- Ecuador vice president says Noboa seeking her 'banishment'
- Leicester boss Van Nistelrooy aware of 'bigger picture' as Liverpool await
- Syria authorities say armed groups have agreed to disband
- Maresca expects Man City to be in title hunt as he downplays Chelsea's chancs
- Man Utd boss Amorim vows to stay on course despite Rashford row
- South Africa opt for all-pace attack against Pakistan
- Guardiola adamant Man City slump not all about Haaland
- Global stocks mostly higher in thin pre-Christmas trade
- Bethlehem marks sombre Christmas under shadow of war
- NASA probe makes closest ever pass by the Sun
- 11 killed in blast at Turkey explosives plant
- Indonesia considers parole for ex-terror chiefs: official
- Global stocks mostly rise in thin pre-Christmas trade
- Postecoglou says Spurs 'need to reinforce' in transfer window
- Le Pen says days of new French govt numbered
- Global stocks mostly rise after US tech rally
- Villa boss Emery set for 'very difficult' clash with Newcastle
- Investors swoop in to save German flying taxi startup
- How Finnish youth learn to spot disinformation
- South Korean opposition postpones decision to impeach acting president
- 12 killed in blast at Turkey explosives plant
- Panama leaders past and present reject Trump's threat of Canal takeover
- Hong Kong police issue fresh bounties for activists overseas
- Saving the mysterious African manatee at Cameroon hotspot
- India consider second spinner for Boxing Day Test
- London wall illuminates Covid's enduring pain at Christmas
- Poyet appointed manager at South Korea's Jeonbuk
- South Korea's opposition vows to impeach acting president
- The tsunami detection buoys safeguarding lives in Thailand
- Teen Konstas to open for Australia in Boxing Day India Test
- Asian stocks mostly up after US tech rally
- US panel could not reach consensus on US-Japan steel deal: Nippon
- The real-life violence that inspired South Korea's 'Squid Game'
- Blogs to Bluesky: social media shifts responses after 2004 tsunami
- Tennis power couple de Minaur and Boulter get engaged
- Supermaxi yachts eye record in gruelling Sydney-Hobart race
- Hawaii's Kilauea volcano erupts, spewing columns of lava
- The Glimpse Group Regains Compliance with NASDAQ
- Sokoman Minerals Completes Phase 1 Diamond Drilling Program Fleur de Lys Gold Project, NW Newfoundland
- Canadian Government Provides C$100 Million Financing LOI to Green Technology Metals in Support of Electric Royalties' Flagship Lithium Royalty Asset in Ontario
- Sendero Resources Announces First Tranche Closing of Its Non-Brokered Private Placement
- EVSX Completes Installation of Multi Chemistry Line
- InterContinental Hotels Group PLC Announces Transaction in Own Shares - December 24
- El Salvador Congress votes to end ban on metal mining
- Five things to know about Panama Canal, in Trump's sights
- NBA fines Minnesota guard Edwards $75,000 for outburst
- Haitians massacred for practicing voodoo were abducted, hacked to death: UN
- Inter beat Como to keep in touch with leaders Atalanta
- Mixed day for global stocks as market hopes for 'Santa Claus rally'
- Man Utd boss Amorim questions 'choices' of Rashford's entourage
RYCEF | -0.28% | 7.25 | $ | |
RBGPF | -1.17% | 59.8 | $ | |
CMSC | -0.98% | 23.67 | $ | |
BCC | 0.61% | 122.985 | $ | |
GSK | -0.1% | 34.025 | $ | |
SCS | 0.38% | 11.695 | $ | |
RIO | -0.13% | 59.155 | $ | |
AZN | -0.42% | 66.35 | $ | |
VOD | 0.77% | 8.435 | $ | |
JRI | 0.08% | 12.11 | $ | |
RELX | 0.24% | 45.7 | $ | |
CMSD | -0.64% | 23.4 | $ | |
BTI | -0.07% | 36.195 | $ | |
BCE | 0.31% | 22.91 | $ | |
NGG | -0.49% | 58.73 | $ | |
BP | 0.16% | 28.795 | $ |
Bolsonaro vetoes Covid aid for Brazil culture sector
Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro vetoed a bill Wednesday that would have provided aid funds to artists and cultural programs hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic, triggering an outcry from opposition lawmakers, who vowed to override him.
Named for a widely beloved comedian and actor who died of Covid-19 last year, the Paulo Gustavo Bill aimed to provide 3.86 billion reais ($820 million) in federal funds to local and state governments to aid the cultural sector, still reeling from the impact of pandemic shut-downs.
It had passed Congress with broad support, by a vote of 74-0 in the Senate and 411-27 in the Chamber of Deputies.
Bolsonaro's veto, published in the official gazette, was for economic reasons, the administration said. It argued the bill would breach the government's spending cap without sourcing enough funds elsewhere to compensate.
Opposition lawmakers called that an excuse from the far-right president, long criticized for alleged attacks on culture and the arts.
Bolsonaro, who comes up for reelection in October, downgraded the culture ministry to a secretariat on taking office in 2019. His administration has faced repeated accusations of using its control over federal funding for the arts to try to censor projects it deems ideologically threatening.
"It's not surprising that Bolsonaro vetoed the Paulo Gustavo Bill, given that this is an administration that hates culture," tweeted Senator Zenaide Maia of opposition party PROS.
"But his veto also shows tremendous lack of vision, since investing in the cultural sector helps Brazil exit the current crisis. Culture is good in and of itself, but it also creates jobs and income."
Congressman Odair Cunha of the left-wing Workers' Party tweeted that Bolsonaro is "afraid of culture and freedom of expression, like every lover of dictatorship," vowing: "We're going to override that veto."
Lawmakers would need an absolute majority in both houses of Congress to override.
A.Rodriguezv--AMWN