The right to shine: Poverty, consumption and (de) politicization in neoliberal Brazil

This article discusses the political impacts on the poor’s subjectivity provoked by neoliberal policies such as inclusion through consumption in 21st century Brazil. From 2009 to 2014, we carried out ethnographic research with new consumers in a low-income neighbourhood – Morro da Cruz – in the city of Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul. We argue that consumption does not necessarily depoliticize human experience, as it is broadly assumed to have done in the scholarly literature on neoliberalism. In a society in which the poor has obtained goods through hierarchical and servile relationships, the possibility of buying things provides a micro sphere for recognition, though not in terms of classic collective action or even hidden subversion. Coupled with the momentum towards a national ‘economic emergence’, status goods became vehicles of an emergent subjectivity, which we conceptualize as ‘the right to shine’. The right to shine are subtle forms of class and racial self-worth, and individual and interpersonal empowerment that revealed interclass defiance.Within journal option online first. To check in 6 m for citing and date detail

From hope to hate:He rise of conservative subjectivity in brazil

This essay focuses on the voters of Brazil’s President Jair Bolsonaro in Morro da Cruz, a low-income community in Porto Alegre. The transition from Lulism (2002–16) to Bolsonarism (2018–) was marked by the rise and fall of the economy and the collapse of the political system. Based on a ten-year longitudinal ethnography, we look at the effects of such major shifts at the national level on people’s individual self- and political subjectivity. We investigate how and why “new consumers”—those who accessed the finance system during the Workers’ Party (PT) Administration—came to support a far-right candidate. We argue that the inclusion of the poor into the market economy brought about individual empowerment and a sense of self-worth in the PT era—a process that was threatened by economic recession and unleashed an existential crisis, especially among men. Bolsonaro, as a male figure, and his campaign gave order to a changing world, resulting in a reconciliation of personhood and political belonging

Reflexões Sobre a Sociabilidade Virtual dos Jovens das Classes Populares

"Mãos ao auto!!!Isto é um asalto!! e queru um resgate muitoo caro: uma mensagem fofa e um depoimento... HAhahaha Bjos".(Mensagem recebida em meu Orkut de um aluno do curso de informática pesquisado). Pensar a sociabilidade virtual dos jovens das classes populares é a proposta deste artigo. Tal recorte emergiu de minha pesquisa etnográfica sobre um Projeto de inclusão digital realizado entre jovens que frequentam um curso de informática oferecido por uma instituição religiosa, situada no Morro..

Rolezinhos: Marcas, consumo e segregação no Brasil

In the beginning of 2014, the phenomenon known as rolezinho (literately little roll) gained widespread national and international visibility. Teenagers from peripheries gather in large numbers to walk (give a 'rolé') and have fun in the shopping center of their cities. The event provoked costumers’ apprehension and some malls gained the right to prohibit the event, closing the doors to the teenagers. Since then, it has emerged a broad debate about segregation in Brazilian society. Based on an ethnographic research on young people’s consumption in the periphery of the city of Porto Alegre, Brazil, the article analyzes the phenomenon of rolezinhos addressing their local, national and global dimensions. Taking into account the current Brazilian moment, which is marked by both the public social policies for social inclusion via consumption, as well as a wave of social protests, we argue that rolezinhos are changing their very nature and promoting different ways to discuss and make everyday politics at the heart of a segregated society.No início de 2014, o fenômeno conhecido como rolezinho ganhou ampla visibilidade nacional e internacional. Trata-se de adolescentes das periferias urbanas que se reúnem em grande número para passear nos shopping centers de suas cidades. O evento causou apreensão nos frequentadores e fez com que alguns proprietários dos estabelecimentos conseguissem o direito na justiça de proibir a realização dos rolezinhos, barrando o acesso dos jovens. Desde então, emergiu um amplo debate sobre segregação na sociedade brasileira. Com base em uma pesquisa etnográfica sobre consumo popular com jovens da periferia de Porto Alegre, o artigo analisa o fenômeno dos rolezinhos, abordando suas dimensões locais, nacionais e globais. Levando em consideração o atual momento brasileiro, que versa sobre políticas de ascensão social via consumo e sobre uma onda de protestos de inquietação social, argumentamos que os rolezinhos estão se modificando e encontrando diversas formas de discutir e realizar política cotidiana no âmago de uma sociedade segregada

