Foto: Freepik
Por: Albert França da Costa*
Social justice, with all of its many nuances, is not just a term, but a beacon for the tireless work of the social movements and community-based associations. These organizations, movements and collectives work daily for the assurance of rights, very often basic rights, such as housing, food security, land and territory; obviously, their daily struggles are constantly crossed by the markers that push the people comprising these organizations to fight. Although they are at the forefront of defending, protecting and/or developing their territories, they are sometimes excluded, sometimes removed from a series of debates that center on power, one of which is philanthropy in Brazil.
In an article titled “The (counter) reform of human and social rights in Latin America,” Eduardo Manuel Val cites the “criminalization of social movements, accused of terrorism, and the articulation of successive legal proceedings that, in an abusive manner, start to exert a permanent coercion on social movements, affecting the personal freedoms of their leaders and eliminating the sources and financial resources that make their activities possible.” In a scenario of ongoing criminalization of social movements, it is crucial to gather the information needed to understand their objectives, support their struggles and include them in the decisions made in the philanthropic field.
If philanthropy aims to reduce inequalities and the field of social justice philanthropy focuses on the shifting power, promoting research and the production of knowledge in this area is critical in order to have more robust data and make more sensitive readings. Studies produced according to these guidelines are not just about the data collected from social movements and grassroots community associations; it is an echo of their voices and potential.
In this sense, the Saberes Program plays a crucial role in the field. It creates a space for grassroots actors to voice their needs, questions and positions on what is being built, from the inside out. This means taking into account the experiences and perspectives of the people directly involved in order to understand and formulate effective strategies for a philanthropy that has social justice as a critical element of its program.
As a researcher at the Saberes Program, I have managed to systemize some of the points made by the social movements and community-based associations about their difficulties in understanding each other in the field. When I interviewed leaders and members of these organizations, it became clear that the prevailing image of philanthropy is centered on major philanthropists, whose power directly influences the actions they fund. It is a challenge to show that the term philanthropy does not always have to mean something distant from those of us at the grassroots. Organizations perceive a distance between the field and the grassroots, not just in geographical terms, but also in terms of active listening and participating in decisions. The lack of access to appropriate communications, strict bureaucracy and hermetic models were listed as important obstacles. So, the study not only highlights these issues, but also the importance of challenging and rebuilding conventional concepts of philanthropy, ensuring that the voices and needs of the territories are truly considered and valued in the decision-making process.
Compiling the necessary information is not just about collecting data. It is about listening to, recognizing and valuing the voices of the people within the territories. This participatory, inclusive approach allows the study to reflect more accurately the reality and the needs of the communities involved, contributing to fairer, more sustainable solutions.
The field must take a more sensitive, careful look at promoting research, but it must not focus exclusively on academic productions. Grassroots productions are needed, which take into account the multiple factors that restrict the participation of social and community-based movements. This is a crucial step towards ensuring that social justice philanthropy will fulfill its goal of promoting a real, equitable shift of power.
*NOTE: This article is part of the study project “The social movements’ difficulty to access resources and the construction of a new political culture of donation,” by Albert França da Costa, developed within the scope of the Comuá Network’s Saberes Program.
AUTHOR: Albert França da Costa is a student, researcher and activist who has been engaged in social movements for seven years. He is a member of the Homeless Workers’ Movement of Brazil (MTST) and Coordinator of “Pacová – Articulação de Cooperação do Campo à Cidade,” and has been intensely dedicated to the cause of social justice.
