Maria Helena Guimarães de Castro, the executive secretary at the Ministry of Education in Brazil, was finalising the new national framework for education in the spring of 2017. Drafting the much-needed reform had been long and challenging, but despite opposition, the supporters of the framework had managed to shepherd the drafting process through years of extreme political upheaval. But now, at the 11th hour, members of the influential evangelical caucus were demanding changes – should Castro comply?
