Mendonça is the target of protests and is being questioned about the dismantling of the Ministry of Education.
During a joint hearing of the Education and Financial Oversight and Control committees of the Chamber of Deputies, the interim Minister of Education, Mendonça Filho, denied that there would be cuts to the ministry's budget and changes to the quota rules for public universities; PT (Workers' Party) deputies pointed out contradictions in his promises; "He says he will maintain everything, and if possible expand it. But that doesn't match Temer's policy of freezing public spending," said Ságuas Moraes (PT-MT); Mendonça was called a "coup plotter" by students.
247 - Interim Education Minister Mendonça Filho was the target of a protest in the Chamber of Deputies this Tuesday, the 5th, when students called him a "coup plotter" and criticized his management of the ministry.
The DEM member went to the Chamber to participate in a joint hearing of the Chamber's Education and Financial Oversight and Control committees, where he was harshly questioned by PT deputies about the dismantling that has been occurring in the Ministry of Education.
He denied that there would be budget cuts to the ministry and that there would be changes to the quota rules for public universities, but parliamentarians stated in their speeches that the minister's promises did not add up, since the interim government of Michel Temer proposed limiting public spending on Health and Education.
"He (Mendonça Filho) says he will maintain everything, and if possible expand it. But this doesn't align with Temer's policy of freezing public spending, limiting the spending ceiling based on the previous year's inflation. What he promises is totally contradictory, and we don't know exactly what he will do," said Congressman Ságuas Moraes (PT-MT).
Congressman Paulão (PT-AL) also highlighted the contradiction, noting that limiting public spending is a measure considered fundamental by the interim Finance Minister, Henrique Meirelles. According to the congressman, there is no possibility of Education escaping cuts. "This measure will have direct consequences for your ministry," the congressman stated to Mendonça.
Mendonça Filho assured that programs and public policies such as Prouni, Fies, and the quota system will be preserved. His party, DEM, had previously appealed to the Supreme Federal Court (STF) against these policies and also opposed the allocation of resources from pre-salt oil exploration to Education.
In his speech, the interim minister acknowledged the increase in enrollment numbers in higher education in the country and the growth in resources for basic education over the last 13 years of the Lula and Dilma Rousseff governments.