Legislators Seek to Annul ex-Minister Weintraub’s Revocation of Quotas Ordinance

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Legislators will seek to render ineffective the measure taken a day before his resignation by the ex-Minister of Education, Abraham Weintraub, which ended the creation of quotas for blacks, indigenous and disabled people in graduate degree courses at federal educational institutions. At least two bills to annul this measure were submitted on Thursday, June 18th, one in the Chamber of Deputies and another in the Senate.

Certain of his resignation from the government, Weintraub revoked an ordinance on the reservation of places. According to data from the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE) from 2015, blacks represented 28.9 percent of post-graduate students, although they represented 52.9 percent of the population at the time.

The quota ordinance Weintraub revoked was issued in May 2016, signed by the ex-Minister of Education Aloizio Mercadante, under the administration of President Dilma Rousseff. The rule determined that universities must establish rules for inclusive actions in graduate school degree programs.

Deputy Tabata Amaral was among those who submitted a petition to suspend the ex-Minister’s initiative. “The Minister of Ignorance, Weintraub, revoked the ordinance on racial quota policies in graduate studies programs. The quotas, in addition to promoting social justice, have proven academic results. We will not allow retrogressions. I am submitting a bill to suspend this action,” she wrote on Twitter.

The Cidadania party leadership in the Senate also reported that it has submitted a bill with the same goal. Formerly an ally of President Jair Bolsonaro, Deputy Alexandre Frota wrote on Twitter that Weintraub was “messing around upon leaving”. “Covertly, he revoked an ordinance that provided for the inclusion of indigenous, mixed-race, blacks and people with disabilities for postgraduate programs at federal universities. Let’s fight this.”

The executive president of ‘Todos Pela Educação’ (All for Education), Priscila Cruz, described the measure as ‘destruction’. “He is leaving with further destruction. Unfortunately, it’s not surprising. This group in charge of the Ministry of Education will not get the pardon of history,” she wrote on Twitter.

Questioned, the Ministry of Education said Brazil’s legislation only requires the granting of quotas and affirmative action for undergraduate degree courses. Jair Bolsonaro’s government is opposed to affirmative action.

Resignation

Weintraub’s departure from Education was a certainty in the government. The Minister himself had been sharing and liking supporters tweets on social media in a farewell note. The national Secretary of Literacy, Carlos Nadalim, is listed to take over the portfolio. Like Weintraub, Nadalim is a follower of Bolsonarist guru Olavo de Carvalho and an advocate of homeschooling.

In building a “trauma-free” exit, the Minister of Education, pressured by his attacks on the Federal Supreme Court (STF), has managed leave his post at his own request. On Thursday, June 18th, economist Weintraub was nominated to a director position at the World Bank.

Source: Estadão Conteúdo

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