Freedom of expression sees historic dip in Brazil

In the first year of the Jair Bolsonaro government, Brazil recorded its biggest setback in freedom of expression, according to a recent report published by international human rights NGO Article 19. Dedicating an entire chapter to the situation in Brazil, the NGO highlights threats against environmentalist and indigenous activists, and warns that the country’s “authoritarian leaders” have created an elevated risk to public health during the coronavirus crisis.

Article 19’s Global Expression Report analyzes the current state of freedom of speech issues in 161 countries, measuring each one by its “GxR” metric, which evaluates variables such as government censorship efforts, harassment of journalists, freedom of political assembly, among others. In what was deemed a “steep and accelerated decline,” Brazil’s score fell 18 points in a single year and has been cut in half since 2016.

In the overall ranking, Brazil has fallen into Article 19’s “Restricted” category, sitting in 94th position out of 161 nations. Only Venezuela posted a lower score in South America.

In its...