The event remarkably embodies a one-sided set of views that is unrepresentative of and insensitive to the complexity of recent Brazilian politics. By presenting the Operação Lava Jato (Car Wash Operation) as paradigmatic of “institutional-building, governance and compliance” in Brazil the event implicitly embraces a narrative that contributed to the impeachment. Contrary to what is attempted by the event the Operação Lava Jato cannot be dissociated from the impeachment of the democratically elected president Dilma Rousseff in August 2016 and its consequences. Rousseff’s ousting, considered by many to be an institutional coup, remains a highly controversial and divisive issue, and it has inaugurated a profound democratic crisis with no solution in sight. Furthermore, the event fails to address the subsequent rise to power of a government which has been systematically undermining civil and social rights, putting in place an unprecedented rigid austerity agenda, and whose members were cited in plea bargains and are accused of trying to stop corruption investigations.
This event uncritically and controversially invites protagonists from the ongoing democratic crises in Brazil. Above all, the event naively assumes that representatives of the Brazilian Judiciary, embroiled in highly partisan disputes, are speaking from an uncontested and neutral perspective. Some of the speakers have been prominent agents in the selective prosecution of center-left politicians for corrupt practices that are actually widespread across the Brazilian political spectrum.
For these reasons, members of The New School community raised these concerns to the event organizers, urging that changes be made to the program to reflect the actual complexity of the situation. It was exhaustively emphasized that anyone familiar with recent events in Brazilian politics would be unable to ignore, in flagrant contrast to its purported scholarly neutrality, the blatant partisanship of the event.
With the support from members of The New School community and of the New School sponsors of the event, we presented a number of requests to the organizers on February 3, 2017. Our most basic request was denied: the organizers emphatically rejected the possibility of adding a statement acknowledging that the topic is controversial and that not all voices are represented in the event. This denial happened, additionally and surprisingly, in spite of the fact that similar concerns were brought to the organizers’ attention from within Columbia University and elsewhere. Beyond the implications of misinforming an academic audience about the current political situation in Brazil, the structuring of this event diverges from important core values embraced by The New School such as the struggle for democracy and social justice, the need for critical thinking at all times, and the necessity of representative – even, especially, dissenting – voices to be heard. Democracy is delicately at stake everywhere around the world, and our mission, especially in these tempestuous global-political times, is to protect it in all places. Any attempt to undermine these values shall not go unchallenged here.
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Nós, abaixo assinados alunos, ex-alunos, funcionários e professores da The New School, escrevemos para expressar nossa profunda desaprovação ao evento "Institution-building, Governance and Compliance in Brazil: Politics, Policy and Business" coorganizado pela Columbia University e The New School nos dias 6 e 7 de fevereiro de 2017.
O evento incorpora notavelmente um conjunto unilateral de visões, insensível e não representativo da complexidade política brasileira recente. Ao apresentar a Operação Lava Jato como paradigmática de "construção institucional, governança e conformidade" no Brasil, o evento abraça implicitamente uma narrativa que contribuiu para o impeachment. Ao contrário do que o evento tenta propor, a Operação Lava Jato não pode ser dissociada do impeachment da presidente democraticamente eleita Dilma Rousseff em agosto de 2016 e de suas consequências. O impeachment de Rousseff, considerado por muitos como um golpe institucional, continua a ser uma questão altamente controversa e divisória, e inaugurou uma profunda crise democrática sem solução à vista. Além disso, o evento não aborda a subsequente ascensão ao poder de um governo que tem sistematicamente minado os direitos civis e sociais, ao estabelecer uma agenda de austeridade rígida sem precedentes e cujos membros foram citados em delações premiadas e são acusados de tentar frear com as investigações de corrupção.
Este evento convida acriticamente e controversamente os protagonistas da crise democrática em curso no Brasil. Acima de tudo, o evento assume ingenuamente que os representantes do Judiciário brasileiro, envolvidos em disputas altamente partidárias, estão falando de uma perspectiva incontestável e neutra. Alguns dos palestrantes têm sido agentes proeminentes no processo seletivo de políticos de centro-esquerda por práticas corruptas que, na verdade, estão espalhadas pelo espectro político brasileiro.
Por essas razões, os membros da comunidade da The New School levantaram essas preocupações para os organizadores do evento, pedindo que sejam feitas mudanças no programa para refletir a real complexidade da situação. Foi enfatizado exaustivamente que qualquer pessoa familiarizada com os recentes acontecimentos políticos no Brasil seria incapaz de ignorar, em claro contraste com sua pretendida neutralidade acadêmica, o partidarismo flagrante do evento.
Com o apoio de membros da comunidade e dos patrocinadores do evento da The New School, apresentamos uma série de pedidos aos organizadores em 3 de fevereiro de 2017. Nosso pedido mais básico foi negado: os organizadores rejeitaram enfaticamente a possibilidade de adicionar uma declaração reconhecendo que o tema é controverso e que nem todas as vozes estão representadas no evento. Essa rejeição aconteceu, surpreendentemente, apesar do fato de preocupações semelhantes terem sido trazidas à atenção dos organizadores da Columbia University e de outros lugares.
Além das implicações de desinformar um público acadêmico sobre a atual situação política no Brasil, a estruturação desse evento diverge de importantes valores fundamentais adotados pela The New School, como a luta pela democracia e justiça social, a necessidade de pensamento crítico em todos os momentos, e a necessidade de ouvir e dar espaço a vozes representativas – e sobretudo dissidentes.
A democracia está delicadamente em jogo em todo o mundo, e nossa missão, especialmente nestes tempestuosos tempos político-globais, é protegê-la em todos os lugares. Qualquer tentativa de enfraquecer esses valores não passará sem ser contestada.
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