Community Resistance Spurs Government Action Amid the COVID-19 Pandemic
USP’s Faculty of Public Health (FSP) presents research that discusses community responses to Covid-19 based on experiences observed in countries such as Germany, Brazil, Canada and Peru. This action is part of an international research project that has a partnership between the University of São Paulo, the University of Toronto, the University of Giessen and the Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia.
Deisy Ventura, professor at the USP Health Law Research Center (Cepedisa) at FSP, explains that the project was signed within the scope of the transatlantic platform in the 2021 notice on responses to covid-19. Thus, the research seeks to study peripheral communities from different regions that, despite presenting some structural differences, jointly presented the decision to resist the challenges of the pandemic.
Project
The professor explains that the program was built horizontally, with a first scientific meeting being held within the campus of the University of São Paulo. Anne-Emanuelle Birn, professor at the University of Toronto and international leader of the project, assesses that, to understand the issue, individuals need to understand two things: the first is that countries must have responsibility for social policies and second is the understanding that many communities were capable of resistance and not resilience.
Thus, the project aimed to explain how resistance, together with mobilized demands, makes the government take greater actions. Deisy also adds that the program is characterized by listening so that each community can tell its story in its own words. “We are there to listen and build some materials and initiatives together, but, essentially, we want to hear about this protagonism and record for history what happened in these places, giving credit to those who really acted in these environments”, he points out. In other words, the research uses qualitative and participatory methods, recognizing the uniqueness of each community.
Results
Anne-Emanuelle also comments that different lessons were learned from this project, since, despite the recognition of the struggle carried out by these communities and the celebration that is being carried out, this is a struggle that still presents itself in a problematic way, and it is necessary to recognize these environments as intellectual fields.
Therefore, it is essential to fight to ensure that the rights to social policies in the areas of health, education and security are guaranteed. Professor Deisy also states that the celebration of the achievements of these communities cannot be seen as an idealization, and it is necessary to point out the role of the State in these places. Thinking about a future in which political formation is simpler and more distributive seems to be essential, therefore, for the implementation of better policies in the future.