Claudia Raia responds to criticism of the Rouanet Law and defends incentive

Amid preparations for the tour of the musical "Tarsila, the Brazilian", the actress stated that there is still a lot of misinformation on the subject and rejected the idea that artists are benefiting from public money unduly.

During an event promoted by B3, in São Paulo, the artist said that part of the resistance in relation to the law happens because many people don't know, or don't want to know, how it really works.

"The Rouanet Law is one of the things that bothers the most because there are people who want to learn and understand, but there are also those who simply don't want to know how it works", he stated.

According to Claudia, the process is far from the image often disseminated on social media. She explained that, before any fundraising, projects need to be submitted for analysis by the Ministry of Culture, which evaluates the proposal and determines whether it is capable of seeking sponsors.

Following this authorization, the actress explained, a long stage of negotiations begins with companies interested in associating their brands with the cultural project.

"You receive authorization to fundraise and then you need to go after sponsors. It's a job of presenting the project, finding companies that have an affinity with that proposal and convincing these brands to invest. It's a true pilgrimage," he said.

The actress also highlighted that the money is not given directly by the government to the artists. Sponsoring companies can allocate part of the tax due to finance cultural initiatives, within the limits provided for by legislation.

"Nobody is taking money from anyone. Nobody is stealing money from anyone," he declared. "There are a series of rules and limits. The sponsor invests in culture, strengthens the brand itself and associates its name with an artistic project."

Claudia also criticized the narrative that the Rouanet Law would be a privilege intended only for famous artists. For her, this view ignores the importance of the mechanism for maintaining cultural productions throughout the country.

The actress stated that, in the case of musicals, the high costs make it practically impossible to carry out large-scale projects without incentives. Sets, costumes, technical team, copyright, cast and production structure require investments that would be difficult to recover through ticket sales alone.

"Without the incentive law it would be absolutely impossible to put on shows of this size. There is no possibility of taking even the first step," he stated.

She also revealed that "Tarsila, the Brazilian" entered the production phase even without a fully guaranteed budget. According to Claudia, the project started with around 75% of the necessary resources already raised, but the search for new sponsors continues.

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