The number of youth-led political organizations advocating for the rights of women, Black individuals, and the LGBTQIA+ community has been growing, along with scholarly debate on these organizations, both independently and through an intersectional approach. This research begins by asking: what are the agendas of the main Brazilian social movements led by young people advocating for feminisms, anti-racisms, and LGBTQIA+ rights, and what commonalities can be found in their trajectories? Our initial hypothesis is that the current demands reflect a pursuit of rights for groups considered more vulnerable to social oppression. Analyzing the evolution of these demands helps to understand how perceptions of social inequalities have evolved, emphasizing their diverse and intersectional nature rather than being confined to a homogenized view tied to social class. To understand what drives changes in perceptions of social inequalities, we revisit key social and governmental milestones that expanded access to central institutions in Brazilian society for women, Black individuals, and LGBTQIA+ people. This increased presence fostered interactions between these groups and other actors and helped spread the understanding that social inequalities are interconnected with these divisions. To systematize the agendas of the three main Brazilian social movements in these areas – feminisms, anti-racisms, and LGBTQIA+ rights – we will analyze documents produced by the movements and conduct qualitative interviews with their key leaders. The results will be shared through scientific articles, a book, a booklet, and a video primarily aimed at young people, contributing to a greater understanding of the field among scholars and the general public.

Participants (Center)

UFPI: Olivia Cristina Perez, Rogério de Oliveira Araújo, Caroline Alves dos Santos, Libni Milhomem Sousa, Kellen Carvalho de Sousa Brito.

Aligned with the global Sustainable Development Goals agenda, researchers, social movements, and policymakers are increasingly interested in discussing strategies for transitioning to sustainable and healthy food systems. A central issue in this debate is how food activism by rural and urban social movements can contribute to a new generation of public policies. In Brazil, this issue has become even more relevant due to rising food insecurity, compelling these movements to expand and diversify their economic strategies for accessing sustainable and healthy food. To contribute to this discussion, the project brings together a network of researchers to address the following question: to what extent do the food activism strategies of these social movements converge to form a framework that can guide the development of a new generation of food policies? The guiding hypothesis of this investigation proposes a convergence around a framework that connects healthy food consumption with food and environmental justice. This hypothesis will be tested through a comparative analysis of food activism strategies in the metropolitan regions of Belém, Manaus, Natal, São Luís, Belo Horizonte, Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, Curitiba, and Porto Alegre. These cities were selected based on three criteria: diverse regional dynamics, histories of activism and food policies, and the team’s prior research expertise. The comparative analysis will be structured using an analytical matrix composed of variables and indicators applicable to all cases. To develop this matrix and support the execution and dissemination of results, the project will collaborate with the Food for Justice research group at the Free University of Berlin, Germany, and the Laboratório Urbano de Políticas Públicas Alimentares (Urban Laboratory for Food Policy, Luppa) associated with the Instituto Comida do Amanhã.

Participants (Center)

SOPAS/UFRGS: Paulo André Niederle (coordenador); Maycon Noremberg Schubert; Luíza Tavares; Vitória Giovana Duarte; Marília Luz David; Liége Disconzi Rodrigues; Pamela Kenne; Eduarda Paz Trindade; Julia Menin; Natália Vencato de Paula; Renata Campos Motta; Ângela Camana

This project aims to analyze the political and epistemological roles that Sociology, as a discourse, has played and represented in Brazilian studies on climate change, particularly in the context of the growing trend toward interdisciplinary research on this issue.

Participants (Center)

TEMAS/UFRGS: Gabriel Bandeira Coelho.

This research project explores the impact of denialist positions on Brazil’s COVID-19 health crisis, which was compounded by conflicts between the federal government and other branches of power. These positions resonate not only within government circles but also across various sectors of organized society. Building on authors like N. Oreskes, this study proposes a sociology of attacks on scientific institutions, defining denialism as coordinated efforts to discredit scientific findings. We also examine how institutions in Rio de Janeiro and Rio Grande do Sul have responded to pandemic and climate-related disasters. The project is grounded in the interconnection between democracy and science, emphasizing the populist exploitation of science, particularly by far-right ideologues. In the face of rising scientific populism, we argue that universities need to balance upholding their authority with addressing legitimate criticisms.

