A-Infos (en) Brazil, OASL: For the overthrow of the new High School, now! (ca, de, it, pt, tr)[machine translation]

Soon after the 2016 legal-parliamentary coup, President Michel Temer proceeded 
with the so-called High School Reform. This project, which was a major attack on 
public education, was articulated by foundations, liberal institutes and 
organizations linked to big business and, many of these, economically associated 
with the US imperialists. ---- In response, in the same year, students resorted 
to direct action and occupied schools across the country to resist these changes. 
State governments responded with intense police repression, and right-wing 
organizations such as Movimento Brasil Livre (MBL) carried out attacks to 
forcibly vacate schools. Unfortunately, the reaction movement was stronger and 
the Reform was approved with Law 13.415/2017.

In this year of 2023, the New Secondary School was implemented across the 
country. As an impact, we observed a reduction in public schools of all 
components such as Portuguese, Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Mathematics, Physical 
Education, History, Geography, Philosophy, Sociology and Arts. In its place, 
"training itineraries" and "elective subjects" were inserted, such as "Brigadeiro 
Caseiro", "Mundo Pets SA", "Arte de Morar", "Projeto de Vida" etc.

The immediate results of the reform can already be felt in the daily lives of 
public school educators and students. The reform disorganized the school, 
intensified the fragmentation of teaching work and substantially worsened the 
quality of public education. At the same time, it deepened the already existing 
social inequalities, since in the most expensive private schools, "complete" 
secondary education will be available to students from families that can pay high 
tuition fees. The reform also opened the door to more privatization and 
normalized the precarious "Distance Learning", which is already being offered in 
some public schools in the country (and advanced during the Covid-19 pandemic), 
through recorded classes and provided by private universities.

The objectives of the "New Secondary School" are very clear. Big capital and its 
defenders in the country - with the false discourse of "modernization" of 
education - are imposing an even more precarious model of education for the 
poorest, which aims to evade what was most critical in the curriculum and empty 
training required for access to higher education or specialized technical careers.

In addition, the reform has material interests, by strengthening through 
education a neoliberal subjectivity, of a student with fragmented ideas, from 
shallow disciplines, without the basic components of understanding reality and 
with precarious formations, which are in accordance with the process of 
precariousness and uberization offered by the big capitalists. In São Paulo, the 
material used as curriculum guidance for teachers is sponsored by iFood; in Mato 
Grosso, the development of the New Secondary School has been carried out, in a 
way, by the management of the S System (mainly by Sesi and Senai), in addition to 
having as a mandatory use the Plurall application, from Somos Educação, a giant 
in the sector that brings together several publishers and private schools.

As an argument, the big capitalists and their allies promise that this reform 
gives "freedom of choice" to the student and provides professional and 
entrepreneurial qualification to the student. But the reality is the imposition 
of training that is increasingly adequate to a world of precarious, outsourced 
work without rights.

Break with illusions: the reform must be revoked by popular struggle

The moderate and reformist left hopes that some action will be taken by President 
Lula, but let's be realistic: a large part of the members of the new government 
are in favor of the Reform, starting with vice-president Geraldo Alckmin himself. 
In addition, the Ministry of Education is fully equipped by the same entities 
that prepared this project, especially the Todos Pela Educação group - which has 
Ifood, Gol, Volkswagen and Bradesco and Itaú banks among its supporters. From the 
government transition team, we could observe the presence of big names in 
neoliberal education guiding the educational policy of the current Lula 
government. Despite the increase in the education category wage floor by the 
federal government, state governments simply do not meet the floor. In some 
states, such as Rio de Janeiro, it has been more than 8 years without a salary 
increase for state network professionals. In popular movements and unions (mainly 
those in education) we need to point to an immediate repeal of the New Secondary 
School and not accept any position that proposes to "soften" its impacts.

We understand that only the direct struggle in the streets will be able to build 
the necessary force for the repeal of the new Secondary School. It is through 
strikes, occupations and demonstrations that we can exert the necessary pressure 
to overthrow this Reform and advance towards a truly popular education. This 
struggle must go hand in hand with mobilization to ensure compliance with the 
national wage floor in education, wage readjustment for the category and an end 
to precarious forms of outsourcing in schools.

In our revolutionary horizon, we understand that this education must contemplate 
not only better conditions of work and study in the immediate plan, but in the 
profound change of social relations, placing the school under the control of its 
workers, discussing the role of education in a new society and pointing out 
towards a horizon where there is no longer any form of exploitation or oppression 
of any kind.

Coletivo Mineiro Popular Anarchista (COMPA)
Anarchist Federation of Rio de Janeiro (FARJ)
Libertarian Socialist Anarchist Organization (OASL)
Libertarian Swoop (RL)

https://anarquismosp.wordpress.com/2023/03/07/pela-derrubada-do-novo-ensino-medio-ja/
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