Cezar Luiz De Mari – ASPUV-S. Sind
Mônica Ribeiro Pirozi – ASPUV-S. Sind

Capitalism has destabilized the world in many ways, mainly through its self-destructive nature, generating a concentration of wealth and deepening inequalities in various aspects. Such inequalities are reflected in the deepening of poverty, the destruction of the environment, the private appropriation of natural resources, and wars that foreshadow not only an organic crisis of the system, but also the need for a strong political and social reaction on a global scale.

We have seen this type of demonstration in Brazil through conservative movements emerging from civil society, especially since 2013. Driven by the Free Fare Movement’s (MPL) struggle against the R$0.20 increase in bus fares in São Paulo, the protests took on a national dimension after the violent police crackdown on June 13, which left more than 100 people injured and dozens detained, generating solidarity and inflaming the population, who took mass action in the streets.

With the increase in street protests, the original agenda was fragmented. Demands for quality transport and public services gave way to an amorphous blend of discontent, including criticism of corruption and spending on the 2014 World Cup. In this context, both conservative and liberal factions, with the support of digital media and funding from national and international organizations, found fertile ground to spread hate speech against left-wing institutions and parties, especially the Workers‘ Party (PT), which was in its fourth term.

These movements, led by the right wing, united a group of conservative forces capable of launching the so-called “Operation Car Wash,” which, disguised as a fight against corruption in the political sphere, had the real objective of intensifying the persecution of left-wing parties and using the justice system and media sensationalism as mechanisms to repress political enemies.

The result was an institutional political coup (“impeachment”) of then-President Dilma Rousseff on August 31, 2016. This incident, perhaps the most symbolic in recent Brazilian politics, reflects an aspect of national politics that has been present since the Constitution of the Republic (1889): the resistance of dominant groups to the construction of a state committed to social inclusion, capable of implementing a national project that guarantees the population its fundamental rights.

The 2016 coup d’état resulted in a complete shift towards neoliberal ideology, which further dismantled the Brazilian state’s social policies, starting with the approval of Constitutional Amendment 95 (EC 95/2016), which established a budget limit for investments in health, education, and other social policies. The amendment basically consisted of imposing a spending cap on social investments, with the ability to render constitutional investment frameworks unviable within a period of 10 years.

It is estimated that, between 2018 and 2022, EC 95 caused the withdrawal of more than 64 Billion Reais from health and 33 Billion Reais from education. Signs of investment cuts can be seen in the precarious state of the Unified Health System (SUS) and in Brazil’s basic, technical, technological, and higher education systems.

The advance of the “spending cap” policy is accompanied by a systematic ideological campaign to generate hatred and resentment against anything that could represent public policy. This campaign was driven by Operation Car Wash, an investigation that used the issue of corruption to hinder the progress of pro-state organizations and development policies, favoring foreign investors and devaluing domestic companies.

Starting from 2019, with the election of Jair Messias Bolsonaro (2019-2022), the project to dismantle the state became more explicit through a series of policies aimed at cutting social investment and encouraging violence in civil society against opposition to the government.

We would like to emphasize some projects and measures that reflect this moment:

School Without Political Parties Project: an ideological project that seeks to remove science from the school curriculum.

Militarization of Schools: a project that aims to introduce military schools into basic education, based on the ideology of “discipline” and school management by the military.

Outsourcing of primary school management: a project inspired by the American model of charter schools, which introduces the private sector into the management of public schools.

With the re-election of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in 2023, these projects were halted and social investments resumed, within a coalition government that brings together left-wing, centrist, and liberal parties.

This is not a purely left-wing government, but one framed by liberal policies, where private capital and the financial market have a strong influence on the public budget. The Constitutional Amendment 95 was replaced by Complementary Law 200 of August 13, 2023, which limits the growth of expenditures to revenues, allowing real expenditure growth between 0.6% and 2.5% of annual Gross Domestic Product (GDP), in addition to establishing primary surplus targets and minimum levels of spending on education and health.

The “School Without Political Parties” project has suffered several defeats in the Federal Supreme Court (STF) and has been dismissed. Far-right politicians continue to use the project in their campaigns in states and municipalities across the country, spreading misinformation about schools and teachers.

The project to militarize schools has been on the agenda of right-wing and far-right governments in nineteen Brazilian states, maintaining and expanding this school model even after the closure of the National Program for Civic-Military Schools (Pecim) in 2023. The state of Paraná stands out, with more than 300 units, followed by the states of São Paulo, Minas Gerais, Rio de Janeiro, and Bahia.

The outsourcing of school management has been implemented since 2021 with pilot projects in São Paulo, Minas Gerais, Bahia, and Paraná. The governor of the state of Paraná, Ratinho Junior (2019-2026), aims to hand over at least 200 schools to the private sector by the end of his term. As of today, over 95 public schools are already managed by the private sector in Brazil, including billionaires such as the 3G group.

The fact that we live under a coalition government does not mean that we have resolved the contradictions between the concept of the state as a driver of social policies and the state as a space for private appropriation. Conservative forces have entered the National Congress in recent years and are the loudspeaker for private interests and conservative groups. The influence of neoliberal ideology is clear when we look at the autonomy of the Central Bank, interest rate policies controlled by market agencies, the lack of commitment to truth in the mass media, and the polarization of civil society as fuel for the far right.

In the educational sphere, public universities have a strong presence and, despite insufficient funding, continue to represent national science. The biggest challenge for elementary schools resides in the federal states: consolidating a national curriculum that reflects regional cultures, values teachers, and encourages critical thinking.