Censorship in Brazil occurred throughout the whole period following the colonization of the country, whether cultural or political. Even though the state censorship ended just before the redemocratization, Brazil still faces a negligible amount of censorship nowadays, but under different aspects. The current legislation restricts freedom of expression concerning racism (Paim Law).
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The federal government banned Jean-Luc Godard's 1985 film Hail Mary, claiming that it was an insult to the Christian faith (although the State was officially secular).[1] Singer Roberto Carlos, a devout Catholic, deliberately damaged his image with liberal sectors of the Brazilian society by supporting the ban of the José Sarney administration.[2] With the new Brazilian Constitution, the film was made available again, and can be purchased on DVD for only R$ 12,90 (almost 7 US dollars).[3]
In 1994, just a day before the premiere of the British documentary Beyond Citizen Kane on Rio de Janeiro Modern Art Museum, the Military Police confiscated the copy of the film, obeying a court warrant. The film makes a critical approach towards the establishment of Rede Globo, the largest television broadcaster in the country, explaining its ties with the military dictatorship. Globo's attempt to restrict the film, however, proved to be a failure with the internet boom in the 2000s. On August 20, 2009, the newspaper Folha de S. Paulo reported that Rede Record bought the broadcasting rights of the documentary for less than US$ 20,000. This happened after a series of mutual attacks between Globo and Record because of an investigation conducted by the Public Ministry against Edir Macedo and other high profile members of the Universal Church of the Kingdom of God. Macedo is the owner of Record since November 9, 1989. The network is waiting official authorization of the Justice system to broadcast the film.
The song "Luís Inácio (300 Picaretas)" by rock band Os Paralamas do Sucesso, issued on their 1995 album Vamo Batê Lata, was banned in the Federal District. The song alludes to a statement made by Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in which he said that the Chamber of Deputies is formed by 300 bastards and a minority of honest men. Songwriter Herbert Vianna explicitly denounces deputies João Alves de Almeida and Genebaldo Correia, as well as Senator Humberto Lucena. Deputy Bonifácio Andrada of the Brazilian Labour Party of Minas Gerais, outraged with the song, managed to ban it from a concert the band would perform in Brasília on June 23, 1995 (even though it was not in their set list). Other deputies joined Andrada in his crusade against the song, but it was ultimately banned only from radio airplay. The controversy helped the Paralamas make a comeback.[4] On April 2003, the band received honorary citizenship from Brasília and played the song to all members of the Chamber of Deputies.
A bill proposed in 2003 by Senator Eduardo Azeredo of the Brazilian Social Democratic Party of Minas Gerais to curb digital crimes (known as "the digital AI-5") is being heavily criticized by internet users, which feel that it would make internet service providers act as watchdogs of the society, since they would have the legal obligation to denounce possible illegal activities.
The rock band Bidê ou Balde faced legal problems in 2005 after the release of their song "E Por Que Não?" on the MTV Brasil special album Acústico MTV Bandas Gaúchas. The song was seen by some as encouraging incest. After several lawsuits from women's and children's right organizations, MTV felt pressured to re-release the album without the track and to stop airplaying its music video. The lyrics of the song, however, can still be found on the internet.
On February 2007, a court deal determined the collection of all copies of the book Roberto Carlos em Detalhes, an unauthorized biography of singer Roberto Carlos by journalist Paulo César de Araújo.[5] As well as in Globo's case, the singer's attempt to censor the book also proved to be a failure, since copies can be easily found on the internet.[6]
On January 18, 2008, a court order prohibited the commercialization of the games Counter-Strike and EverQuest in the Brazilian territory, arguing that it would be extremely violent.[7] On June 18, 2009, a regional federal court order lifting the ban of Counter-Strike was waiting to be published.[8]
On March 2009, Chamber President Michel Temer, at the request of Renato Parente, head of the Supreme Federal Court's press service, ordered the removal from TV Câmara's website of a debate in which CartaCapital journalist Leandro Fortes criticized Gilmar Mendes' tenure as Court President.[9] Many viewed this episode as political censorship and the video was soon posted on YouTube.[10] After being denounced of censorship by the country's main bodies representative of journalists, TV Câmara put the debate back on its website.[9]
On July 30, 2009, Fernando Sarney, son of former President and Senator José Sarney, managed to avoid that the newspaper O Estado de S. Paulo publishes stories about a criminal investigation conducted by the Federal Police against him. He obtained the court decision favorable to him in the Federal District Court of Justice.[11] Later that year, the Supreme Federal Court filed a suit by the newspaper against the Federal District Court of Justice, thus maintaining the censorship.[12] The NGO Reporters Without Borders called the Supreme Court decision "incomprehensible" and "dangerous."[13]
On August 9, 2011, the Federal Justice of Minas Gerais managed to prevent the distribution of A Serbian Film in Brazil. This was the first time a movie was the subject of banning in the country since the promulgation of the 1988 Constitution. The last banned film had been Je vous salue, Marie in 1986.[14]
Rede Globo, the biggest telenovela producer of the country, is known to have practiced censorship on its own works at least twice.
According to Afro-Brazilian actor Tony Tornado, in a statement to the 2000 documentary A Negação do Brasil (which denounces racism on the Brazilian television), three final sequences were shot for the 1985 telenovela Roque Santeiro, which had a record-breaking audience. In two of them, the protagonist Porcina (Regina Duarte) ended up with white characters (Lima Duarte or José Wilker) and in the other, she ended up with Tornado's character Rodésio. Globo's press office, however, reporter that only two final sequences had been shot; with Porcina ending up with either one of the white characters. The third sequence was banned by the head of the network, as Tornado declares.
On 2005, it was widely expected that Globo would air the first gay kiss in a telenovela (the first gay kiss was broadcast in a Rede Manchete miniseries on early 1990s). The scene was shot for the final episode of America, but never broadcast.
Rede Record was criticized for censoring the 2009 telenovela Poder Paralelo. The head of the network vetoed author Lauro César Muniz (which claimed to have left Globo due to the lack of artistic freedom) and director Ignácio Coqueiro from writing and directing scenes featuring thighs, breasts, buttocks and coarse language. Although the head of the network claimed the scenes were being cut so that the program could receive a TV-14 classification rate, scenes of deep violence were not censored. This generated bad reviews for the network, already known for its aestheticization of violence.
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