Neoliberalism, Reduction of Social Rights, and Social Services in Brazil

Santana, Joana Valente; Fernandez, Cristiane Bonfim; Ferreira, Benedito de Jesus Pinheiro

doi:10.1007/s41134-018-0065-4

Cited by 5 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 2 publications

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“…The problem of unpredictability in social services is a long-standing and well-known issue in Brazil, whereas the formal connection between social workers and public services is essentially unpredictable and insecure (Heitmann, 2017a). According to Ferraz-Silva (2016), social workers are ‘swimming against the tide’ in the country, facing budget cuts, shortages in social welfare policies, job insecurity and scarcity of resources (Santana et al, 2018). When Congress approved this legislative proposal, it failed to acknowledge these challenges.…”

Section: Critical Assessment Of the Legislation And Its Implications ...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Challenges in making school social work a reality in Brazilian schools

Scherf

2021

International Social Work

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At the end of 2019, the presence of social workers became mandatory in Brazilian state-funded elementary schools. This brief note explores the challenges schools may have in translating the new legislation from paper to practice. The goal is to frame and advance the discourse of school social work in Brazil. Among other topics, this note discusses the role of social workers in educational environments in Brazil and identifies the barriers that may exist to the exercise of the profession in these institutional spaces. Ultimately, suggestions are made on how to develop effective social work interventions in Brazilian schools.

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Section: Critical Assessment Of the Legislation And Its Implications ...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Challenges in making school social work a reality in Brazilian schools

Scherf

2021

International Social Work

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“…Alongside the emergence of Evangelical neoconservatism and populist leaderships in Brazilian politics (Santana, 2018;Cowan, 2018;Braz, 2017). This somewhat "new" neoliberal wave, marked by authoritarian traces, has compromised Brazil's young (and fragile) democracy and rights regime, with severe consequences, especially on social and public health services (Hunter and Power, 2019;Santana et al, 2018). Therefore, the notion of authoritarian neoliberalism or neoliberal authoritarianism is crucial to understanding the current situation related to the management (or lack thereof) of COVID-19 in the country.…”

Section: Jair Bolsonaro Human Rights and A Twisted Neoliberal Agendamentioning

confidence: 99%

The management (or lack thereof) of COVID-19 in Brazil: implications for human rights and public health

Scherf

Silva

Fachini

2020

IJHRH

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Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore how the COVID-19 pandemic has been managed in Brazil, especially at the Federal Administrative level, with the focus being on the implications for human rights and public health in the country. Design/methodology/approach The research is built on a qualitative design made up of a case-study and review of the literature and is based on inductive reasoning. Findings Main conclusions were that: by not making sufficient efforts to safeguard the lives of Brazilians or to strengthen public health institutions amid the pandemic, Bolsonaro’s Administration may be violating the rights to life and health, among others, by omission; it was demonstrated that the President has worked unceasingly to bulldoze anti-COVID-19 efforts, which can be better explained through the concepts of necropolitics and neoliberal authoritarianism. Research limitations/implications One of the limitations to this research is that this paper was not able to discuss more thoroughly which other human rights norms and principles (apart from the right to health, life and the duty to protect vulnerable populations) have possibly been violated amid the COVID-19 pandemic in the country. Overall, this research can help expand the literature on human rights in health management during and after emergency times. Originality/value This paper focuses on recent events and on urgent matters that need to be addressed immediately in Brazil. This study provides an innovative health policy/human rights analysis to build an academic account of the ongoing pandemic in the largest country in South America.

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“…However, recent turns in the Latin American political scenario has led to a more "conservative" if not retrogressive approach to environmental protection policies, which has the potential to seriously undermine efforts to implement the human right to a healthy environment in the region, mainly due to the growth of unrestricted neoliberal agendas in Latin America nowadays. Our main focus shall be on Brazil, due to the fact that since 2016 -after the Coup D'état which deposed ex-president Dilma Roussef from office -the country has witnessed an emerging conservative movement mixed with ultraliberal policies which have resulted in the reduction of social rights, social services and in an never-before-seen assault on the environment (SANTANA; FERNANDEZ;FERREIRA, 2018;DAMASIO, 2019).…”

Section: Where Do the Third World Countries Stand With Environmental Protection? Hints From Brazil And Latin Americamentioning

confidence: 99%