Brazilian Law Way Too Serious, Comics Say
By Luciani Gomes, Special to CNN

Comedy is being taken too seriously in Brazil, humorists there are saying, in response to a Brazilian  law  that  forbids  television and  radio broadcasters  from making  fun of presidential, gubernatorial  or  congressional  candidates  in  the  three months  before  the  election.  Brazil’s elections are in October of 2010.
Afraid of huge fnes that can reach up to almost R$ 160.000, producers and stars of comedy
shows  say  they  are  having  to  rethink  their  election  coverage  and  ignore  the  names  of  this
year’s presidential candidates, or just be serious about it. This month, humorists will gather at
Copacabana beach, in Rio de Janeiro, to protest the law.
According to the 1997 law, television and radio broadcasters, which operate on government
concessions,  cannot  “use  trickery, montages  or  other  features  of  audio  or  video  in  any way
to  degrade  or  ridicule  a  candidate,  party  or  coalition.”  The  law  is  not  new,  but  humorists
increasingly  feel  that  it  limits  freedom  of  speech  and  that  creation  is  restricted. One  reason
humorists believe  the  law will be  enforced more  stringently  than before  is  that  some of  the
country’s comedy shows have been dedicating a lot of time to politics.
The Supreme Electoral Court says that it is not enforcing the law any stricter than in the past.
The law has always been applied in the same manner and the idea that this year it’s more is the
perception of the humorists, the court said. The comedians say humor is necessary to generate
debate and to get people involved in politics. If there’s no humor, people will get bored, they say.
A former minister of the Supreme Electoral Court, Fernando Neves, agreed with the need of
a rule to make sure the election coverage will be fair to all candidates in all media. “I think it’s
correct that the media cannot be used to favor or harm one or another candidate. They are there
to inform,” he said.
“Casseta  e Planeta”,  a Rede Globo  comedy  show  that’s been on  air  since 1992  and  that
has  imitated and made  fun of almost every politician  since  then,  is more  than ever avoiding
references to any candidate. It was a decision made by the show. To avoid warnings or fnes,
comedy around election time is achieved with fake politician characters.
Helio de La Peña, one of  the  cast members of  “Casseta  e Planeta,” believes  there’s  two
ways to look at the controversial rule. It helps democracy by not allowing one politician to be
jeopardized, but at the same time it censors the humorists’ job.
In  a  statement, Rede Globo  said  the  broadcast  law  is  one  of  the  initiatives  in  place  that undermine freedom of expression and believes that it will end up being revoked by the electoral offcials.
Rede Bandeirantes’ “CQC”, a comedy show that started in 2008 and became a huge success
in  Brazil  by  following  politicians  in  Brasilia  and  asking  them  tough  and  tricky  questions,
continues to cover the election and mentions the candidates, but is being careful in what to say
or joke about.
For now, the law and its ramifcations are affecting how humorists go about their business and, as exemplifed by the gathering on Sunday, it is proving something of a unifying factor for the creative spirits of comedy. “It’s the frst time the humorists will gather for a cause,” de La Peña said.
Adapted from http://edition.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/americas/08/19/brazil.election.comics/index.html? (20/08/2010)

According to Luciani Gomes’ article, all statements below are correct EXCEPT: