POVERTY AND ECONOMIC RIGHTS IN BRAZIL

4/12/2010

NOTE from last week

Brazil and citizen consultative committees tried unsuccessfully at the national level Contentious selection process No decision-making power

Chávez and democracy Free and fair elections Progressive representation: represents the

majority which had been ignored or oppressed by the previous democratic system

What is Development?

Ensuring individual well-being in order to achieve the full flourishing of the human species.

Growth Poverty Reduction Improving Living Conditions Capacity Building Good Governance

Issues in Development

Is economic growth the focus of or merely the means to development?

Sustainability: How can development balance human well-being and natural resources

Should the level of inequality be considered an indicator of development?

What is the appropriate role of foreign countries in ensuring development? For international organizations?

What is the appropriate role of the private sector in ensuring development?

Strategies for Reducing PovertyProgram Options Welfare and Social Insurance Local Social Funds Subsidies Land Reform and Title Regularization Conditional Cash Transfers

Evaluation: targeted? minimizes discretion?

Poverty and Development in BrazilEconomic GrowthEconomic growth as a policy goal of the

Lula administration Liberal economic orientation Economic stability as primary focus

Reduced social spending Debt payment

Poverty and Development in BrazilPoverty ReductionPrograms of Note Bolsa Familiar, conditional cash transfer Land reform Title regularization

Poverty and Development in BrazilImproving Living Conditions Health and Education

Health and education as conditionalities Shelter: linked to land and title reform Expansion of water and sanitation

services In rural areas through the extension of

infrastructure In urban areas through the provision of

services in slum areas

Poverty and Development in BrazilCapacity Building and GovernanceCorruption remains a major concern

2005 corruption scandal and its impact on Lula and the Workers Party (PT)

Freedom: Relatively free conditions

Racism against blacks remains particularly strong Affirmative action

Nearly half the population is of Afro-Brazilian descent but only 14% of university graduates are; blacks and pardos are more than twice as likely to be illiterate

Blacks and pardos earn on average half of what whites do.

Security High levels of violent crime Police violence remains a problem