BRAZILIAN CULTURE WARS: A growing list of projects have been abruptly canceled under the far-right administration of President Jair Bolsonaro. Artists, newspaper columnists and prosecutors worry his cultural conservatism may lead to routine censorship.
Members of the Brazilian theater group Clowns of Shakespeare get ready for a performance in Bogota, Colombia, Saturday, Oct. 26, 2019. The troupe's play titled “Abrazo,” or Hug, is among the growing list of shows, plays, conferences and other artistic projects that have been abruptly canceled in Brazil since the nation's President Jair Bolsonaro took office Jan. 1, after the troupe talked politics with the audience during the show’s debut.
In July, he said he would “extinguish” the country’s National Cinema Agency were he not able to impose a “filter” on its production. “We’re not going to persecute anyone, but Brazil’s changed,” Bolsonaro said in a speech transmitted to a conservative gathering on Oct. 5. “With public money we won’t see certain types of works. That’s not censorship. That’s preserving Christian values, treating your youth with respect, recognizing families.”
In Bolsonaro, they found a powerful advocate. His open nostalgia for the military regime resonates with many Brazilians who, tired of endemic corruption and violence, remember that period as safer and more aligned with conservative values. More than 57 million people voted for Bolsonaro — 55 percent of voters.
Alvim sparked backlash in September for calling widely revered actress Fernanda Montenegro “sordid” on the eve of her 90th birthday. The actress had posed in a black robe, bound by a thick rope atop of a pile of open books, as if ready to be set afire. “Like the Crusaders, we are fighting barbarian invasions against the principles and values of our Judeo-Christian civilization,” Alvim said.
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