Law prohibits the use of neutral language in schools in BH – 04/24/2023 – Daily life

The Belo Horizonte City Council approved this Monday (24th) in a second round, by 33 votes to 7, a bill that prohibits the use of neutral language in public and private schools in the capital of Minas Gerais. The House has 41 councillors.

The proposal was presented in 2021 by the then Bolsonarist councilor Nikolas Ferreira, at the time in the PRTB and today a federal deputy for the PL. Combating neutral language is one of the main flags of Bolsonarism, which sees the issue as an agenda for leftist parties and movements.

Neutral language aims to define a form of treatment for non-binary, gender-fluid or transgender people. In it, the word “todos” could be transformed into “todes”, for example, as a way to avoid the generic masculine.

In justifying the text approved this Monday, the then councilor stated that the neutral language meets a specific ideological agenda that tries to segregate people even more, and that this did not contribute to the student’s development.

Councilor Cida Falabella (PSOL), who voted against the project, said the text is unconstitutional and does not contribute to educational policies. “It only serves as propaganda for the Bolsonarist cultural melting pot, which has placed the persecution of transgender people and gender dissidents as its main target”, she argued.

The president of the Chamber, Gabriel Azevedo (without party), said that he maintains the position of the time of the passage of the text in the Commission of Legislation and Justice. According to the regiment, the head of the municipal Legislative Power of Belo Horizonte does not vote in the appreciation of texts.

For the alderman, the definition of education guidelines is the responsibility of the federal government.

The director of SindRede, the union of teachers in the municipal education network of Belo Horizonte, Cristiane Nunes de Oliveira, claims that the text is an attack on the rights of minorities. “The ban on the use of neutral language in schools primarily affects the LGBTQIA+ community,” she points out.