Social Policies in a Period of Crisis

Abstract

To those who ask me how much longer social policies will be needed, I answer that such policies are here to stay. Even in more advanced societies, there will always be a vulnerable sector in every population. They are people, families and even entire communities that, by force of random circumstance, have seen their living conditions deteriorate and are in need of aid from the state. In Brazil, we began to structure our social promotion and protection network only recently, and we still have a long journey ahead of us. The absence of a policy that sought to protect the poorest and fight inequality throughout our history left us with a huge social debt, so now we are making great efforts to reverse this situation. Indeed, that is why the Ministry of Social Development and Fight against Hunger (MDS) was created in February 2004, with a structure devoted exclusively to reaching the poorest people in the country. The positive results are visible and have been confirmed by studies and research. (...)Aos que me perguntam sobre quanto tempo