The outcome of one of the fiercest and most polarized disputes in Brazilian history has brought relief to the progressive camp. After contending with Bolsonaro, who promoted violence and ignored the arts, and witnessing the dismantling of tools designed to foster cultural production, Brazilians see an opportunity for redemption with the election of former president Lula da Silva.
After the ballots were counted, C&AL spoke with artists and producers to hear more about their expectations for the new Brazil set to begin in January 2023.
A voice for Brazil’s cultural multiplicities
“Lula’s election has restored hope. The speech he made shortly after his victory showed that he remains a president who is aware of the importance of education, the fight against racism and hunger, the inclusion of minorities, environmental protection, and access to culture for all Brazilian people.
There’s a lot to be rebuilt after the coup and four years of [Bolsonaro’s] tragic administration. What I expect from Lula’s government is a return to the demarcation of indigenous lands and the titling of quilombola territories, a government that values family farming, that gives us back our Ministry of Culture, since in the previous administration the ministry was extinguished.
The cultural sector employs a lot of people, and these workers need to be respected and treated with dignity, like any other worker.
It’s important that we have access to the cultural production of Brazil, which is a country with multiple viewpoints, and it’s important that this multiplicity has a voice. I’m hopeful that we will go back to valuing the government funded Pontos de Cultura projects and other strategies for distributing resources, so they aren’t always concentrated in the same hands. Let’s see what this large and diverse Brazil has to produce, a country made up of so many worlds that have been denied so many rights and imposed so much violence, but which now finally has hope again”.
Aline Baiana, artist