Participants (Center)

NDAC/Cebrap: José Szwako, Murilo Souto Maior.

This project examines how science is used and mobilized in the formulation of the institutional governance of Brazil’s climate policy, with a focus on federal policy instruments designed to address climate change. In line with discussions in Science and Technology Social Studies, particularly those on the co-production of science, society, and nature, as well as literature on state and public policies, this project focuses on the intersections between science, institutional activism, and environmentalism in Brazilian climate policy. Methodologically, the analysis relies on field research, supported by interviews, direct observation, and document analysis. The project begins with a systematic survey of the instruments that make up Brazil’s current federal climate policy, which will support a content analysis of the legislation to identify how scientific concepts are used and mobilized within these instruments. It will also enable an analysis of the sociotechnical network surrounding these instruments, identifying key points of mediation – such as studies, documents, government agencies, and civil society organizations – that are crucial for their formulation and implementation. Subsequently, the project will conduct interviews and direct observation to explore the agencies, interests, and conflicts that have been either stabilized or contested within Brazil’s governance structure of climate change mitigation policies. The expected results aim to clarify science’s role in shaping Brazil’s climate policies, scientists’ position within policymaking processes, the controversies and conflicts surrounding climate policies, and who mobilizes science in these disputes and how.

Participants (Center)

TEMAS/UFRGS: André Trevisol Trindade, Camila Cabrera, Camila Delagnese Prates, Frederico Salmi, Lásaro Thiesen, Lorena Cândido Fleury.
GPACE/UFRGS: Gerson de Lima Oliveira, Luan Homem Belomo.

The COVID-19 pandemic was both a health and political crisis, marked by the politicization of the pandemic itself. The Bolsonaro government’s denialist stance, with its refusal to implement a coordinated strategy to combat the virus, exacerbated this situation. This research project aims to understand how organized civil society responded to the state’s refusal to effectively address the crisis. The research will be guided by the following question: how did Brazilian civil society react to the denialist far-right, which spread misinformation during the pandemic? Our approach focuses on four interconnected lines of analysis: a) the intense mobilization of mutual aid efforts during the pandemic’s early months; b) advocacy efforts aimed at securing laws and public policies to help protect the population from the virus; c) online mobilization during the investigations conducted at the COVID Parliamentary Committee of Investigation (CPI); and d) the efforts of overlapping networks advocating for the rights of COVID-19 victims and their families. To explore these dynamics, we analyze shifts in tactics and framing used by social movements that emerged in defense of the pandemic’s victims. This study adopts a mixed-methods research design to compare the various forms of mobilization during the pandemic’s critical phase and the post-pandemic period.

Participants (Center)

RESOCIE/UNB: Amanda Barcelos Mota, Amanda Maciel Matos, Ana Carolina Vaz da Silva, Gabriel Santos Elias, Lorena Vilarins dos Santos, Maria Eduarda Batalha Lima, Mariana de Souza Fonseca, Mariana Miranda Tavares, Pedro Burity Borges, Rafael Rocha Viana, Rebecca Neaera Abers; Marisa von Bülow

This project aims to analyze recent changes in the organization and actions of social movements, focusing on their repertoires of action and interaction with the state. It examines these dynamics in a context marked by efforts to institutionally rebuild policies and policy tools at the national level, along with disputes and conflicts at the subnational level. Our focus spans the national, state, and municipal levels in Brazil’s Northeast, aiming to understand the interconnections between these different levels of action, organization, and conflict, as well as the policy processes involving movement actors.

Participants (Center)

NESPP/UFPB: Carlos Eduardo de Lima Correia, Fernanda Maria Negromonte de Santana, Ingrid Raissa Guerra Lins, Lizandra Serafim.

