Science is a war zone: some comments on Brazil

Monteiro, Marko

doi:10.1080/25729861.2019.1708606

Cited by 15 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 5 publications

(3 reference statements)

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“…This particularly holds for inclusion and gender. That insistence on autonomy is a double-edged sword is also argued by Monteiro (2020), who notes that in the current political climate, it may not be sufficient anymore to protect universities from powerful conservative political actors. Monteiro rather contends that in arguing for autonomy, universities need to rethink their responsibilities in how they respond to societal demands.…”

Section: Brazilmentioning

confidence: 93%

Overview of National Sociotechnical Imaginaries

Wittrock¹,

Forsberg

Pols

et al. 2020

Implementing Responsible Research and Innovation

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In this Chapter, we give an overview of national STI imaginaries by country. We provide information on policy structure and policy culture, and other aspects of national discourses and practices that are relevant to our study. Keywords Sociotechnical imaginaries • Responsible research and innovation • STI policy goals • STI framing • Administrative style • Public participation 7.1 Australia Characteristic of the Australian STI imaginary is that its science and innovation systems are relatively separate. There is the political ambition to move the innovation system towards a 'systems of innovation' model to strengthen the economy, but there is a lack of effective intermediaries, and of incentives for actors in the STI system to collaborate. Particular to this imaginary is attention to the inclusion of marginalised groups to increase their welfare and economic productivity. The STI system seems to be aligned with the 'science for society' model and an accompanying 'deficit model' of science communication. However, it is pushed in the direction of the 'systems of innovation' model by policy-makers intent on increasing publicprivate collaborations, and in the direction of the 'RRI model', because of attention to inclusion of marginalised groups and a realisation of the challenges this offers for non-localised research. These different directions are not necessarily in tension, as inclusion is also considered important in the innovation system. Another characteristic of the Australian STI imaginary is the reason for public distrust in science. While many nations struggle with this phenomenon, the reason given in various national reports is scientific contributions to controversial technologies, such as nuclear energy or GMOs. The Australia report (Sehic and Ashworth 2018) claims that it is rather because of scientific contributions to an economy based on the resource-intensive sectors of industrial agriculture and mineral extraction, in a country characterised by water scarcity and fragile ecosystems. Here, it is thus not so much the technologies themselves, but the fit of the technologies with the local environment that generates controversy. The history of this imaginary seems to be similar to that of many Western countries: after the Second World War, spurred on

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Section: Brazilmentioning

confidence: 93%

Overview of National Sociotechnical Imaginaries

Wittrock¹,

Forsberg

Pols

et al. 2020

Implementing Responsible Research and Innovation

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…However, the Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro, a far-right populist, has been ignoring scientific advice on Covid-19 and downplaying the seriousness of the pandemic to the point of beginning a political crisis by accusing state governors, mayors, and the media of hysteria, of exaggerating the coronavirus threat, and of taking measures that would seriously harm the country's economy. This is not the first time Bolsonaro shows disregard for science (Monteiro 2020). However, during the Covid-19 pandemic, the situation is even more pressing as his actions could result in thousands of deaths in the short term.…”

Section: Editorialmentioning

confidence: 94%

Ignoring scientific advice during the Covid-19 pandemic: Bolsonaro’s actions and discourse

Duarte

2020

Tapuya: Latin American Science, Technology and Society

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“…It is worth noting that attempts to disguise reality were already evident in Brazil's environmental policies. In 2019, the environment minister, Ricardo Salles, dismissed the head of the National Institute of Space Research, Ricardo Galvão, because Galvão had warned about increases in deforestation (Monteiro, 2020). A well-known scientist, later recognised by the journal Nature in its list of top scientists in 2019 (Tollefson, 2019), Galvão had complained about the federal government's policies and made visible the way scientific advice on environmental policy and deforestation data were being pushed aside for political and ideological reasons.…”

Section: Denialism and Simplification Of The Pandemicmentioning

confidence: 99%

Political discourse, denialism and leadership failure in Brazil’s response to COVID-19

Fonseca

Nattrass

Lázaro

et al. 2021

Global Public Health

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The COVID-19 pandemic posed challenges for healthcare systems and political leaders across the globe. In this case study of Brazil, we argue that leadership failings at the highest level contributed to Brazil's relatively high and escalating death rates during 2020. Drawing on an analysis of a large amount of textual documentation drawn from media reports, we emphasise the role and consequences of President Jair Bolsonaro's political discourse and prioritisation of the economy. We focus on the first wave that swept across the globe between January and late June of 2020, arguing that Bolsonaro underplayed the seriousness of the epidemic, leveraged misinformation as a political strategy, promoted pseudoscience, and undermined the Ministry of Health. He also confronted subnational governments for adopting lockdown measuresa move that enabled him to blame regional governors for the short-term economic costs of COVID-19 related restrictions. We suggest that his denialist approach to climate change paved the way for his subsequent denialism of the seriousness of COVID-19 and for his undermining of social distancing, mask-wearing and other preventative responses supported by science. These sobering findings highlight the role that national leaders can play in undermining scientific approaches to both public health and the environment.

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Science is a war zone: some comments on Brazil

Cited by 15 publications

References 5 publications

Overview of National Sociotechnical Imaginaries

Overview of National Sociotechnical Imaginaries

Ignoring scientific advice during the Covid-19 pandemic: Bolsonaro’s actions and discourse

Political discourse, denialism and leadership failure in Brazil’s response to COVID-19

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