Ministry of Education to Investigate University Course Called '2016's Coup'

02/23/2018 - 11h22

A subject called "the coup of 2016 and the future of democracy in Brazil", offered by the undergraduate political science course of UnB (University of Brasilia), triggered off a reaction from the Ministry of Education, which requested, on Thursday (22), an "administrative misconduct" investigation related to the course's creators.

The course is scheduled to start on March 5, taught by professor Luis Felipe Miguel, full professor of the Political Science Institute, and one of its goals is "to understand the fragility elements of the Brazilian political system which allowed the democratic rupture in May and August 2016, resulting in the ousting of President Dilma Rousseff [PT] ".

The subject also intends to analyze "the agenda of setbacks regarding rights and restrictions on freedom" under Michel Temer's (MDB) administration.

The Ministry had previously issued a note accusing the course creators of "political and ideological proselytism by means of a public institution".

UnB states that the subject is elective, not part of the course's mandatory curriculum. The University also stated that "academic units have autonomy to propose and approve content."

The professor responsible for the course published a note in social network websites stating that the contents of the course "are in line with clear values, such as freedom, democracy and social justice, without, however, waiving scientific rigor or adhering to any type of dogmatism."

Translated by ANA BEATRIZ DEMARIA

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