Brazil’s education ministry has set off a political storm by calling for the public to denounce parents, students and teachers who “stimulate” protests against budget cuts during school hours.

The ministry published its call, which contained a link to where people could inform on its website, just as a second round of demonstrations against the slashing of education funding took place in more than 100 cities across the country on Thursday.

The note, which claimed “teachers, suppliers, staff, students, parents and responsibles are not authorised to disclose and stimulate protests during school hours”, drew an immediate storm of criticism down on controversial education minister Abraham Weintraub.

Amid accusations of incipient totalitarianism, opposition politicians are mobilising to charge the minister with abuse of authority, while in comments to the local media one of the country’s leading federal prosecutors said his ministry’s note could violate the constitution and the country’s statute of the child and adolescent.

Mr Weintraub started the current round of student unrest by saying he was cutting funding to three universities because of what he said was their promotion of “messing about” rather than focusing on academic standards.

After his initial plan was met with outrage, he dropped the idea of punishing individual institutions to unveil instead a funding freeze across the entire public university sector.

An acolyte of the former astrologer turned conspiracy theorist who is the guru for several ministers of far-right president Jair Bolsonaro, Mr Weintraub has vowed to combat what he sees as “cultural Marxism” in the country’s education sector.

Thursday’s note also warned that educational institutions are banned by law from promoting actions organised by political parties. The Bolsonaro government has sought to portray the recent student protests as being organised by its left-wing opponents.

The minister has already been charged by federal prosecutors for moral damages after they accused him of “hateful discrimination directed at representatives of the student movement” since he took over the ministry in April.

The charge includes as evidence a conversation the minister had with politicians in the northeastern state of Rio Grande do Norte who questioned him about the lack of funding for basic cleaning services in local universities. Mr Weintraub responded that student union bodies should be called in to clean the institutions instead.

Prosecutors are seeking a fine of five million reais (€1.14 million).

He is also facing questions about allegations his ministry has blocked funds for the rebuilding of the national museum, which burned down in a fire in 2017.

This week’s protests and the administration’s combative reaction to them highlight the increasing political polarisation in Brazil.

The education cuts come against a background of a worsening economy with confirmation this week that during the first three months of the year it suffered its first quarterly contraction since 2016. </s> En el país de las desmesuras parece que todo es posible. Y parece que también es posible que en un acto por el 20 de junio en una escuela primaria se ice la bandera argentina junto a la cubana, que una maestra entone “Hasta siempre, comandante” y que se haga un minuto de silencio, con fanfarria incluida, en honor al Che. Todo esto pasó hace dos semanas en la escuela pública de gestión social N°2 de Resistencia, Chaco.



Acto por el Día de la Bandera en la escuela pública de gestión social N°2 de Resistencia, de Chaco.

El motivo de este acto tan particular fue la visita al colegio de Juan Martín Guevara, escritor de 76 años y hermano de Ernesto. Y todo esto se hizo frente a los chicos, formados, con uniforme rojo, y en un silencio reverencial que recuerda al clásico The Wall, de los británicos Pink Floyd de fines de los setenta.



Pero estamos en el siglo XXI y por lo insólitas que son, esas imágenes se multiplicaron en las redes sociales. El ministro de Educación Alejandro Finocchiaro salió a criticar duramente el acto, al que calificó de “aberración”. “El sistema educativo no puede contar con ninguna práctica ligada al adoctrinamiento”, dijo. Desde el otro rincón le contestaron que Guevara “es parte de la historia como San Martín o Belgrano”.



Acto por el Día de la Bandera en la escuela pública de gestión social N°2 de Resistencia, de Chaco.

La desmesura nos estaría nublando la vista a los adultos argentinos porque, más allá de la batalla ideológica que está por detrás y de la denuncia de "punteros" políticos que manejan escuelas, lo más importante que debiéramos preguntarnos, sobre todo padres y docentes de esos chicos, es qué aporta ese acto a su educación.

Estamos hablando de chicos que viven en un mundo en continuo cambio tecnológico y cultural, que de grandes seguramente trabajarán en empleos que hoy ni siquiera imaginamos. ¿No será más importante que aprendan a pensar en forma crítica, a encontrar respuestas a las nuevas preguntas, que sepan leer la diversidad de visiones sobre los temas, que comprendan la importancia del pensamiento científico?



Acto por el Día de la Bandera en la escuela pública de gestión social N°2 de Resistencia, de Chaco.

