Attempts to censor books in the first two years of the Bolsonaro government 2019-2020

Abstract

This paper addresses attempts to censor of books in Brazil in the years 2019 and 2020. Book censorship is understood to be any action that seeks to hinder, limit or constrain the writing, printing, dissemination, distribution, sale or acquisition of books. This article is organized into four blocks: 1) book censorship – 2015-2018 – the foreshadowing; 2) Book censorship in 2019 - Onslaughts against goblins, witches, African culture and sex education and other cases; 3) Censorship in Rondônia and other events in 2020 and 4) acts of resistance. The route taken makes it clear that Jair Bolsonaro's government seeks to consolidate itself through a discourse of intolerance and hatred. The cases of book censorship mentioned in this study demonstrate that intolerant and authoritarian attitudes are currently proliferating in Brazil, which add up and try to build a culture of surveillance and censorship. On the other hand, voices of the resistance are active making their presence strongly felt.