Lula calls Bolsonaro “bitch” at a university event in Paraná

The president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva (PT) was in Foz do Iguaçu (PR) this Tuesday (4) announcing the resumption of work on the campus of the Federal University of Latin American Integration (Unila). Investments in the works add up to R$ 600 million, with funds coming from Itaipu Binacional, and the deadline for completion is three years. At the event, Lula cited Fidel Castro as an inspiration for the creation of the university and called former president Jair Bolsonaro a “bitch”.

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Construction financing by Itaipu Binacional was signed in an agreement between the plant’s management, Unila and the Ministry of Education. Work on the first phase of the campus has been paralyzed since 2014 and, according to official measurements, around 60% of the work still needs to be done.

At this stage, the 18 floors of the main building, the restaurant and the classroom block will be built. A second phase, which includes a theater, laboratories and library, is not contemplated in this agreement and does not yet have a start date. The Minister of Education, Camilo Santana, said that he expected the Unila works to be delivered “while still in the Lula Government”.

Inspiration in Cuba and attacks on Bolsonaro

Lula recalled that in 2010 he gave the inaugural class at Unila and stated that for a long time “the economic elite that ran this country did not like people to study”. The president also cited a letter he allegedly received from Cuban dictator Fidel Castro offering free places for Brazilian students at universities in Cuba as inspiration for the creation of the federal institution in Foz do Iguaçu.

“I kept thinking, if this small country can do that, offer free places to different countries in Latin America and Africa, why can’t we do that? Brazil is not a poor country. The people are poor, the country is rich and it has extraordinary potential. That’s why I made the decision to create Unila. There’s nothing cheaper than investing in training a young person. Any money we put into Education is worth it, because it’s an investment”, he said.

Lula took advantage of the event to criticize the management of Jair Bolsonaro (PL) saying that Brazil “had a citizen who was president, the other day, who lied 11 times a day”. “He lied, he distilled hatred, lies, offenses every day. He didn’t like women, he didn’t like workers, he didn’t like blacks, he didn’t like Indians. He didn’t like the Amazon rainforest, he didn’t like anyone. It was him and his people I was a union leader for a long time, and I’ve never seen so much hatred established in this country as I’ve seen in recent years,” he declared.

At the end of the speech, Lula asked young people to become more involved in politics, saying that Unila “is the revolution I want for a more politicized Latin America”, and also directly attacked the former president. “You young people are induced not to like politics. ‘Oh, I don’t like politics because politicians are all thieves, politicians are all corrupt.’ of politics, but they need to like politics”, he added.

Unila “transformed minds and hearts”, says mayor of Foz do Iguaçu

In his speech, the mayor of Foz do Iguaçu, brazilian boy (PSD) thanked the investments and said that Unila “transformed the minds and hearts, the entire lives of many people in the border region”. “When the pandemic advanced and we no longer had doctors to hire, when we most needed health professionals, the first class of Medicine at Unila was formed. It was these recent graduates who went to the front line to fight Covid and save thousands of lives”, added the mayor.

The budget for the work had to be readjusted

The approximately R$ 800 million estimated by Unila for the completion of the campus exactly as it appears in the original project, however, was not a plausible amount, considers Verri. The project needed to be adapted to reach a more modest budget. “With adaptation, it will be possible to arrive at a slightly better cost-benefit value. Eight hundred million reais, without a doubt, is (an amount) very high”, estimated the general director.

Itaipu properties will be auctioned to fund affordable housing

Lula and Verri also confirmed investments by Itaipu in the construction of around 250 affordable housing in Foz do Iguaçu. The resources for these works will come in part from the City Hall of Foz do Iguaçu. The remainder will be contributed by the plant’s management, and originates from a public auction of 48 properties owned by Itaipu – the expectation is that bids, added, will reach around R$ 26 million.

According to Verri, there are even more homes to be auctioned. The properties were occupied by workers during the construction of the Itaipu Binacional dam. “Due to the real estate speculation that Foz do Iguaçu is experiencing, our expectation is that in this first stage it will be enough to build 250 affordable housing. general of the plant.

Possession of dean and investments in schools

At the event, Lula swore in professor Diana Araujo Pereira as rector of Unila. She was elected by the university community and appointed on June 14 for a four-year term. Pereira has been a professor at Unila since 2010, graduated in Portuguese-Spanish at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), with a master’s, doctorate and postdoctoral degree at the same institution. She is one of the first professors at Unila, and was involved in the creation of the university’s first undergraduate courses.

In addition to the inauguration of the new dean and the Unila works, designed by the architect Oscar Niemeyer, who died in December 2012, Lula also confirmed the transfer of over R$ 17 million for the purchase of equipment and furniture for 278 schools in the western region of Paraná . The agreement signed between the plant and the State Department of Education of Paraná (Seed-PR), which will be responsible for purchasing the materials, is valid for 12 months.