Brazilian TV and radio broadcasters are forbidden from making fun of candidates ahead of Oct 3 election
Brazilian TV and radio broadcasters are forbidden from making fun of candidates ahead of Oct 3 electionMake no joke about it, Brazil's presidential election is a serious affair, devoid of Jon Stewart's wry jabs, sidesplitting Top 10 lists or the "Saturday Night Live" cast lampooning politicians left and right that characterised the latest US contest.
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| No fun intended: Marina Silva (centre), presidential candidate of the Green Party for the upcoming presidential election, is approached by a comedian before a dinner in Sao Paulo, Brazil, on August 16. Pic/AFP |
The reason? Brazilian TV and radio broadcasters are legally forbidden from making fun of candidates ahead of the nation's October 3 election and a possible second-round runoff on October 31.
With the first wave of on-air political ads starting Tuesday, Brazil's comedians and satirists are planning to fight for their right to ridicule with protests in Rio de Janeiro and other cities Sunday.
They call the anti-joking law -- which prohibits ridiculing candidates in the three months before elections -- a draconian relic of Brazil's dictatorship that threatens free speech and a blight on the reputation of Latin America's largest nation.
"Do you know of any other democracy in the world with rules like this?" said Marcelo Tas, the acerbic host of a weekly TV comedy show that skewers politicians and celebrities alike. "If you want to find a bigger joke, you would have to look to Monty Python."
Proponents say the restrictions keep candidates from being portrayed unfairly, help ensure a level playing field and encourage candor by candidates.
The law has become a hot, trending topic for Brazilian users of Twitter and the focus of newspaper and magazine columns as well as debates at public seminars.
Long before Stewart's "The Daily Show," Tas was working as a comedian-turned-reporter to needle politicians near the end of Brazil's 1964-1985 dictatorship, bluntly calling out corrupt leaders when few others dared.
But 25 years after the return of democracy, his current show, "CQC," is muted during the run-up to the election that will replace center-left President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. The 50-year-old TV host calls it a "very particular Brazilian type of madness."
Making fun of candidates on air ahead of elections is punishable by fines up to $112,000 (Rs 52 lakh) and a broadcast-license suspension.
Only a few fines have ever been handed out. But Tas and others say that has been sufficient to cause TV and radio stations to self-censor their material during elections.
The law holds that TV and radio programs cannot "use trickery, montages or other features of audio or video in any way to degrade or ridicule a candidate, party or coalition."
Rs 52 lakh, fine for making fun of candidates, along with a broadcast-licence suspension