Claro que el Che Guevara puede y tiene que entrar a la escuela. Nadie dice lo contrario. Pero hay que estudiarlo con la mejor información, sobre el personaje y su época: que habilite a que los chicos hagan preguntas, cuestionen todos los relatos establecidos, que aprendan a aprender por sí mismos.

Acto por el Día de la Bandera en la escuela pública de gestión social N°2 de Resistencia, de Chaco.

Así como se lo encara en la escuela del Chaco, estaríamos atrasando un poquito.

Un antecedente a la salteña

A fines de 2017 la Corte Suprema se expidió sobre un debate que, en esencia, es muy similar al del Che. Fue en el caso de la educación religiosa y obligatoria en las escuelas públicas de Salta. Resulta que las leyes provinciales lo habilitaban y un grupo de padres no católicos fue a la Justicia por sentirse discriminados.



Debate sobre la libertad de pensamiento. Audiencia en la Corte, que decidió si las leyes de Salta sobre educación religiosa son constitucionales. Néstor García

Tras un largo debate, la Corte falló por la inconstitucionalidad de la norma salteña.

Todo se conecta. Nunca hay que perder de vista que la riqueza de la educación pública y gratuita en la Argentina sólo se puede dar si también se garantiza la libertad de creencias y pensamientos. </s> A pediatrician at a prestigious children's hospital in Argentina has been detained by authorities in Buenos Aires after being accused of producing and distributing child pornography.

They said that the doctor, identified in Argentine media as Ricardo Russo, 55, drew the attention of law enforcement agencies from various countries, including U.S. Homeland Security, who were conducting an investigation into a child pornography ring.

Investigators at Homeland Security and Brazilian police contacted Argentine officials to inform them that images and videos of children seemed to be coming from their country.

The Security Ministry said in a statement that police detained the doctor Tuesday at the Juan P. Garrahan children's hospital in Buenos Aires.

ARGENTINA LAWMAKER FIGHTS FOR LIFE AFTER SHOOTING

The doctor is accused of producing and distributing child pornography, including images of 6-month-old babies taken at the hospital.

Authorities said he works as head of the Garrahan hospital's immunology and rheumatology department. He could not be reached for comment despite calls to the hospital, the security ministry and other officials.

His LinkedIn page lists past places of employment as the University of Texas Southwestern/Dallas Children´s Hospital and at the University of Toronto/Hospital for Sick Kids from 1990 to 1992.

The Argentine hospital said he had been removed from his post.

A specialized prosecutor's unit in charge of the investigation said they found "photos and videos of minors between six months and 14 years of age engaged in explicit sexual activities" on two computers owned by the doctor.

HEALTH AND BEHAVIOR PROBLEMS CAN LINGER AFTER CHILD ABUSE

Authorities said they seized computers and other equipment when they raided dozens of homes, including the doctor's. So far, he is the only one who has been detained although officials said they expected to detain others in the case.

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"We got a report and carried out raids where we seized computers and flash drives," said the Buenos Aires city justice secretary, Marcelo D'Alessandro. "And we found convincing evidence that the children were being abused."

"We have no doubt about his guilt," D'Alessandro asserted, according to La Nacion. "At the city police department we feel satisfaction over having this monster off the street."

The Associated Press contributed to this report. </s> BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — One of the chief pediatricians at a respected children's hospital has been detained for allegedly producing and distributing child pornography, Argentine authorities said Wednesday.

The Security Ministry said in a statement that police detained the 55-year-old doctor Tuesday at the Juan P. Garrahan children's hospital in Buenos Aires. Officials said he was detained with help from the FBI and authorities in Brazil as part of a joint operation to break up a child pornography ring.

The doctor is accused of producing and distributing child pornography, including images of 6-month-old babies taken at the hospital.

The man's name was not disclosed, but authorities said he works as head of the Garrahan hospital's immunology and rheumatology department. He could not be reached for comment despite calls to the hospital, the security ministry and other officials.

The hospital said the doctor had been removed from his post. "The hospital community is mobilized and dismayed waiting for information to clear up what happened," a statement said.

A specialized prosecutor's unit in charge of the investigation said they found "photos and videos of minors between six months and 14 years of age engaged in explicit sexual activities" on two computers owned by the doctor.

Authorities said they seized computers and other equipment when they raided dozens of homes, including the doctor's. So far, he is the only one who has been detained although officials said they expected to detain others in the case.

