El papel de las universidades en lucha contra la pandemia

Abstract

Brazilian universities face three interrelated crises. The first is the result of neoliberal policies that have led to deep budget cuts in education, science and technology. The second is that of the pandemic itself, which has already taken the lives of more than 600,000 Brazilians. Universities work to protect the life of their community and society. In the system of public universities, extension activities are carried out with the communities, especially testing for the detection of population infection, production of protective equipment, basic and applied research, including the development of vaccines, as well as the central role of University Hospitals in the treatment of patients. The third crisis is the result of the extreme right-wing, authoritarian and denialist movement that has its preferential target in public universities. However, universities are strengthened with the population, due to the recognition of their role in the prevention and treatment of COVID-19. Teaching activities are carried out remotely, but they face the challenge of the difficulty of access to a large part of their community. Digital inclusion needs to be considered as a right of the university population and a duty of the State both during the pandemic and in the post-pandemic.