This week in What’s Happening in Brazil, in the country’s Northeastern region, social distancing measures have become more restrictive. On may 11, the governor of the state of Pernambuco announced the implementation of strict isolation measures. With the changes, the use of face masks becomes mandatory and there are rules to stop people from driving and going out onto the streets on certain days.
In the state of maranhão, stricter restrictions have been in place for even longer, since may 5th. This is the only state in the country’s Northeast to adopt the term lockdown, with the complete closure of and restrictions on everything besides essential businesses and personal.
In this week’s Culture Talk, know one of the biggest university admissions exams in the entire world, called ENEM. The test, which originally functioned solely as a high school evaluation, repurposed during the Lula da Silva government, to ensure access to university education became more democratic. This month, Jair Bolsonaro’s government decided to keep the exam on schedule for this year. However, this decision doesn’t take into account the social distancing scenario due to the coronavirus pandemic, nor the difficulties students are facing in regards to their learning routines.
In our last segment, Brazilianism, you will meet none less than Brazil’s rock and roll queen Rita Lee, a reference to those who started playing guitar in the seventies, especially women.
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Edited by: Vivian Fernandes
