New president rejects the notion that UNE is "pro-government"
"The UNE has a stance of autonomy, dialogue, pressure, and accountability in relation to the federal and state governments, university administrations, companies, and political parties, and will maintain this stance. But of course, we are open to dialogue because we have achieved many successes in Brazilian education in recent years," said Virgínia Barros, a literature student from Pernambuco at USP, recently elected to lead the National Union of Students (UNE).
Yara Aquino
Reporter from Agência Brasil
Brasilia – Elected to preside over the National Union of Students (UNE) for the next two years, Virgínia Barros, a literature student at the University of São Paulo (USP), said that her administration will be marked by autonomy in relation to governments, political parties, and universities, without, however, closing off dialogue with these sectors.
"UNE has a stance of autonomy, dialogue, pressure and accountability in relation to federal and state governments, university administrations, companies, parties and will maintain this stance, but of course we are open to dialogue because we have achieved many successes in Brazilian education in recent years," she said. The president and the new board were elected at the 53rd Congress of the National Union of Students (UNE) which ended yesterday (2), in Goiânia (GO).
Among the priorities outlined by the president of the UNE (National Union of Students) for the next two years is the defense of investing 10% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in education, currently under discussion in the National Congress. To broaden the mobilization around this issue, the UNE has called for a National Day of Struggles, which is expected to be marked by marches and demonstrations until August.
Virginia stated that UNE (National Union of Students) opposes the entry of foreign capital for the acquisition of higher education institutions. She believes that this situation results in the deterioration of the institutions' infrastructure and the quality of education. "From our point of view, to maximize profits, foreign companies that buy educational institutions lower the quality, and, as a matter of sovereignty, we cannot have our education dominated by foreign interests."
Originally from Garanhuns (PE), Vic, as she is known, is 27 years old and holds a law degree from the Federal University of Pernambuco (UFPE). She says she is familiar with the reality of education in the Northeast and advocates for balanced investments across the country's regions to combat inequalities.
"Combating regional inequalities in our country requires balancing investment in education across all regions. It's no coincidence that the North and Northeast have the worst IDEB [Basic Education Development Index] in the country. It's no coincidence that access to university in these regions is more restricted to young people aged 18 to 24. Discussing the imbalance in the distribution of resources for education in our country is a necessary demand to guarantee quality education for all," said Virgínia.
Editing: Lílian Beraldo