In a text published in Jornal One Page, researcher Olívia Cristina Perez points out how the pandemic has impacted street protests in Brazil, even in a highly polarized and complex political environment.
On this page, we publish opinions and analyzes presented on initiatives against COVID-19 that have appeared in the media, or that have been disseminated through the communication channels of social movements, collectives or NGOs. The documents presented here bring information produced by the press, by researchers or by the collectives themselves.
In a text published in Jornal One Page, researcher Olívia Cristina Perez points out how the pandemic has impacted street protests in Brazil, even in a highly polarized and complex political environment.
In February 2022, the Seeds 2021 Report : situation of human rights defenders in Brazil”, an initiative of several civil society organizations that form the Seeds of Protection Project. The report features interviews with 33 leaders, who present their testimonies on how they faced the pandemic. More information about the publication can be found here .
The report produced by SBSA Advogados points out the impacts of the legal measures adopted during the Covid-19 pandemic on the daily lives of civil society organizations. The main topics covered are: Corporate Law, Management, CSO Regulatory Framework, Bidding, Tax Law, Labor Law, Essential Services and Civil Society in the pandemic. Access the document here .
In a text in response to a post on Twitter by the Federal Government's Communication Department – celebrating Farmer's Day with an image of a man and a gun – Marco Antonio Teixeira, Camila Penna, Renata Motta and Priscila D. Carvalho present an analysis that brings together data on how family farming has contributed to the country's food security during the pandemic, mainly through solidarity actions. Check the text here .
BBC Brasil report reports experiences lived by Brazilian favelas that collaborated to reduce the impacts of the coronavirus in these territories, taking as an example the favela of Maré-RJ. From distributing food to raising awareness of preventive measures and carrying out tests, these actions have contributed to reducing deaths in the favela to below the average for the state of Rio de Janeiro.
The “COVID-19 from the margins” is an initiative of researchers from the Big Data from the South Project. The site – which accepts texts in several languages – brings together publications that give visibility to the Global South's narratives about the pandemic.
Analysis carried out by Instituto Pólis, part of a study that indicates the territories most vulnerable to the disease, shows how the coping strategies implemented by the community of Paraisópolis were more effective in containing the impacts of the pandemic in the territory than those carried out in the municipality of São Paulo as a whole.
Analysis published in DW presents the considerations of leaders of several favelas who point out the concerns with the increase in cases of Covid-19 in the communities added to the increase in hunger. These are reflections of the abyss that exists between the reality of these territories and what is observed by the government and society in general, deepened by the economic crisis and the difficulty in receiving emergency aid from the government.
In an analysis published in the UFRGS newspaper , Professor Marcelo Kunrath shows several civil society initiatives that are playing a fundamental role in the fight against COVID-19. However, he points out that, although commendable, these initiatives have a short term. He argues that governments need to assume, in fact, their role in this conjuncture by presenting more qualified public policies. For which there is no lack of good proposals exemplified by universities and civil society.
The Bureau of Bureaucracy Studies (NEB-FGV EAESP) wrote about urban inequality and solidarity networks in times of a pandemic, and especially how people in socially vulnerable situations are affected in different ways. The article, published in Estadão, can be read through the link .
The collective Desenrola e Não me Enrole wrote an article showing several initiatives that are being carried out on the outskirts of São Paulo in the fight against COVID-19. The actions started in view of the lack of support from the public power for communities that cannot attend to the “stay at home”. The groups' proposal is to make communication aimed at the periphery, changing narratives and instructions that meet their reality to provide information and awareness to the residents of the periphery.
The American newspaper “The Washington Post” published an article written by the correspondent in Brazil, Marina Lopes , dealing with the reality and creative actions carried out in Brazilian favelas to combat the coronavirus. The article explains several initiatives in the favelas of São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, which act in the absence of a concrete government policy (municipal, state or federal) for these communities. The author highlights the importance of grassroots actions in these contexts and how the most vulnerable areas of the countries of the global north can learn from these experiences.
Technical note of the Income Basic We Want campaign, signed by 162 organizations and movements, presents a list of 20 obstacles to the proper implementation of the Emergency Basic Income. See the note here .
Article written by authors linked to Instituto Pólis, a civil society organization that works to defend the right to the city, shows how collective action can help to reduce the impact of the virus. Access here.
