Pandemia do coronavírus e saúde quilombola: impactos, mobilização e resistência no Quilombo Capoeiras (RN)

Abstract

The racial issue in Brazil is complex and dates back to colonial history, influencing social relations to this day. Quilombola communities – specifically the Capoeiras community located in the municipality of Macaíba in the state of Rio Grande do Norte – are ethnic-racial groups with a history of resistance, in addition to facing challenges such as land regularization and access to basic rights, they also had to deal with the inefficiency of public policies and the need for greater support and recognition from the State in the context of the Coronavirus pandemic that has ravaged the world. The general objective of this study is to understand how quilombolas ensured their social reproduction and resisted during the health crisis. To this end, the following specific objectives were listed: a) to understand their organization and the processes of resistance of quilombos and b) to identify what interventions were provided by public authorities to quilombola communities regarding access to health policies and prevention and treatment of coronavirus. The research adopted a mixed approach, combining documentary and bibliographic content analysis, socioeconomic data collection and participant observation. Based on historical-dialectical materialism, the content analysis revealed that the rights of quilombolas acquired prior to the pandemic were violated and that the absence of effective public policies deepened vulnerabilities in the community. The results indicated that, in the face of state negligence, the community developed collective resistance strategies to face the crisis, with emphasis on the actions of quilombola women, who assumed a central role in community organization, mainly in the articulation of essential items, such as the production of cloth masks, distribution of alcohol gel and food, in addition to maintaining the dynamics of social ties. The resistance of women reaffirmed their fundamental and mobilizing role in the political and social structure of the Quilombola community of Capoeiras/Macaíba–RN, strengthening the collective identity of a quilombola community and its fight for ethnic-racial rights and effective public health policies that combat structural and institutional racism.