Brazil minister says Bolsonaro destroyed country's cultural policies
By:Reuters
Published: Feb 8, 2023, 15:53 CST•1min read
BRASILIA (Reuters) – Brazil’s former far-right president dismantled all government cultural programs and blocked funding for institutions and artists, the country’s new Culture Minister Margareth Menezes said on Wednesday.
Menezes, a popular singer from Bahia, was picked by President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva to head the newly restored ministry that had been shut down by his predecessor, Jair Bolsonaro, who reduced it to an office of the tourism ministry.
“He doesn’t like culture,” Menezes said of Bolsonaro at a news conference. “My mission is to rebuild the ministry and cultural policies that were destroyed,” she said.
Artists were considered “outlaws” by Bolsonaro, she said, and his government defunded not just cultural programs but institutions that look after Brazil’s historic buildings and cultural heritage.
Menezes, who toured with musician David Byrne in 1990, said Lula has assigned “generous” resources to get cultural programs up and running again.
More:
https://www.fxempire.com/news/article/brazil-minister-says-bolsonaro-destroyed-countrys-cultural-policies-1278895
David Byrne & Margareth Menezes - Make Believe Mambo - 1989
David Byrne & Margareth Menezes - Loco de Amor (Saturday Night Live)
1989
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