RESUMO
Brazil has suffered severe consequences from the Covid-19 pandemic, currently ranking second globally in terms of total fatalities, with more than 682,000 lives lost. This article critically outlines how a 'health security' framework overlooks processes of intersectionality and the varying impacts of the virus on different segments of society, or what we term health insecurity. We organize our analysis around three aspects of the pandemic that have become salient in Brazilian society, namely access to healthcare, disposable workers, and exposure to the virus, and delineate the intersectional impact of gendered inequality, neoliberal ideologies, and racial hierarchies within these three themes. Our methodology employs media and scholarly interpretations of Covid-19, and other secondary empirical and statistical data, to outline the virus's impacts on differently positioned bodies throughout Brazilian society. Our main findings reveal that during the pandemic, women's labor and health concerns have been undervalued, exploitative working conditions have been exacerbated, and Afro-Brazilians have been put in situations of higher exposure to the virus in both public and private spaces. This article underscores the need to better examine how public health, systems of oppression and exclusion, and (in)security overlap with each other.
RESUMO
Abstract Starting in 2013, the Mais Médicos program brought over 11,400 Cuban doctors to work in Brazil. The program aimed to reduce inequality in access to medical care; but it was met with heavy resistance from Brazilian medical professionals. This article employs Foucault, Butler, and other post-modern thinkers to analyze Mais Médicos. Specifically, we argue that Mais Médicos did not lead to a politicization of Brazilian health care, but rather that pre-existing discourses were called upon to support or counter the arrival of Cuban doc-tors. This discursive struggle resulted in a dispute over biopower within Brazilian society. We base our claims on fieldwork and interviews conducted with Cuban doctors, Brazilian doc-tors, and Brazilian politicians.
Resumen A partir del 2013, el programa Mais Médicos llevó a más de 11,400 médicos cu-banos a trabajar en el Brasil. El programa tenía como objetivo reducir la desigualdad en el acceso a la atención médica, pero causó una fuerte resistencia por parte de los profesionales médicos brasileños. Este artículo utiliza a Foucault, Butler y otros pensadores posmodernos para analizar a Mais Médicos. Específicamente, argumentamos que Mais Médicos no condu-jo a una politización de la atención médica brasileña, sino que se recurrió a discursos preexis-tentes para apoyar o contrarrestar la llegada de los médicos cubanos. Esta lucha discursiva dio lugar a una disputa sobre el biopoder dentro de la sociedad brasileña. Basamos nuestros argumentos en trabajo de campo y entrevistas realizadas con médicos cubanos, médicos bra-sileños y políticos brasileños.
Resumo A partir de 2013, o programa Mais Médicos trouxe mais de 11.400 médicos cuba-nos para trabalhar no Brasil. O programa teve como objetivo reduzir a desigualdade no aces-so aos cuidados médicos; mas recebeu forte resistência dos profissionais médicos brasileiros. Este artigo emprega Foucault, Butler e outros pensadores pós-modernos para analisar o pro-grama Mais Médicos. Especificamente, argumentamos que o Mais Médicos não levou a uma politização da saúde brasileira, mas que discursos preexistentes foram chamados para apoiar ou contrariar a chegada de médicos cubanos. Essa luta discursiva resultou em uma disputa sobre biopoder na sociedade brasileira. Baseamos nossas alegações em trabalho de campo e entrevistas realizadas com médicos cubanos, médicos brasileiros e políticos brasileiros.