Brazil ministry to schools: recite Bolsonaro slogan

Brazil's Ministry of Education touched off an uproar by instructing school administrators to read a declaration to students ending with a campaign slogan used by President Jair Bolsonaro



(The Associated Press) Brazil's President Jair Bolsonaro, center, arrives at the National Congress to deliver a proposal to overhaul Brazil's pension system, in Brasilia, Brazil, Wednesday, Feb. 20, 2019. Lawmakers received this week an anti-crime bill and a proposal to overhaul Brazil's pension system, the government's flagship reform. (AP Photo/Lucio Tavora)...+


By ANNA JEAN KAISER Associated PressRIO DE JANEIRO — Feb 26, 2019 4:11 PM ET

Brazil's Ministry of Education touched off an uproar Tuesday by instructing school administrators to read a declaration to students ending with a campaign slogan used by President Jair Bolsonaro during last year's campaign.

Bolsonaro, a far-right former army captain who was elected in October, used the slogan "Brazil above everything, God above everyone."

In the instructions sent Monday night, the ministry also said students returning from summer vacation should sing the national anthem. And it asked school staff to film the students reciting the anthem and send the footage to the ministry even though as students as minors would need parental permission to be filmed.

. . .

"It shows a total lack of knowledge about education and Brazil's government that he instructed schools to recite a campaign slogan for a specific candidate," said Fernando Penna, an education professor at Fluminense Federal University. "They're using public power to spread a political message. It's shocking."

More:
https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/brazil-ministry-tells-students-recite-bolsonaro-slogan-61387971

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