The wake of diplomat and former Minister of Culture Sergio Paulo Rouanet takes place this Tuesday (5), from 10 am to 2 pm, at the Brazilian Academy of Letters, in Rio de Janeiro. After the ceremony, the body goes to the Caju Cemetery, where it will be cremated at 4 pm. The academic died last Sunday morning (3), at the age of 88.
Rouanet was responsible for creating the Culture Incentive Law in Brazil, which took his name. In a post on social media, the Rouanet Institute expressed its regret at the death and explained that he was battling Parkinson’s disease, “but he dedicated himself until the end of his life to defending culture, freedom of expression, reason, and human rights.” ”.
Born in Rio de Janeiro, on February 23, 1934, the academic held Chair No. 13 of the Brazilian Academy of Letters since 1992, in addition to Chair No. 34 of the Brazilian Academy of Philosophy.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs published a letter about the death. According to the folder, “Sérgio Paulo Rouanet joined the Rio Branco Institute in 1955 and, over a 47-year diplomatic career, served in the Brazilian missions in Washington, New York and Geneva, was Consul General in Zurich and Berlin and Ambassador to the Denmark and the Czech Republic”.
“Among his many relevant contributions to foreign policy, he has distinguished himself as a formulator of proposals favorable to developing countries within the scope of the GATT [Acordo Geral de Tarifas e Comércio]predecessor agreement of the World Trade Organization (WTO), and the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD)”, reads the note.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Carlos Alberto Franco França, expressed condolences to the family, especially Professor Barbara Freitag, Rouanet’s wife.
In his diplomatic career, he held permanent posts abroad, such as consul general in Zurich, Switzerland (1976-82), ambassador to Denmark (1987-91), consul general in Berlin (1993-1996), Germany, and ambassador in Prague (1996-2000), in the Czech Republic.
In his career in the public service, the academic was also Secretary of Culture of the Presidency of the Republic between 1991 and 1992, and responsible for the creation of the Brazilian law on tax incentives for culture, in December 1991.
Leandro Bellini, one of the directors of the Brazilian Academy of Culture, highlights Rouanet’s legacy for the country’s culture.
“Sérgio Paulo never intended to have the final word when it came to culture and education, he never stuck to the definitive, but he was always open to the next step and the necessary changes. It also taught an important lesson”, says Bellini.
Rouanet graduated in Legal and Social Sciences from PUC-Rio (1955); postgraduate degree in Economics from George Washington University (1960-1964); in Political Science at Georgetown University in Washington (1960-64); in Philosophy at the New York School for Social Research in New York (1960-64); and a PhD in Political Science from the University of São Paulo (1980).
Vetoes to the new cultural incentive laws
Target of political polarization in recent years, the Rouanet Law was created to encourage the cultural sector in Brazil for over 30 years. It allows artists to submit a project for evaluation and, if approved, raise private funds for funding. In return for sponsorship, companies or individuals are tax deductible.
Rouanet’s farewell takes place on the same day that the Brazilian cultural sector moves to approve other legislation. This Tuesday, actors, actresses and cultural producers will be in the Chamber of Deputies for an act to overturn the federal government’s vetoes on two projects.
The Complementary Law Project nº 73, of 2021, known as the Paulo Gustavo Law, and the new Aldir Blanc Law were vetoed in full in April and May of this year, respectively. The Paulo Gustavo Law proposes the release of R$ 3.86 billion from the National Culture Fund for financial support from the Union to states, the Federal District and municipalities to guarantee emergency actions aimed at the cultural sector, which suffered losses during the pandemic. of Covid-19.
In a note, the Planalto stated that, after consulting the Special Secretariat for Culture, “the legislative proposal was vetoed as contrary to the public interest”. Among the technical considerations, the Presidency alleges that the Paulo Gustavo Law would create a primary current expenditure that would be subject to the constitutional limit, for which “compensation would not have been presented in the form of an expense reduction, which would make it difficult to comply with the aforementioned limit” .
The new Aldir Blanc Law provides for the annual transfer of R$ 3 billion to the cultural sector until 2027. In the veto, the president claimed that the project is against the public interest and is unconstitutional. The Law, which establishes the transfer of resources to states and municipalities, had been approved by the Federal Senate on March 23, with a score of 74 votes to 0 and one abstention.
This is the second law to promote the cultural sector named after the musician Aldir Blanc, who died of complications from Covid-19 in 2020. The first project approved, known as the “Aldir Blanc Law”, allocated R$ 3 billion in an emergency way. for cultural initiatives.
*under supervision of Pauline Almeida
Source: CNN Brasil
