By María Josefina Arce

Brazil's president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, has insisted that funds for education should not be considered an expense, but an investment in the country's future. His government has been committed to allocating more resources to this vital area for the country's development and to implement programs that raise the quality of education and benefit the poorest sectors.
   
It is a debt to the most disadvantaged, who have seen their options reduced even more under the mandate of the ultra-right-wing Jair Bolsonaro, but also an attempt to raise the level of education, which has fallen considerably.
   
In the first months of his third term, Lula da Silva presented the new Literacy Policy in the South American giant, aimed at ensuring that all children in the second year of primary school learn to read and write.
    
According to the Alfabetiza Brasil research, in 2021 only four out of 10 children at this level of education were literate.
   
The current government has also launched the Full-Time School Program, which proposes to increase the number of full-time enrollments in basic education centers by one million.
    
This initiative, according to experts, reduces school dropout rates, increases employment and the connection of students and teachers with the school. Studies have also shown a reduction in homicides among young people.
    
Another of the actions has been the 54% increase in the supply of scholarships for teacher training, including those of the teacher training program.
   
Lula da Silva's arrival at the Planalto Palace has also made a difference in education, after his predecessor's neglect of this area. Bolsonaro cut the education budget, which led young people and teachers to take to the streets in protest.
   
In October 2022, just a few months before the end of his term, he blocked approximately 119 million dollars destined for research in public universities.

Dozens of projects essential for Brazil's scientific and technological progress were cancelled.
   
The government presided by Lula da Silva is working to rescue education, a sphere which, according to the president, has suffered constant attacks in recent years and which, on the contrary, must be a priority for the authorities in order to achieve a more just and advanced society.