Rebecca Abers and Marisa von Bülow, in El Pais: “The absence of a unified front of political parties and leaders on the best path to adopt to face the crisis only contributes to making state action even more difficult, despite the efforts of many local authorities . The result is an erratic and inconsistent state, unable to protect much of the population from disease and the economic effects of the pandemic.” Keep reading here .
The Carnegie Endowment for International Peace's Civic Activism Network , made up of academics from several countries in the Global South, published a video talking about the challenges faced by civil society and the changes in forms of participation in the context of a pandemic.
Article by Laércio Portela presents several initiatives of popular communication and mobilization in the periphery of Pernambuco: “The proliferation of disinformation in social networks has been one of the main problems faced by those who are at the forefront, in the territories, communicating directly with the communities”. Continue reading on the Ground Zero website, here .
Image: Collective Bread and Paint
Saskia Brechenmacher, Tom Carothers and Richard Youngs, 4/21/2020: “Foreboding though this picture is, the crisis is also catalyzing new forms of civic mobilization. Civil society actors in many countries, democratic and nondemocratic alike, are rising to the pandemic challenge in myriad small and large ways. They are filling in gaps left by governments to provide essential services, spread information about the virus, and protect marginalized groups”. See full article here .
Camila Penna (Professor of the Department of Sociology at UFRGS): “As or more powerful than a change of government, the external shock caused by the pandemic can lead to a realignment of political and social forces, constituting a window of political opportunity for issues and actors who were, in recent years, in a frank process of defeat in the dispute for political hegemony. Even if ephemerally, while the pandemic situation lasts, the perception that the State has a fundamental role in guaranteeing basic social rights gains legitimacy, and activism in favor of these rights gains legitimacy. Keep reading here .
“Brazilian politicians argue over how to respond to the coronavirus pandemic, civil society organizations from the country's slums have come together to educate and advocate for their communities. But they cannot do it alone”. Read the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace blog
Faced with the obvious need for a radical and complex transformation of the system, social movements in times of crisis act differently from the protests we are used to. Text originally published on OpenDemocracy
“Since coronavirus landed in Brazil, several civil society organizations, activists and community leaders are mobilizing to act in favelas and protect the most vulnerable people from the pandemic. Eliana Sousa Silva, founder of the NGO Redes da Maré , which has been working for decades in the Complexo de Favelas da Maré, especially in the areas of Education and Public Security, is one of these leaders who has been structuring actions to combat the coronavirus .” In an interview, Eliana discusses these aspects. Read here.
“The 600 reais coronavoucher for informal , self-employed and intermittent workers, as the payment of emergency aid that will be made by the federal government , “can reach people in the communities, but to be operational, it requires a bureaucracy that can delay receipt and maybe it's too late ,” warns political scientist Sonia Fleury . For her, the best way to meet the financial needs of these workers is through a minimum income that can be guaranteed immediately.”
“The strengthening of social ties and community ties is another potential resistance in times of coronavirus.” Read here .
The first victim of the coronavirus in Rio de Janeiro was a maid, contaminated by her boss, who had recently arrived from abroad and did not self-isolate. The maid, who suffered from high blood pressure and diabetes but couldn't afford to lose her job, couldn't resist; the mistress is doing well”. Read here.
“One of the most important features of federal legislation on the pandemic is the absence of citizen participation in its elaboration. Consultation mechanisms, councils and representative bodies that could act in favor of an efficient response were ignored or even dismantled.
The relationship between the federal government and civil society is one of explicit antagonism, defying the principles enshrined in the SUS legislation, in addition to compromising the legitimacy of the normative collection, since these infra-legal norms often go beyond the administrative scope, creating obligations for the population in general. , in a fragmented and sometimes even contradictory way”. Access here .
Folha de São Paulo wrote an article about the last year, which was marked by the COVID-19 pandemic, and highlighted the importance of civil society actions at this time. Recognized 30 initiatives with the Social Entrepreneur of the Year Award in Response to Covid-19 at the end of 2020, including entities, networks and movements that mobilized for emergency action, mitigation of effects and construction of structuring initiatives that will remain as a legacy. See the full article here .
Article published in Folha de S. Paulo , written by Celso Athayde (CUFA), Preto Zezé (CUFA) and Edu Lyra (Gerando Falcões), highlights the worsening of the pandemic and the work of two of the largest organizations with national operations in the Brazilian peripheries.
In the article, they demand urgent measures by the government aimed at preserving lives in Brazilian peripheries and combating the coronavirus. For them, the ideological dispute, at this moment, is out of place. It takes a political, social and business coalition to beat Covid-19.
