Brazil's Strong Reaction to School Shootings Differs from US
2023-04-26
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1On April 5, a man killed four children in a Brazilian daycare center.
2In the weeks since, Brazilian officials have detained 300 adults and children nationwide.
3The detainees are accused of spreading hate speech or encouraging school violence.
4Little has been made public about the crackdown.
5It risks an abuse of power by the country's court system.
6It also shows the strong reaction to school violence across federal, state and city levels.
7Brazil's efforts to end school attacks are very different from those of the United States.
8In the U.S., such attacks have been more common and more deadly for a longer period.
9But measures to prevent the violence have come much more slowly.
10Actions taken in the U.S. are informing the Brazilian response, said Renan Theodoro.
11He is a researcher with the Center for the Study of Violence at the University of Sao Paulo in Brazil.
12"We have learned from the successes and the mistakes of other countries, especially the United States," Theodoro told The Associated Press.
13Brazil has seen almost 24 attacks or incidents of violence in schools since 2000.
14Half of them have been in the past year.
15President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva's government has looked for ideas from researchers and experts.
16This week, he organized a meeting of ministers, mayors and Supreme Court justices to discuss possible solutions.
17Some measures that Brazil has already taken are in line with those introduced over time in the U.S.
18Those measures include the creation of emergency communications systems, safety training for school workers, federal money for mental health, and more security equipment.
19But Brazil has also detained suspects and has pushed to regulate social media sites.
20Those measures have not been taken in the U.S.
21Many Brazilian states did not wait for the federal response.
22Sao Paulo, for example, temporarily hired 550 mental health experts to work at its public schools. It also hired 1,000 private security guards.
23School shootings in the U.S. often create debate.
24But at the federal level, the debate usually ends without a solution.
25Democrats center on gun control while Republicans push for stronger security measures.
26Brazil's efforts have gained support in part because measures have not included restricting gun use.
27Gun control is increasingly a divisive political issue in Brazil, like it is in the U.S.
28Brazil's school attacks are also more often carried out with other weapons, especially knives.
29In the U.S., legislation rarely passes.
30There have been exceptions, however.
31A bill was approved last year after an attack at a Texas elementary school and other mass shootings.
32The bill made background checks stricter and kept guns away from those guilty of domestic violence.
33The bill also gave $1 billion for student mental health and school security.
34Other change has come more slowly.
35In almost every state, schools are now required to have safety plans that often include what to do if a shooter enters the school.
36Many individual school systems have their own safety call centers.
37Some use software to watch social media for threats.
38Lawmaker Eduardo Bolsonaro is the son of Brazil's far-right former president.
39He is calling for metal detectors and armed guards.
40He introduced a bill to make them required at all schools.
41For Brazil, hoping for quick solutions risks introducing abuses of power.
42Officials have not offered details on why the 302 suspects have been arrested in the past two weeks.
43When asked by the AP, the Justice Ministry did not say how many of the detainees were under the age of 18.
44The ministry is also ordering a national consumer agency to fine technology companies for not removing content seen as praising school violence or making threats.
45There appears to be large support for regulating social media sites.
46At 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.
47They argued that speech that is illegal in real life cannot be permitted online.
48The Rights in Network Coalition is a Brazilian group of 50 organizations centered on basic digital rights.
49It has expressed concern over giving the government the power to decide what can be said on social media.
50Some social media platforms resisted the move but are now agreeing to the changes.
51More than 750 profiles have been removed or suspended, Justice Minister Flávio Dino said.
52I'm Dan Novak.
1On April 5, a man killed four children in a Brazilian daycare center. 2In the weeks since, Brazilian officials have detained 300 adults and children nationwide. The detainees are accused of spreading hate speech or encouraging school violence. 3Little has been made public about the crackdown. It risks an abuse of power by the country's court system. It also shows the strong reaction to school violence across federal, state and city levels. 4Brazil's efforts to end school attacks are very different from those of the United States. In the U.S., such attacks have been more common and more deadly for a longer period. But measures to prevent the violence have come much more slowly. 5Actions taken in the U.S. are informing the Brazilian response, said Renan Theodoro. He is a researcher with the Center for the Study of Violence at the University of Sao Paulo in Brazil. 6"We have learned from the successes and the mistakes of other countries, especially the United States," Theodoro told The Associated Press. 7Brazil has seen almost 24 attacks or incidents of violence in schools since 2000. Half of them have been in the past year. 8President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva's government has looked for ideas from researchers and experts. This week, he organized a meeting of ministers, mayors and Supreme Court justices to discuss possible solutions. 9Some measures that Brazil has already taken are in line with those introduced over time in the U.S. Those measures include the creation of emergency communications systems, safety training for school workers, federal money for mental health, and more security equipment. 10But Brazil has also detained suspects and has pushed to regulate social media sites. Those measures have not been taken in the U.S. 11Many Brazilian states did not wait for the federal response. Sao Paulo, for example, temporarily hired 550 mental health experts to work at its public schools. It also hired 1,000 private security guards. 12School shootings in the U.S. often create debate. But at the federal level, the debate usually ends without a solution. Democrats center on gun control while Republicans push for stronger security measures. 13Brazil's efforts have gained support in part because measures have not included restricting gun use. Gun control is increasingly a divisive political issue in Brazil, like it is in the U.S. Brazil's school attacks are also more often carried out with other weapons, especially knives. 14In the U.S., legislation rarely passes. There have been exceptions, however. A bill was approved last year after an attack at a Texas elementary school and other mass shootings. The bill made background checks stricter and kept guns away from those guilty of domestic violence. The bill also gave $1 billion for student mental health and school security. 15Other change has come more slowly. In almost every state, schools are now required to have safety plans that often include what to do if a shooter enters the school. Many individual school systems have their own safety call centers. Some use software to watch social media for threats. 16Lawmaker Eduardo Bolsonaro is the son of Brazil's far-right former president. He is calling for metal detectors and armed guards. He introduced a bill to make them required at all schools. 17For Brazil, hoping for quick solutions risks introducing abuses of power. 18Officials have not offered details on why the 302 suspects have been arrested in the past two weeks. When asked by the AP, the Justice Ministry did not say how many of the detainees were under the age of 18. 19The ministry is also ordering a national consumer agency to fine technology companies for not removing content seen as praising school violence or making threats. 20There appears to be large support for regulating social media sites. 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. They argued that speech that is illegal in real life cannot be permitted online. 21The Rights in Network Coalition is a Brazilian group of 50 organizations centered on basic digital rights. It has expressed concern over giving the government the power to decide what can be said on social media. 22Some social media platforms resisted the move but are now agreeing to the changes. More than 750 profiles have been removed or suspended, Justice Minister Flávio Dino said. 23I'm Dan Novak. 24Dan Novak adapted this story for VOA Learning English based on reporting by The Associated Press. 25________________________________________________________________ 26Words in This Story 27encourage - v. to make more appealing or more likely to happen 28crackdown - n. a serious attempt to punish people for doing something that is not allowed 29response - n. something that is said or written as a reply to something 30mayor - n. an official who is elected to be the head of the government of a city or town 31regulate - v. to make rules or laws that control 32hire - v. to give work or a job to in exchange for wages or a salary 33domestic- adj. relating to or involving someone's home or family 34detector - n. a device that can tell if a substance or object is present 35consumer - n. a person who buys goods and services 36platform - n. a program or set of programs that controls the way a computer works and runs other programs