For Jacob Mchangama, we are living in a recession. However, he’s not talking about finances or unemployment, but rather about freedom of expression. The Danish professor, an expert on the subject, is director of The Future of Free Speech, a think tank based at Vanderbilt University in the United States.
And although Mchangama is not an expert on Brazil, the country has been providing him with constant support for his field of study. He is in São Paulo this week, where he will be speaking at the “Freedom of Expression” masterclass at Belavista College and the Sivis Institute. On Thursday (17), he will launch the Portuguese version of his book “Freedom of Expression: From Socrates to Social Media.”
The report asked the researcher about the sentencing of comedian Leo Lins to eight years in prison and about the so-called anti-Oruam laws, which attempt to block public funding for artists who advocate crime or drug use.
“Persecuting artists is a danger sign, because artistic expression is a kind of escape valve from society. It’s a way for people to express ideas, some of them deliberately provocative,” says the professor.
For a show to get its author sent to prison, however, is a step too far, in Mchangama’s view.
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Jacob Mchangama is the Founder and Executive Director of The Future of Free Speech. He is also a research professor at Vanderbilt University and a Senior Fellow at The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE).