April 21, 2022

14:04

Diovana Rodrigues – From Cenarium Magazine

MANAUS – Amazonian artists interviewed by CENARIUM reacted with repudiation to the controversy involving statements by the then-secretary of Culture Promotion of the federal government, André Porciuncula, encouraging the use of funds, more exactly R $ 1.2 billion, for the production of audiovisual content such as documentaries, podcasts, webseries and fimes whose main theme is the arming of ordinary citizens.

In a video revealed by Agência Pública, recorded during the National Pro-Gun Convention, Porciuncula, who held the number two position in the portfolio commanded by the then secretary Mário Frias (who resigned this month to run for the elections), reveals the reason that led him to make the proposal: “For what? To bring up the armament issue within an imaginary discourse. To bring films about weapons, the importance of weapons for civilization, the importance of weapons to guarantee human freedom.

Porciuncula also corroborates that “it is not a question of weapons, it is a question of freedom. Because a firearm is not only for fighting common criminality. It is more than that. It is the criminality of the state. We need to build a narrative that goes far beyond the gun to fight the ‘little bandit’ on the corner. We need to understand the firearm as a process that guarantees civilization.

Lucilene Castro, theater actress and samba performer, says that this kind of issue shouldn’t even exist. “I believe that the federal government creates these polemics to divert the focus from the many other existing and urgent agendas that we are experiencing, such as, for example, the various scandals involving the upper echelons (viagra purchases, dealings in the corridors of the Ministry of Education),” analyzes the singer, who has a 25-year career.

Questioned about the possible interference of the cultural sector in the incentive to firearms, Lucilene remembered the attacks that the workers of culture have been suffering repeatedly. “The most recent was the president’s veto to the Paulo Gustavo Law, even though we believe that this veto will fall. Therefore, this directing of funds is one more media action by the government to demoralize the artistic class.

The Paulo Gustavo Law, created in order to minimize the consequences of the pandemic, also known as Complementary Law (PLP) 73/21, proposed the amount of R$ 3.8 billion to help the sector’s operation return, fulfilling the constitutional requirements for extraordinary credits. But earlier this month, it was vetoed by the President of the Republic, Jair Bolsonaro (PL).

Michelle Andrews, cultural producer, one of the founders of the Diffusion Collective and pre-candidate for a seat in the House of Representatives with the collective candidacy of the “Bancada das Manas”, by PCdoB, classifies the current government as “anti-culture”.

“The culture segment was the most affected because of the Covid-19 pandemic, and all the initiatives to support and stimulate the sector were resisted by this government. We know that the Bolsonaro government is anti-culture. The blocking of different forms of expression and critical thinking is one of the main components of Bolsonarism,” says the activist.

Guns as a denial of politics

Michelle also states that promoting the use of firearms in any circumstance represents, in itself, a denial of politics. “Our greatest weapon is our identity, our cultural manifestation through our music, dances and all kinds of works. Preaching the use of guns is indirectly a threat to our free cultural expression. It is the opposite extreme”, she defends.

Taciano Soares, doctor in Scenic Arts and master in Culture and Society, stage artist, director, producer and cultural manager, points to the unconstitutional aspect of the secretary’s statements. “In fact, this fomentation statement denotes what we have already seen in the last four years of this federal government, a total lack of commitment to the fulfillment of the legislation and the Federal Constitution, regarding the effective investment in culture and, mainly, in the creation of conditions of access of the population to cultural goods”, he said.

Taciano, who was executive secretary of Culture of the State of Amazonas during 2018, says that the government does not prioritize cultural making. “Culture as a right has never been a priority of this government. When you displace a resource from a portfolio, when you decreased from Ministry of Culture to Special Secretariat of Culture and put it linked to another Ministry, nothing has been done as a result of a retaliation or even a resumption to the size that was the portfolio of culture in recent years,” he points out.

For him, the funding for armaments “is illegal and unconstitutional. It doesn’t distinguish who is capable, who has real conditions, mainly, the need to have access to this armament and to this investment. It is a way of turning our social, economic, and political crises into a crisis that can be compared to a civil war, a faction war, where the population is increasingly harassed.

Impact on Amazonas

For Michelle Andrews, Amazonas is affected by this incentive to the use of weapons, since the measure does not favor or value a diverse and inclusive culture, focusing on some topics and vetoing others.

“It is also a way to hide that, in the specific case of Amazonas, 50% of the population is in poverty, most of them are informal and undernourished. We have alarming social indexes such as the increase in the number of murders, teenage pregnancy, deforestation, and conflicts in the countryside. Problems that this policy, besides ignoring, contributes to worsen”, she defends.

Taciano Soares affirms that such measures affect, directly, the professional scenario in the cultural market of the Amazon. “It shows more and more a fragility in the contracts and working conditions of culture, hoping that new times can happen and that the cultural policies can be effectively implemented again”, he concludes.