By Maira Magro
The dismissal of psychoanalyst Maria Rita Kehl from her work as a columnist for O Estado de S. Paulo, after writing about the “disqualification” of votes of poor people in Brazil brought accusations of censorship and requests for her reinstatement, Terra Magazine reports.
“I was fired by the newspaper for what they consider a ‘crime’ of opinion,” Kehl said in an interview. “How can a newspaper that says it is under censorship fire someone because that person’s opinion is different?” she asked. She was referring to last year’s Supreme Court decision that upholds a ban on the newspaper from publishing stories involving the family of former president and current Senate leader José Sarney, who had been the object of reports accusing corruption and nepotism.
The director of content for O Estado de S. Paulo’s media group, Ricardo Gandour, denies the newspaper had censored Kehl’s column, which he emphasized was published in its entirety, Terra explains.
He said the departure relates to a disagreement over issues related to the overall direction of her column.
Note from the editor: This story was originally published by the Knight Center’s blog Journalism in the Americas, the predecessor of LatAm Journalism Review.
