The Current Conditions of Street Life in Brasil

Essay written in March, 2001

At the end of the 1980´s, Brasil had one of the most serious problems with street children in the world. In addition to having a shocking number of children on the streets, there were many children killed, few social services and a general lack of the empathy and consideration which these children need.

“O Movimiento Nacional de Meninos y Meninas da Rua” arose out of this context. This movement, which integrated both political and social action, was started by Father Bruno Secchia and was given assistance by the church and certain leftist organisations. It aimed to involve all organisations interested in working for street children: those working directly with street children, (social workers, the churches, community associations), important political groups, committed intellectuals and, of course, the children themselves.

At the beginning of the 1990´s, Brasil was full of hope. The dictatorship had fallen, there was a resurgence of civil society and the end of the cold war had liberated the left from a paralysing ideology. This hope was reflected in the Brasilian congress, which passed new human rights legislation and laws to protect cultural minorities and formuated proposals to improve the civil justice system.

Pressure from all these new forces, especially “O Movimiento” resulted in the passage of the “Estatuto da Crianca e do Adolescente” (ECA). This law, one of the most progressive in the whole world, sets out the responsibilities of the state toward children and their families, institutionalises a vision based on the rights of children (rather than on mere charity) and lays down a system that guarantees that the law be enforced. The ECA was the reason for the later success that Brasil had in relation to the problem of street children.

However, in spite of the passage of the ECA, the situation for street children continued to get worse until 1993. Privately hired vigilantes and those working in public security, such as the police, continued shooting children; the number of children on the streets did not decrease while there was an increase in the use of drugs. However, when in 1993, 13 children were killed in La Candeleria in Rio de Janeiro, the public and the international community had had enough.

While international pressure forced the Brasilian government to respect the rights of its street children, Brasilian NGOs learned how to take advantage of the ECA. Civil society took advantage of the “Conselhos Tutelares” in order to denounce violators of human rights and bring them to justice.

In Sao Paulo, the “Associação de Apoio dos Meninos da Região Sé” organised patrols to watch the street the whole night to protect the children from being killed. This proved to be highly successful. “O Movimiento” made the public and the Congress aware of this problem and finally after a few years the killings stopped.

However, the cessation of the killings did not assure that the rights of street children would be respected and in no way contributed to solving the problems they faced. A concerted and lengthy effort involving many different groups was necessary.

Brasilian NGOs then developed new models and formulated proposals for support while also assisting other institutions. Some examples are the following: the “pedagogia del deseo” of Projeto Axe; the model of co-operation between citizens and the government inititated by Projeto Miguilim in Belo Horizonte; and innovative academic-social programmes such as Aldeia Juvenil (in Goiánia) and CESPI (in Rio). Other community associations such as Monte Azul and Salgueiro started programmes designed to prevent children from wanting to live on the streets.

For many Brasilians the problem of street children then became a project to be tackled by all.

The above-mentioned NGOs and those who came later are a fundamental part of the history of street life in Brasil. Although the problem is far too complex to be explained in this short essay, the involvement of many people in the solutions to this problem may account for Brasil´s well-deserved success.

Last year, a census taken in Belo Horizonte (a city of 4.5 million inhabitants) revealed that there were only 520 street children living there. Projeto Miguilim succeeded in returning 360 (70%) of these to their families and helping them to resume their education.

Although other cities in Brasil continue to have problems, the tendency in all areas seems to be that there are fewer children who are living on the streets and of those who are many are deciding to return to their families.

For more details regarding the history of the struggle for human rights of children in Brasil, please look at “Social Mobilisation for the Eradication of Child Labour” by Benedito dos Santos, a founder of the “Movimiento Nacional de Meninas e Meninas de Rua.” (in English).