[ti:Brazil's Strong Reaction to School Shootings Differs from US]
[al:Education Report]
[ar:VOA]
[dt:2023-04-26]
[by:www.voase.cn]
[00:00.00]On April 5, a man killed four children in a Brazilian daycare center.
[00:07.52]In the weeks since, Brazilian officials have detained 300 adults and children nationwide.
[00:16.37]The detainees are accused of spreading hate speech or encouraging school violence.
[00:25.16]Little has been made public about the crackdown. 
[00:28.98]It risks an abuse of power by the country's court system. 
[00:34.66]It also shows the strong reaction to school violence across federal, state and city levels.
[00:43.42]Brazil's efforts to end school attacks are very different from those of the United States.
[00:52.30]In the U.S., such attacks have been more common and more deadly for a longer period.
[01:00.06]But measures to prevent the violence have come much more slowly.
[01:07.68]Actions taken in the U.S. are informing the Brazilian response, said Renan Theodoro.
[01:15.23]He is a researcher with the Center for the Study of Violence at the University of Sao Paulo in Brazil.
[01:25.76]"We have learned from the successes and the mistakes of other countries, especially the United States," Theodoro told The Associated Press.
[01:37.45]Brazil has seen almost 24 attacks or incidents of violence in schools since 2000. 
[01:47.11]Half of them have been in the past year.
[01:50.34]President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva's government has looked for ideas from researchers and experts.
[02:00.69]This week, he organized a meeting of ministers, mayors and Supreme Court justices to discuss possible solutions.
[02:10.86]Some measures that Brazil has already taken are in line with those introduced over time in the U.S.
[02:21.23]Those measures include the creation of emergency communications systems, safety training for school workers, federal money for mental health, and more security equipment.
[02:37.16]But Brazil has also detained suspects and has pushed to regulate social media sites.
[02:45.94]Those measures have not been taken in the U.S.
[02:51.25]Many Brazilian states did not wait for the federal response. 
[02:56.87]Sao Paulo, for example, temporarily hired 550 mental health experts to work at its public schools. It also hired 1,000 private security guards.
[03:11.58]School shootings in the U.S. often create debate.
[03:16.54]But at the federal level, the debate usually ends without a solution.
[03:23.16]Democrats center on gun control while Republicans push for stronger security measures.
[03:31.15]Brazil's efforts have gained support in part because measures have not included restricting gun use.
[03:40.02]Gun control is increasingly a divisive political issue in Brazil, like it is in the U.S. 
[03:48.66]Brazil's school attacks are also more often carried out with other weapons, especially knives.
[03:57.96]In the U.S., legislation rarely passes.
[04:02.33]There have been exceptions, however. 
[04:05.55]A bill was approved last year after an attack at a Texas elementary school and other mass shootings. 
[04:13.90]The bill made background checks stricter and kept guns away from those guilty of domestic violence.
[04:23.77]The bill also gave $1 billion for student mental health and school security.
[04:30.97]Other change has come more slowly.
[04:35.74]In almost every state, schools are now required to have safety plans that often include what to do if a shooter enters the school. 
[04:46.92]Many individual school systems have their own safety call centers. 
[04:53.48]Some use software to watch social media for threats.
[04:59.95]Lawmaker Eduardo Bolsonaro is the son of Brazil's far-right former president.
[05:09.17]He is calling for metal detectors and armed guards. 
[05:14.68]He introduced a bill to make them required at all schools.
[05:20.43]For Brazil, hoping for quick solutions risks introducing abuses of power.
[05:28.58]Officials have not offered details on why the 302 suspects have been arrested in the past two weeks. 
[05:37.80]When asked by the AP, the Justice Ministry did not say how many of the detainees were under the age of 18.
[05:48.45]The ministry is also ordering a national consumer agency to fine technology companies for not removing content seen as praising school violence or making threats.
[06:03.63]There appears to be large support for regulating social media sites. 
[06:08.76]At this week's meeting in the capital, Lula, his justice minister, two Supreme Court justices and the Senate's president voiced support for regulation of the sites. 
[06:24.13]They argued that speech that is illegal in real life cannot be permitted online.
[06:31.05]The Rights in Network Coalition is a Brazilian group of 50 organizations centered on basic digital rights. 
[06:43.53]It has expressed concern over giving the government the power to decide what can be said on social media.
[06:52.10]Some social media platforms resisted the move but are now agreeing to the changes. 
[06:59.25]More than 750 profiles have been removed or suspended, Justice Minister Flávio Dino said.
[07:08.48]I'm Dan Novak.