O Globo: Mathematics Olympiad threatened

The budget for IMPA in 2018 is R$ 39 million, half the allocation for 2017. How does the budget cut threaten the institute's activities?

– It jeopardizes the Mathematics Olympiad, a national event with 18 million children (three times the number of students registered for the ENEM exam this year). It can't be done halfway. And this is happening in the middle of the mathematics biennium in the country, approved by Congress. It's ironic.

In the midst of the economic crisis, is it understandable to cut funding for this area?

– The crisis is real. But there is no strategic plan for the area. The impression is that we are cutting expenses at all costs, without this corresponding to a vision of how the country can emerge from the crisis. The cuts in science are the opposite of what other countries in a similar position to Brazil are doing. China and India, which are experiencing a slowdown, are investing more and more in science. The government's economic area lacks a strategic vision.