leaves, the whole of Brazil loses,” the institute posted on Twitter.
“I would like to officially declare the institute’s support for Lula’s candidacy. We are a private institution that supports science and scientific dissemination in Brazil. Therefore, we need a rich ecosystem for promoting science and promoting scientific dissemination. In our view, the only candidacy that guarantees support for real science is Lula’s. Therefore, if you believe in science, if you believe in building a better future for Brazil, I invite you, next Sunday, to vote for the Lula”, said Aguilaniu in the video.
On the social network, Serrapilheira added that he wanted “Brazil to be a peer, not a pariah”.
The director of the institute signed the manifesto “Science, Technology and Innovation with Lula”, created by the country’s scientific community, and invited internet users to also sign. As of 11:30 pm this Wednesday, the manifesto had 14,150 signatures in support of Lula.
Last Tuesday (25), in an editorial, the scientific journal Nature stated that, in the current presidential election, classified by the journal as the most important since the end of the dictatorship, there is only one choice for Brazil and for the world, and that a second Bolsonaro term would pose threats to science, democracy and the environment.
In September, before the first round of the current election, an editorial in the scientific journal Lancet criticized Bolsonaro’s management of the pandemic and the disrespect for indigenous people and also spoke about the need for “an urgent change”.
The Nature text claims that the Brazilian president took office denying science, threatening the rights of indigenous populations and promoting guns as a solution to security concerns. “Bolsonaro was true to his word. His mandate was disastrous for science, for the environment and for the people of Brazil — and for the world,” the text says.
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