Brazil Abolishes Bolsonaro's Civic-Military Schools

On Wednesday, President Lula da Silva put an end to a program implemented by former president Jair Bolsonaro that promoted the creation of "civic-military schools."

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Previously, the Education Ministry analyzed the efficiency of this national program, which was promoted by the far-right leader arguing that schools should "impose the notion of hierarchy" among students as "it is done in the barracks."

Between 2019 and 2023, Bolsonaro opened 216 civic-military schools that were run by civilian personnel. However, personnel linked to the Brazilian armed forces were responsible for administering the "codes of conduct."

The Education Ministry announced that these schools will enter a transition period until the end of the school year, when it is expected that the former civil-military schools will follow the same discipline procedures and standards existing in the Brazilian public school network.

The tweet reads, "The Lula administration put an end to the Civic-Military Schools National Program created by the Bolsonaro. The Education Ministry informed state education secretaries of the decision by means of a letter. The idea is that these circuses be dismantled until the end of 2023."

The soldiers who have been working in these civic-military schools will be progressively relocated to other functions within the Armed Forces.

When announcing this national program in 2019, former Captain Bolsonaro said that his objective was to get public schools to stop "training political militants" and educate "for work" with the discipline of the barracks.

The civic-military schools also represented a tool in "the fight against Cultural Marxism," which has dominated thought and education for decades, according to what Bolsonaro used to say.

During his administration, the far-right leader maintained a conflictive relationship with public education, which was reflected in the short time that his education ministers lasted.