sanitation, overcrowding was greater in Black not ensure a safe return based on sanitary homes. According to the Zero Eviction protocols. Water supply and access to basic campaign, over 23,500 families were evicted sanitation and the internet were not a reality from their homes between March 2020 and in all state schools in Brazil. In 2021, the October 2021 during the pandemic. National High School Exam, the main form of Following pressure from social mobilizations, admission to higher education institutions, in October Congress approved legislation that registered the lowest number of applicants in prohibited evictions throughout the country 13 years. until 31 December 2021. FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION RIGHTS TO WORK AND SOCIAL ASSISTANCE The federal government used a false Throughout the pandemic, the state did not dichotomy between the defence of the adequately guarantee the right to information economy and the defence of life to justify its for the population. Inaccurate or deliberately failure to promote measures to prevent misleading public statements about Covid-19 infection among workers who were unable to prevention, treatments and vaccines sought work remotely during the pandemic. to undermine scientific recommendations Emergency aid was discontinued during the and dissenting voices, fuelling misinformation first three months of 2021 and subsequently and reducing civic space. reintroduced at a lower rate and for a more Restrictions on civil society participation in restricted group of people. This led to public debate intensified because of the accelerated impoverishment of the federal government's hostile approach to the population impacted by the economic and press, social movements, NGOs and other social crises aggravated by the pandemic. A critical voices. study by the University of São Paulo found In 2021, the organization Human Rights that in 2021, with the reduction in Watch identified 176 accounts of journalists, emergency aid, more people began to live in Congress members, influencers, media poverty. Black women were the most outlets and NGOs, including Amnesty affected: 38% and 12.3% were living in International Brazil, blocked on President Jair poverty or extreme poverty, respectively. Bolsonaro's social media. Data from the Brazilian Institute of Federal authorities promoted speeches and Geography and Statistics indicated that, in demonstrations that threatened the rule of the first quarter of 2021, unemployment law. On several occasions, such as the official reached its highest rate since 2012 (14.7%). celebration of Brazil's Independence Day, The proportion of Brazilians in the informal President Jair Bolsonaro sought to economy without income security or social undermine the Supreme Court and called protection reached 39.6% during the year. into question the electoral system. RIGHT TO EDUCATION EXCESSIVE USE OF FORCE State education continued to be delivered remotely in much of Brazil until May 2021. The logic and implementation of the “war on Problems related to lack of access to the drugs” that has structured public security internet and the electronic equipment policies in Brazil for many years continued to necessary to conduct remote activities were fuel the cycle of violence and killings in the among the reasons for increased school country. dropout rates during 2021, especially among In 2020, police killed 6,416 people. More students in state education, which serves the than half of the victims were young Black most disadvantaged sections of the men. population. Although the Supreme Court ordered the All states started vaccinating school staff in suspension of police operations in Rio de June, as state schools were reopening. The Janeiro’s favelas in June 2020, a survey by infrastructure of many schools, however, did the Study Group on New Illegalisms found Amnesty International Report 2021/22 101