Free Speech Debate

In June 2009, Brazil’s Supreme Court overturned the law requiring a journalism degree for all practicing journalists. In its final decision, the Supreme Court stated that the law, which was passed in 1969 under the military regime and a different constitution, violated basic rights such as free speech and freedom of information. The Court made a specific reference to the Advisory Opinion in which the Inter-American Court ruled that requirements of this type are incompatible with Article 13 of the American Convention on Human Rights, to which Brazil is a signatory.

The court’s decision was controversial: those opposed to it argued that it would deregulate journalists’ employment structure built over 40 years, meaning worse conditions, lower pay, less stable employment and poor quality journalists in newsrooms. Those who agreed with the decision claimed Brazil had evolved to a more democratic society. The controversy did not end there.

In August 2012, following intensive lobbying led by the National Federation of Journalists, the Brazilian Senate voted not only to reinstate the requirement for a journalism diploma, but also to pass an amendment to the Constitution. The draft amendment  states that “non-journalists”, meaning someone “without an employment contract, who writes a technical, scientific or cultural work related to his/her specialisation, to be released with his/her name and qualifications”, would only be allowed to publish as a collaborator. The draft amendment passed in the Senate but has yet to be passed by Congress.