The primary goals of this study are: a) to explore the dynamics of conflicts between movements and counter-movements in women’s activisms in Brazil, as well as their interactions with the Brazilian state in its various relational configurations; and b) to analyze how activists evaluate their impact relative to the outcomes they have achieved. Specifically, the study seeks to capture the strategies, agendas, and responses of both feminist and anti-feminist movements regarding women’s rights, considering the progress made from an emancipatory perspective as well as the “reflux” associated with the rise of neoconservatism and Brazil’s democratic crisis. This crisis, which has intensified since the 2016 parliamentary coup, has led to backsliding in gender equality policies. To carry out this comprehensive investigation, encompassing multiple research fronts, the following steps will be taken: a) a literature review; b) collection of materials produced by civil society organizations; c) collection of journalistic materials related to women’s protests to supplement LA PROTESTA, a database on protests in Brazil; d) quantitative and qualitative analysis (Protest Event Analysis) of data from LA PROTESTA; e) semi-structured interviews with feminist and anti-feminist activists; and f) interpretative analysis of these interviews.

Participants (Center)

NEPAC/UNICAMP: Isabella Assunção de Oliveira Andrade, Luana Loureiro Cruz, Maria Luiza Costa Sobreira.

This analysis of protest events aims to illuminate the connections between street politics and institutional politics, focusing on the relationships between protests, regimes, and political opportunities. By examining variables such as actors, repertoires, demands, targets, scope, and conflict level of protests, the study provides a unique overview of mobilizations in Brazil and their transformations over 22 years from 2000 to 2022. The study uses a unique database of protest events in Brazil, compiled from reports published in the newspaper Folha de São Paulo. This project builds on an existing database (Tatagiba and Galvão, 2019; Tatagiba and Carvalho, 2024) and expands it to include protests reported by the press from 2000 to 2009.

Participants (Center)

NEPAC/UNICAMP: Gabriela Taboni Lisboa, Jordy Pereira Melo, Larissa Pereira de Melo, Leonardo Xavier Nascimento, Luciana Ferreira Tatagiba, Natália de Jesus Trindade, Wellynton Samuel Oliveira de Souza.

Since the June 2013 protests, Brazilian politics has been marked by significant upheavals. The landscape of activism, once dominated by the left, has become more diverse with the rise of right-wing social movements. Abrupt shifts in the political coalition, resulting from President Rousseff’s removal from office and the election of a far-right government in 2018, are key achievements of this activism. The COVID-19 pandemic further disrupted the political scene, sparking intense disputes over how to handle the health crisis. This project is driven by the following question: what is the relationship between this series of political crises and the reconfigurations of political activism in Brazil? We propose that these reconfigurations are rooted in three interconnected processes: a) shifts in the political coalition that marginalize some actors while empowering others; b) changes in the organization of policy subsystems where activists operate; and c) an ideational dispute over the political crisis and the nature of democracy. Activists both vie for this meaning and are shaped by the meanings that have already been established. To examine the dynamics of ideational dispute and activist reconfiguration, we analyze changes in the strategies, repertoires, and frames of actors interacting with the political system. We focus on three particularly contentious issues today: deforestation, reproductive and sexual rights, and the response to the COVID-19 pandemic. We propose a mixed-methods research design to compare the processes of change related to these three themes over the past decade.

Participants (Center)

RESOCIE/UNB: Amanda Barcelos Mota, Amanda Maciel Matos, Ana Carolina Vaz da Silva Anne Karoline Rodrigues Vieira, Débora Rezende Almeida, Gabriel Santos Elias, Gustavo Rodrigues Mesquita, Lorena Vilarins dos Santos, Lucas Souza Lacerda Mariana de Souza Fonseca, Mariana Miranda Tavares e Marina Ferreira de Araujo Fernandes, Pedro Burity Borges, Rafael Gonçalves De Toni, Rafael Rocha Viana, Rebecca Neaera Abers.