Pobreza, desigualdades sociais e os impactos sociais da pandemia da covid-19 nas famílias atendidas pela política de assistência social do município de Herval D'Oeste/SC

Abstract

The present study aimed to investigate the social impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic regarding access to work and income, as a basic principle for the social reproduction of the individual. The research addressed the situation of families served by the Social Assistance policy of the municipality of Herval d'Oeste/SC, considering the contextualization of poverty and social inequalities that affect them. Thus, this research is of a bibliographic, documentary, field, qualitative, and quantitative nature. The theoretical foundation begins by clarifying poverty as a historically constructed category, envisioned through the analysis of the General Law of Capitalist Accumulation, Marxist theory, the super-exploitation of workers, and how this process produces social inequalities and poverty, in addition to identifying, comparing, and problematizing the conceptions of poverty. The social impacts of the pandemic in general are also addressed, especially in the families served by the social assistance policy of Herval d'Oeste. The field research was conducted through semi-structured interviews, with the application of different scripts with: a) users of the Social Assistance policy of the municipality of Herval d'Oeste, served since the beginning of the pandemic, until April 2022; b) operators of the Social Assistance policy, who were directly involved in serving the families. Finally, the research data is presented, which found that the increase in demand for occasional benefits in the assistance services occurred due to the null or insufficient access to income of the families, who were socially vulnerable. This process is intrinsically linked to the increase in inequality and poverty evident in Brazil and, especially, in the municipality in question. The pandemic complicated the old structural problems rooted in Brazil and laid bare the framework of economic and social discrepancy among individuals. It was identified that the social impacts of COVID-19 brought decades of regression to people's lives. Thus, it is necessary to recognize the extent of poverty and social inequalities, and invest in public policies that prioritize the social protection of the vulnerable population. Furthermore, it is imperative to recognize hunger as a violation of a basic right, and rethink the Social Assistance Policy so that it can respond to the post-pandemic reality. Additionally, it is also necessary to overcome cyclical problems and resist against the current tendency in Brazil to prioritize targeted social policies that reproduce poverty.