Lula's third mandate reignites hope in Brazilian early-career researchers

Science in Brazil is centered on public universities and institutions that uplift Brazil to be a top-15 scientifically productive country worldwide (Lopes et al. 2021). This high productivity is partially related to the Workers' Party's investments in higher education until the mid-2010s (Silveira 2018). However, most Brazilian researchers (i.e., students or postdoctoral fellows) are deprived of labor rights and work under low wages (e.g., similar to US$400/month for Ph.D. students). Brazilian science has suffered contingencies since 2014, but more severely during Bolsonaro's mandate (Mega 2019, Kowaltowski 2021, Silva Junior et al. 2021). On the brink of his presidency, Bolsonaro's final strike against science upheld the payment of the wage of researchers associated with the Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel, threatening the livelihood of 200.000 people (CAPES 2022). Their salaries, nationally misconceived as scholarships, is their only income, since contracts demand exclusive dedication. Therefore, Bolsonaro's neglect to pay scientists exposed them to the explicit risk of not being able to afford housing or food, depriving them of fundamental human rights.

Automated summary

Science in Brazil is highly productive and is supported by public universities and institutions. However, most Brazilian researchers work under low wages and without labor rights, which has been exacerbated during President Bolsonaro's term. Bolsonaro's neglect to pay the researchers' wages threatens the livelihood of 200,000 people and exposes them to the risk of poverty and deprives them of basic human rights.