Os sentidos do real e do falso: o consumo popular em perspectiva etnográfica

Based on two ethnographies among low income groups in the city of Porto Alegre, we deal with the issue of consumption in a national context which suggests the rising participation of lower classes in the market. We focus our analyses on the choices between genuine or fake goods. Trying to avoid prejudices surrounding the field of popular consumption, as well as the practical reason commonly tied to this issue, the ethnographies seek to understand the meanings of such goods in a given affective network. Our goal is not to build a closed model about consumption among lower classes, but mainly to show the multiple meanings which are involved at the moment of the choice between genuine and fake goods. This choice is an act that negotiates and balances, in a relational scope, cost-benefit ratio, symbolic and practical reasons, money and love, long term and ephemeral duration.A partir de duas etnografias entre grupos populares em Porto Alegre, problematizamos a questão do consumo, em face de um contexto nacional que aponta para a ascensão da participação dos setores de baixa renda no mercado. O enfoque da nossa análise recai na escolha entre bens originais e falsificados. Procurando se afastar dos preconceitos que rodeiam o campo do consumo popular, bem como da razão prática atrelada a esse tema, a etnografia busca o entendimento do significado que tais bens assumem quando circulam em uma determinada rede de afetividade. Nosso propósito não é construir "um" modelo fechado acerca do gosto e estilo de vida dos grupos populares, mas relatar a polissemia de significados que está presente do momento da escolha entre o produto original e o falso - ato que negocia e equilibra, em um escopo relacional, custo-benefício, razões práticas e simbólicas, dinheiro e amor, efemeridade e duração

Misdiagnosis is an important factor for diagnostic delay in McArdle disease

Diagnosis of McArdle disease is frequently delayed by many years following the first presentation of symptoms to a health professional. The aim of this study was to investigate the importance of misdiagnosis in delaying diagnosis of McArdle disease. The frequency of misdiagnosis, duration of diagnostic delay, categories of misdiagnoses and inappropriate medical interventions were assessed in 50 genetically confirmed patients. The results demonstrated a high frequency of misdiagnosis (90%, n = 45/50) most commonly during childhood years (67%; n = 30/45) compared with teenage years and adulthood (teenage: n = 7/45; adult n = 5/45; not known n = 3/45). The correct diagnosis of McArdle disease was rarely made before adulthood (median age of diagnosis 33 years). Thirty-one patients (62%) reported having received more than one misdiagnosis; the most common were “growing pains” (40%, n = 20) and “laziness/being unfit” (46%, n = 23). A psychiatric/psychological misdiagnosis was significantly more common in females than males (females 6/20; males 1/30; p < 0.01). Of the 45 patients who were misdiagnosed, 21 (47%) received incorrect management. This study shows that most patients with McArdle disease received an incorrect explanation of their symptoms providing evidence that misdiagnosis plays an important part in delaying implementation of appropriate medical advice and management to this group of patients.The authors would like to thank Mr Andrew Wakelin for his great and inspiring work. The authors would also like to thank AGSD-UK, CAPES Foundation, Muscular Dystrophy Campaign and the Euromac Registry for their support

From exercise intolerance to functional improvement: The second wind phenomenon in the identification of McArdle disease

McArdle disease is the most common of the glycogen storage diseases. Onset of symptoms is usually in childhood with muscle pain and restricted exercise capacity. Signs and symptoms are often ignored in children or put down to 'growing pains' and thus diagnosis is often delayed. Misdiagnosis is not uncommon because several other conditions such as muscular dystrophy and muscle channelopathies can manifest with similar symptoms. A simple exercise test performed in the clinic can however help to identify patients by revealing the second wind phenomenon which is pathognomonic of the condition. Here a patient is reported illustrating the value of using a simple 12 minute walk test.RSS is funded by Ciências sem Fronteiras/CAPES Foundation. The authors would like to thank the Association for Glycogen Storage Disease (UK), the EUROMAC Registry funded by the European Union, the Muscular Dystrophy Campaign, the NHS National Specialist Commissioning Group and the Myositis Support Group for funding

Early hematopoietic stem cell transplantation in a patient with severe mucopolysaccharidosis II : 7 years follow-up

Mucopolysaccharidosis type II (MPS II - Hunter syndrome) is an X-linked lysosomal storage disorder caused by a deficiency in the enzyme iduronate-2 sulfatase (I2S), leading to the accumulation of the glycosaminoglycans, affecting multiple organs and systems. Enzyme replacement therapy does not cross the blood brain barrier, limiting results in neurological forms of the disease. Another option of treatment for severe MPS, hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) has become the treatment of choice for the severe form of MPS type I, since it can preserve neurocognition when performed early in the course of the disease. To date, only few studies have examined the long-term outcomes of HSCT in patients with MPS II. We describe the seven-year follow-up of a prenatally diagnosed MPS II boy with positive family history of severe MPS form, submitted to HSCT with umbilical cord blood cells at 70 days of age. Engraftment after 30 days revealed mixed chimerism with 79% donor cells; after 7 years engraftment remains at 80%. I2S activity 30 days post-transplant was low in plasma and normal in leukocytes and the same pattern is observed to date. At age 7 years growth charts are normal and he is very healthy, although mild signs of dysostosis multiplex are present, as well as hearing loss. The neuropsychological evaluation (Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children - Fourth Edition - WISC-IV), disclosed an IQ of 47. Despite this low measured IQ, the patient continues to show improvements in cognitive, language and motor skills, being quite functional. We believe that HSCT is a therapeutic option for MPS II patients with the severe phenotype, as it could preserve neurocognition or even halt neurodegeneration, provided strict selection criteria are followed