Cities against poverty: Brazilian experiences

Descrição: In Brazil  one can now observe  a combined and uneven  social development: Reduced poverty, but also extreme  inequality. On one hand,  the share  of extremely poor  those  living below  the official  poverty  line was reduced in Brazil  from 28.2 percent  in 2003  to 22.5 percent four years later. This can to a large extent be explained by policies   at the federal leveI, like the  cash transfer program (Bolsa-Família) expanded by the Lula government since 2003. On the other hand, extreme inequality persists. The poorest one-fifth of Brazil's 182 million people account for only 2.4 percentof the national income. The wealthiest 10 percent of the population are 50 times richer than the poorest 10 percent. Brazil is no. two in a world ranking of income inequality. Brazil's northeast region contains the single largest concentration of rural poverty in Latin America. These regional inequalities produce constant migration from rural to urban areas, and today the majority of Brazil’s population are living in cities with more than 100.000 inhabitants. A large part of the urban population lives in the favelas, the stigmatised and distressed neighbourhoods which exacerbate the social inequality within the metropolitan areas. Crime, violence and insecurity are main themes in the Brazilian mass media, who more often than not relate these public bads to the favelas, while in academic circles it is discussed to what extent crime is rooted in the structures of poverty, inequality and citizenship. This project aims at knowing more about the Brazilian cities as the key sites for poverty reduction, wealth redistribution, and political-social inclusion of the poor.

Docente responsável: Adrian Gurza Lavalle