Lula’s GT uses attacks on schools to promote leftist agendas

With several left-wing expressions such as “hate speech”, “combating misinformation” and “historically vulnerable groups”, the report of the working group created by Lula to deal with violence in schools takes advantage of the discussion about the attacks to reinforce leftist agendas. . The document emphasizes disarmament and addresses increased monitoring of social networks and actions to “support diversity” as possible solutions. In addition to curious prevention guidelines, such as strengthening the teaching of philosophy and sociology to promote critical thinking in schools.

Still in the transition, in December 2022, the Lula government received a report prepared by a private group on violence in schools. The group’s document is entitled “Right-wing extremism among adolescents and young people in Brazil: attacks on schools and alternatives for government action”, associating neo-Nazi movements with right-wing extremists. But it was only after the attack on the Thomazia Montoro State School, in March this year, that the government decided to create an interministerial working group to dedicate itself to the issue, led by the Ministry of Education.

The expert opinion of the GT, released by the MEC last Friday (3), recovers several ideas brought from the document delivered during the transition. Among them, the idea of ​​promoting peace through the implementation of “strict control over the sale, possession and use of firearms and ammunition” and developing actions to monitor shooting clubs, prohibiting access by children and teenagers to the site.

Of the 37 attacks recorded in Brazil from 2002 to October 2023, 16 of them were carried out with firearms, 16 with bladed weapons and the rest with other types of weapons such as explosives. The document points out that situations in which firearms were used left more people dead. At the same time, there is no mention of the origin of the weapons used in the crime, whether there were records, whether they were military or illegal. Civil disarmament would not prevent access by young people to illegal weapons or by military personnel.

Accountability of digital platforms and support for diversity

The proposals also consider “holding digital platforms responsible for the circulation of extremist and illegal content” and “people who share videos of attacks and information about the perpetrators”. This accountability of platforms reinforces bills such as the Fake News Bill, which aims to prevent misinformation and hate speech. However, the text does not define what would be considered disinformation and leaves room for censorship.

One of the topics is actions to support diversity and combat hate. Among the suggestions is encouraging the participation of children and adolescents in the democratic management of schools. In addition to considering the intellectual capacity of children to contribute to school management, the document reinforces that the presence of children from “historically vulnerable social groups” such as “blacks, girls and LBTQIA+” is prioritized.

Another desire is to guarantee the formation of “combating extremism”, considering “sexism and LBTGQIA+phobia as structuring agendas of violence”. For prevention, there are ideas such as strengthening the teaching of subjects such as philosophy and sociology to promote critical thinking. Another suggestion was critical media education, which aims to combat “misinformation” and “scientific denialism”.

80% of attacks occurred in public schools

There is a lot of similarity in the profile of young people who commit these crimes. In all cases, the crime was committed by men and motivated by extreme violence online community or desire for revenge. The boys seek notoriety which, among the group, is associated with the number of deaths carried out during the attacks. Several of them are associated with fascist and Nazi ideologies. In several seizures carried out after the attacks, materials with Nazi symbols and content were found.

There were 49 deaths and 115 people injured in attacks recorded from 2002 to October 2023. If in 2021 there were two attacks on schools, in 2022 the number more than tripled, reaching seven. From January to October 2023, there were 16 attacks, twice the number that occurred in the previous year. Public schools were the scene for 80% of crimes, with the rest being private.