"We got a report and carried out raids where we seized computers and flash drives," said the Buenos Aires city justice secretary, Marcelo D'Alessandro. "And we found convincing evidence that the children were being abused." </s> Tens of thousands of students and teachers from across Brazil have demonstrated in "defense of education" after spending freezes were announced by the government of far-right President Jair Bolsonaro.

 

 Classes at universities and colleges were suspended in Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Brasilia and 17 of the country's 27 states on Wednesday, local media reported. Government soldiers were seen guarding the Education Ministry in the capital, Brasilia.

Protesters said Education Minister Abraham Weintraub's decision to cut federal university subsidies by 30% would undermine the ability of universities to fulfill their mandate.

The Education Ministry also announced last week that it would suspend scholarship payments to postgraduate students in the sciences.

"Secondary school pupils, university students, researchers, teachers and other education employees will take to the streets in every state," the National Student Union (UNE) said ahead of the demonstrations.

Bolsonaro, who was attending an event in Dallas, Texas, called the protesters "useful idiots, imbeciles, who are being used as the maneuvering mass of a clever little minority who make up the nucleus of many federal universities in Brazil."

Bolsonaro fired Weintraub's predecessor, Ricardo Velez, in April after he vowed to stamp out "cultural Marxism" and gender-identity "ideology."

Every evening, DW sends out a selection of the day's news and features. Sign up here. </s> BUENOS AIRES, Argentina - One of the chief pediatricians at a respected children’s hospital has been detained for allegedly producing and distributing child pornography, Argentine authorities said Wednesday.

The Security Ministry said in a statement that police detained the 55-year-old doctor Tuesday at the Juan P. Garrahan children’s hospital in Buenos Aires. Officials said he was detained with help from the FBI and authorities in Brazil as part of a joint operation to break up a child pornography ring.

The doctor is accused of producing and distributing child pornography, including images of 6-month-old babies taken at the hospital.

The man’s name was not disclosed, but authorities said he works as head of the Garrahan hospital’s immunology and rheumatology department. He could not be reached for comment despite calls to the hospital, the security ministry and other officials.

The hospital said the doctor had been removed from his post. “The hospital community is mobilized and dismayed waiting for information to clear up what happened,” a statement said. </s> BUENOS AIRES, Argentina — Authorities in Argentina say they have detained one of the chief pediatricians at a respected children's hospital for allegedly producing and distributing child pornography.

The Security Ministry said in a statement Wednesday that police detained the 55-year-old doctor Tuesday at the Garrahan children's hospital in Buenos Aires.

The man's name has not been disclosed. He is accused of producing and distributing child pornography, including images of 6-month-old babies taken at the hospital.

Officials say the doctor was detained with help from the FBI and authorities in Brazil as part of a joint operation to break up a child pornography ring. </s> Blind to Cuban history, and blinkered by his late father’s fairy tales about Fidel Castro, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s statement on the death of the Cuban dictator was an embarrassment of international proportions.

He ignored the brutal truth about the man, dancing around it like a clown in a parade dodging horse droppings.

Today he is likely searching for his tattered Che Guevara T-shirt to wear in nostalgic homage.

“It was with deep sorrow that I learned today of the death of Cuba’s longest-serving president,” Trudeau said. “Fidel Castro was a larger than life leader who served his people for almost half a century.

“A legendary revolutionary and orator, Mr. Castro significant improvements to the education and healthcare of his island nation.

“While a controversial figure,” said Trudeau, “both Mr. Castro’s supporters and detractors recognized his tremendous dedication and love for the Cuban people who had a deep and lasting affection for ‘el Comandante.’” For a supposed world leader, this is revisionist history at its worst, and therefore shameful.

Perhaps our prime minister should read the Washington Post, and a piece regarding the 13 facts that, in a just world, would be “etched on Castro’s tombstone, and highlighted in every obituary, as a fitting metaphor for someone who used firing squads to murder thousands of his own people.” Among them, Castro turned his island nation into a Communist outpost of the Soviet Union, and almost caused a nuclear conflagration during the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962. Google it.

He forced almost 20% of his people into exile, leading to thousands losing their lives at sea while trying to make it to the safety of the Florida coast in crude boats.

He sponsored terrorism at every opportunity, and aligned himself with some of the worst dictators on the planet.

He condoned torture, and executions without trial.

