Open Space – The Science of Beyond Denial

Over the past two years, the flag has achieved a prominent position in the national media, making headlines and social networks. Two reasons contribute to this: its recognition as a key factor in the fight against the epidemic caused by SARSCoV-2; Depriving government office holders and those who follow them.

This hostility has imposed on us willful lethargy in the face of the dangerous epidemic we are facing, resulting in the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people, even as scientists work to produce vaccines to counter the Corona virus.

Within about a year, the large-scale production of the coveted panacea became possible. At the same time, the alternate chief governor sought to diminish, if not fight, the champion of science, devalue public universities and impose budget cuts on research funding agencies, acting against the logic of reason.

First, it denied the seriousness of the epidemic, then indicated ineffective solutions, gave examples of what not to do, and finally, posed significant obstacles to solving the problem, namely, mass immunization of the population.

The result, in addition to the deaths, revealed to the rest of the world the ignorance, incompetence and neglect of Brazilians. To reverse this catastrophe involving the management of science and innovation, we will have to go back to the fifties of the last century, when Brazil, recognizing the pioneering role of education and research for civilizational development and the scope of national sovereignty, laid the foundation for the possession of highly qualified professionals in the country and a network of support and promotion for the formation of scientists and institutions search.

From this period, for example, Capes (Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel) were created in 1951, CNPq (National Council for Scientific and Technological Development), also in 1951, Finep (financier of studies and projects), in 1967, and the Network Extensive number of public universities are currently threatened with suspension and restriction of their activities due to lack of resources.

We will have to, in addition to stopping the FNDCT (National Fund for Scientific and Technological Development), created in 1969, reconstitute the budget of the institutions and the Research Support Authority, expand their public notices and ensure the human and financial resources of public universities, severely affected by Constitutional Amendment 93/16 and Supplementary Law 173 /20, which is expected to be in effect until December 2021.

Weapons on Earth, we will have to build a new charter, and raise public education and science to the highest priority of the nation. Only in this way will we encourage, in parallel, economic and social development, to get rid of so much ignorance, poverty and death.

Ricardo Dias Silva, Vice-Chancellor of the State University of Maringa (UEM). Architect and Urban Planner from UEL, Ph.D. in Architecture and Urbanism from University of the South Pacific.

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