By Madeleine Lacsko
This week, São Paulo will host a historic masterclass on freedom of expression . The event, organized by a diverse consortium of institutions, will bring together legal experts, journalists, researchers, parliamentarians, and civil society representatives in a debate environment that has become increasingly rare in Brazil: one where dissent is possible with freedom, respect, and a factual basis. The event also marks the launch of the Brazilian edition of Jacob Mchangama’s book ” Free Speech: A History from Socrates to Social Media.”
As journalist Erich Thomas Mafra reports in Gazeta do Povo , this is an unprecedented event that celebrates freedom as a value above ideologies and polarization. The article highlights that “it will be an opportunity to reaffirm democratic commitments to freedom of expression amid the escalation of controlling discourses by the state and society” ( read here ).
I am very proud to have been chosen to write the foreword for the Brazilian edition of this work. This is not just professional recognition, but a symbolic calling that reflects my own trajectory. Over my 29 years in journalism, I have faced censorship attempts from all sides of the political spectrum and have been the target of coordinated smear campaigns, threats, and silencing. This has even occurred within the very institutions that should protect press freedom. I have learned, in practice, that the right to speak is always the first to be attacked when those in power feel insecure. And that defending this right is not a gesture of ideological convenience, but a moral obligation to democracy.
The book’s author, Jacob Mchangama , is a leading figure in the global arena of civil liberties advocacy. A Danish jurist and activist, he is the founder of Justitia, an independent organization dedicated to the rule of law and fundamental rights. In addition to being a respected researcher, Mchangama is a thinker attentive to contemporary threats to freedom: from authoritarian populism to cancel culture, from state censorship to private censorship exercised by platforms or lobby groups.
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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).