The education system Trudeau lauded was actually a fraud, and was based on indoctrination as opposed to learning.

Castro built prisons at a rate that rivaled Stalin, and filled them to the brim with political prisoners and run-of-the-mill dissenters.

He persecuted gays and attempted to end religion, all while outlawing free enterprise and labour unions.

Yet Justin Trudeau eulogizes Castro as if he were benign, and some harmless old coot who ran out of time at the age of 90.

“I know my father was very proud to call (Castro) a friend, and I had the opportunity to meet Fidel when my father passed away,” Trudeau wrote in his statement.

“On behalf of all Canadians, Sophie and I offer our deepest condolences to family, friends and many, many supporters of Mr. Castro, (and) we join the people of Cuba today in mourning the loss of a remarkable leader.” This is so naïve that it defies credulity, yet these are nonetheless the precise words Trudeau put out.

One suspects that not “all” Canadians are mourning Castro’s death, nor remembering him as a “remarkable leader.” If “remarkable” means despotic and murderous then fine.

But that is not the definition Trudeau wants used.

It makes him look like a fool, and justifiably so. </s> Prime minister Viorica Dancila announced on Friday, August 2, that she decided to dismiss education minister Ecaterina Andronescu following a controversial remark the minister made on TV related to the kidnapping of a 15-year old girl. Culture minister Daniel Breaz is to be in charge of the education portfolio as well until a permanent minister is appointed.

Referring to the tragedy in Caracal, Ecaterina Andronescu said in a TV show that the 15-year-old who was presumably killed by her kidnapper after hitchhiking shouldn’t have gotten into the man’s car. “Still, my parents taught me not to get in a car with a stranger," she said in a talk show at Antena 3, according to local G4media.ro.

"For example, Alexandra – I looked into it at the School Inspectorate – was going to school, she had a (transport) subscription. What determined her to hitchhike? I think that we should, at the beginning of the school year, introduce a child protection system in all schools and teach them to protect themselves, to stay away from such situations. I learned this at home... I think that these things should also be repeated at school,” Andronescu elaborated in the TV show.

The prime minister reacted and decided on Friday to dismiss Ecaterina Andronescu “for deeply wrong statements made recently in a TV show.”

“These are statements that show Mrs. Andronescu’s lack of understanding - in particular, of the Caracal case and, in general, of how we should protect our children from kidnappings, aggression, abuse, and human trafficking. It is an irresponsible attitude, which does not reflect the Government's position,” Dancila wrote on her Facebook page.

Meanwhile, Ecaterina Andronescu said that she learned from the television that she was dismissed and that the PM did not inform her about this decision, according to Digi24.ro. She also tried to explain her statement, arguing that what she actually meant to say was that the school should teach children to protect themselves.

“My intention was to say that if parents do not tell them, we at school have an obligation to help children understand how to stay safe from criminals. We were planning to start a campaign in the fall, to educate them,” Andronescu said. “My intention was not to accuse Alexandra (e.n. the 15-year-old girl who was kidnapped and possibly killed in Caracal) or her parents. That’s not how I thought things, I’m not that kind of person.”

Ecaterina Andronescu is the second minister to leave the Romanian government in a single week, amid the scandal surrounding the tragedy in Caracal. The first to leave was interior minister Nicolae Moga, who decided to resign after only six days in office.

Alexandra Macesanu, 15, was kidnapped on July 24 after hitchhiking. Her abductor is a car mechanic from the town of Caracal, who also admitted to killing Alexandra and another girl who went missing in mid-April. However, nothing is certain so far, as the police haven’t found the two bodies. But the entire case triggered a big scandal after information about the authorities’ slow intervention started to surface.

Alexandra managed to call the emergency number 112 three times in the morning of July 25 but the police managed to locate the main suspect many hours later and searched his home only on Friday morning. The girl was not there when they broke into the house, but they found possible human remains in a barrel outside. Media reports said that the forensic anthropology analysis on the bones found in the barrel identified the remains as belonging to a girl between 12 and 17 years old. However, the analysis doesn’t say if the bones belong to Alexandra or not, and a DNA test expected next week is to clarify that.
Argentine Education Minister Alejandro Finocchiaro, who strongly condemned a school in Chaco Province for displaying a Cuban flag and displaying pictures of Che Guevara, says the school "has no supervision" and that they are "indoctrinating children with communism and totalitarian and populist governments". He also added in an interview on state TV that the school will be reviewed.