Objectives: There are two objectives of this study. One is to recover the historical trajectory of the anti-asylum movement in Brazil and the other is to analyze some of its successes, difficulties, and challenges

Lüchmann, L H

Rodríguez, J

English

University of New Mexico

University of New Mexico
UNM Digital Repository
English Latin American Social Medicine
12-3-2008
The Anti-Asylum Movement in Brazil
L H. Lüchmann
J Rodríguez
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Recommended Citation
Lüchmann, L H. and J Rodríguez. "The Anti-Asylum Movement in Brazil." (2008). https://digitalrepository.unm.edu/lasm_cucs_en/
111
DOCUMENT CUCS # 28B 
 
C&SC200712(2)Lüchmann-Rodrigues 
 
Lüchmann LH, Rodríguez J. O movimento antimanicomial no Brasil. [The 
Anti-Asylum Movement in Brazil]. Ciência & Saúde Coletiva (Rio de Janeiro, 
Brasil) 2007 March-April; 12(2):399-407. 
Objectives: There are two objectives of this study. One is to recover the 
historical trajectory of the anti-asylum movement in Brazil and the other is to 
analyze some of its successes, difficulties, and challenges. 
Methodology: Interpretive and analytical 
Results: The article utilizes the theory of social movements as a fundamental 
tool for the analysis of collective movements. It takes the analytical concepts of 
Melucci, whose approach tries to break with the reductionist and dichotomist 
perspectives, including the actors, the context, the resources, and the 
interactions (objective and subjective) of the collective action. 
The authors demonstrate the existence of discrimination and cultural and 
institutional control against “crazy people” and insanity (that has been 
transformed to “illness” by hegemonic medical knowledge), which carry whoever 
suffers from this illness into invisibility, exclusion and “social death.” They briefly 
present the trajectory of the anti-asylum movement that came about during the 
period of liberalization from the military regime. During this time period, the 
Medical Reform Movement and the Mental Health Workers Movement appeared. 
The demands of these movements denounced the practice of torture, abuse, and 
corruption, like the use of electroshock treatment, and advocated for the 
humanization of the national system of psychiatric treatment. In addition, they 
advocated for better working conditions, including the reduction of the work load 
and an increase in salaries for mental health workers. In the following years, new 
movements were consolidated and coordinated, like that of the clients and family 
members of the organization “Crazy for Life” whose main objective is to 
transform psychiatric policies and practices. After the National Movement for the 
Fight against Psychiatric Hospitals was consolidated, it initiated a political 
discussion that went beyond the mental health debate and promoted “a society 
without asylums.” Among the conquests of the movement, the authors highlight 
the Psychiatric Reform that fosters significant changes in four dimensions: 
epistemological, technical-healthcare, political-legal, and sociocultural. 
Conclusions: The anti-asylum movement in Brazil articulates the relationship 
between solidarity and social conflicts by denouncing abuses as an effort to 
transform the relationships and conceptions that are discriminatory and that are 
destined to control “the crazy person” and mental illness. 
 


The Anti-Asylum Movement in Brazil

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The Anti-Asylum Movement in Brazil

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