Care in a territory of social exclusion: covid-19 exposes colonial marks

Abstract

The intersection of gender, race and class marks the territories of social exclusion, especially in a country that carries scars of a patriarchal and capitalist colonialism in its structures, such as is the case in Brazil. The objective was to understand care in this territory of exclusion in Cubatão, São Paulo, Brazil. The research, conducted between 2017 and 2020, included the pandemic of COVID-19, which overloaded the care in this territory. The method was qualitative research, with workshops, participant observation and in-depth interviews. The care performed by community leaders and primary health care professionals from the Unified Health System was mostly performed by women. For data analysis, the depth hermeneutics was used. The theoretical reference was the cut of feminists: ecofeminist, intersectional and Care Ethics. The study showed several challenges and the ethical-political care as an axis in the search for social and environmental justice.