Ricardo Galvão takes over as CNPq Chair – 01/17/2023 – Science

material or physical Ricardo Galvao, former director of INPE (National Institute for Space Research), Tuesday (17), assumed the presidency of CNPq (National Council for Scientific and Technological Development) in a ceremony marked by passion and the announcement of Completely reconfigured the FNDCT budget (National Fund for Scientific and Technological Development), the main public instrument for financing science in the country.

the The selection of the 75-year-old researcher was expected binding And it was celebrated at this Tuesday’s event, in the presence of diplomats, rectors and researchers such as Renato Jeanine Ribeiro, President of the SBPC (Brazilian Association for the Advancement of Science), and Helena Nader, President of the ABC (Brazilian Academy of Sciences).

In his speech, Galvao He gave many thanks and appreciations, including acknowledging the work of public servants, and shared reflections on clash like Former President Jair Bolsonaro (PL)that occurred in 2019.

In July of that year, when asked by the foreign press about the high levels of Sign Up that were recorded by the Deter System, from INPEBolsonaro said he was “convinced” that the data were “lies” and accused Galvao of being “in the service of some NGOs”.

The researcher responded immediately and criticized, in an interview with the newspaper O Estado de S.Paolo, the position of the then president, who the He quit after two weeks. However, Inpe monitoring continued to show, month after month, that the Deforestation in the Amazon region continued unchecked.

After the match, Galvao Selected by Nature magazine As one of the Ten Most Important People in Science in 2019, and in 2021, he is the recipient of the International Award for Scientific Freedom and Responsibility given by AAAS (American Association for the Advancement of Science).

“Could it be that, after nearly 50 years of a professional life devoted to giving the best of myself to the growth of science in the country, would I witness a major setback in my last years of activity?” Galvão said Tuesday (17). Remembering the support he received from colleagues and entities, and the ideas that suffered from him after his resignation.

“It is clear that I and my other fellow researchers were not being dragged through the streets of our cities. We were suffering not physically, but at the core of our souls devoted to the supremacy of science because of the harmful attacks of denial by an insane government,” he added.

Visibly moved, Galvão states that the denial militancy has been defeated and that the ceremony and appointment of Professor Mercedes Bustamante to head the Capes (Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel) proves that Brazilian science has survived.

he said before ending with a quote from Guimaris Rosa: “The flow of life envelops everything. Life is like this: it heats up and cools down, intensifies then explodes, settles down and then fluctuates. What it wants from us is courage.”

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Galvão’s speech was followed by Ivaldo Vilela, former president of CNPq, W Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation, Luciana Santos (PCdoB)which announced the first measures to secure resources for the region.

“Today I am pleased to announce the complete reconfiguration of the FNDCT budget and the end of the restrictions imposed by MP 1136, which were liberalized by the previous government and which will expire in the early days of February,” he said.

The interim measure restricts the use of FNDCT resources, which have been subject to successive blocks. Between 2010 and 2021, it is estimated that R$35 billion has not yet been invested in science in Brazil And guaranteeing the resources of the Fund was one of the measures that, in the opinion of scholars, should be priority at the beginning of administration.

“By fully releasing resources from the National Fund for Scientific and Technological Development, the main public instrument for financing science, we have ended a long period of neglect and underestimation of the value of scientific research and technological development in the country,” the minister added.

Santos also announced that the ministry will once again hold the National Conference on Science and Technology and will remain in constant contact with the scientific community.