Brazilian President Dilma Roussef has slashed Brazil’s science budget for the second year in a row. In February, the government announced a BRL 6.7 billion ($3.7 billion) science budget for 2012, which is 22% less than 2011’s budget. The government issued the cuts as part of its plan to decrease national spending by BRL 55 billion. The Ministry of Finance explained that the reduction in science funding will provide Brazil with an additional BRL 140 billion and will help protect the country from global financial issues.

Source: Royal Society of Chemistry