Brazilian researchers are petitioning the government to reverse budget cuts, Science reports.
The Brazilian research budget started out at $1.8 billion for the year, but Science notes it was later slashed by some 44 percent and that that pot of money has now been spent. While the Brazilian government has approved emergency funds that include $150 million for the science ministry, they won't cover the ministry's costs for the rest of the year, it adds. For 2018, it notes that the government is considering cutting the science ministry's budget by a further 15 percent.
Researchers have delivered to lawmakers a petition with 82,000 signatures that calls on the government to reverse these cuts, Science says.
They argue that the cuts will harm young Brazilian researchers and lead many to leave the country. "It's becoming impossible to work in Brazil, especially for young scientists," Marcos Buckeridge, a professor at the University of Sao Paulo and president of the Sao Paulo State Academy of Sciences, tells Science.