MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Extreme right philosopher nominated as Brazil's Education minister

“I would like to announce the nomination of Ricardo Vélez Rodriguez, to be the next Minister of Education” Bolsonaro wrote

Brazilian president-elect Jair Bolsonaro has chosen Ricardo Vélez Rodriguez, a Colombian professor naturalized Brazilian, to be the next Minister of Education. The late Friday announcement happened on social media and is considered a bow to the evangelical Christian backers of the elected president.

“I would like to announce the nomination of Ricardo Vélez Rodriguez, a philosopher with over 30 published books and professor emeritus at the Brazilian Army Command and General Staff School, to be the next Minister of Education,” Bolsonaro wrote.

”Vélez teaches Philosophy. He has a master's degree in Brazilian thought by the Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro (PUC-RJ), a doctorate by Universidade Gama Filho, and a post-doc by the Centre de Recherche Politiques Raymond Aron, in Paris. He has extensive teaching and managing experience.“

Rodriguez also has degrees in Philosophy and Theology from Colombian universities. He is also an associate professor at the Federal University of Juiz de Fora, in Minas Gerais.

According to the Brazilian Constitution, ministers need to be a Brazilian citizen, over 21 years of age and have full political rights. That means that both Brazilian-born and naturalized citizens are eligible. Only the Ministry of Defense requires its head to be Brazilian born. Rodriguez is a naturalized citizen.

The philosopher said in a letter published on Friday that he wants to work ”in the context of preservation of values that are dear to the Brazilian society, which is, in essence, conservative and against experiences that intend to ignore traditional values connected to the preservation of the family and the humanist morality.“

Rodriguez has written on his blog that Brazilians should ”remember and celebrate“ the 1964 military coup that put the country in a military dictatorship until 1985. He has also said that corruption would not be endemic in Brazil if a monarchy had been put in place.

Bolsonaro, who takes office on Jan. 1, has said he would like to promote a law forbidding ”Marxist indoctrination” and gender biased teachings at public schools. Rodriguez has expressed support for such a move.