FreeToThink2021.pdf

SCHOLARS AT RISK (SAR) protects higher education communities from violent and coercive attacks, promoting academic freedom and evidence-based approaches. SAR's Free to Think 2021 report analyzes 332 attacks on higher education in 65 countries. In Brazil, President Bolsonaro has used executive powers to undermine university autonomy, and there have been legal actions and violence threatening higher education communities. Brazil's constitution and international law provide protections for academic freedom, but since 2018, academic freedom has come under pressure, with the Bolsonaro administration seeking to punish and control higher education institutions. Individual scholars and students have suffered attacks, threats, and harassment, and Brazilian state authorities have sought to punish scholars for their public expression.