Interim President Suspends Funding of Event with Rousseff

05/20/2016 - 10h38

On Thursday, May 19, the Michel Temer interim administration suspended the Caixa Econômica Federal funding of an event promoted by bloggers and activists who are against the impeachment of suspended President Dilma Rousseff.

The funding by Caixa Econômica Federal, a state-owned company, had been authorized by the PT administration in March and amounted to R$ 100,000 (US$ 27,700), according to a publication in the federal government's official gazette.

The event is called the 5th National Meeting of Bloggers and Digital activists, and will be held from Friday, May 20 to Sunday, May 22, in Belo Horizonte (MG). Rousseff has confirmed that she will be present on the opening night on Friday.

The event's agenda stresses that it will discuss "the defense of democracy" and the "fight against the media coup." The event also will be attended by leftist bloggers.

Michel Temer's interim administration justified its decision to suspend the funding by stating that it intends to reorganize the new administration's media strategies, which also aim to reevaluate all the publicity contracts signed by the Rousseff administration with the press, traditional and websites and blogs aligned with the PT administration.

Temer has requested all ministries to send him their media plans, which will be scrutinized.

Folha has learnt that all the funds aimed to the media area have already been assigned. The total amount has not been disclosed.

Secom (the Brazilian Secretariat of Social Communication) alone, for example, had a total budget of R$ 252 million (US$ 70 million) to be spent in institutional publicity this year.

Translated by THOMAS MUELLO

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