Conectas condemns nazi references made by culture secretary

Nazi references insult the memory of thousands of people murdered by the Nazi regime

Nazi references and the quoting of Joseph Goebbels, the Minister of Propaganda under Adolf Hitler, are deplorable and unacceptable, as well as an insult to the memory of the thousands of people murdered by the Nazi regime and an offense to Brazilian Jews. President Jair Bolsonaro must urgently dismiss Roberto Alvim, as already recommended by the speaker of the Lower House of Congress, Rodrigo Maia.

According to Alvim, the government is pursuing a “culture that is dynamic, but at the same time rooted in the nobility of our founding myths: the fatherland, the family, the courage of the people and their deep connection to God underpin our actions in the creation of public policies. The virtues of faith, loyalty, self-sacrifice and the fight against evil will be raised to the sacred territory of art.”

The official announcement of the submission of cultural policy to religious values is another incident in which the government demonstrates contempt for the principle of the Secular State guaranteed by the Brazilian Constitution.

The right to culture, enshrined in article 22 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, is a fundamental condition for a democracy. The Bolsonaro government has attacked artistic freedom on several different occasions. Stifling culture is a form of weakening democracy.