Brazil’s ‘ghost citizens’: Helping people without ID access basic rights
By France24
24 April 2022 |
3:50 pm
Brazil has more than three million "ghost citizens": people who don't have a birth certificate or ID card. In administrative terms they do not exist and have no access to public health care or education. They also can't vote. But in the run-up to October's elections, these people could constitute a potential political force. Our correspondents Perrine Juan, Louise Raulais and Tim Vickery take a closer look at the legal and social workers who are trying to help "ghost citizens".
In this article
Related
12 Oct 2021
Brazil's President Jair Bolsonaro says he was prevented from seeing a football match in the city of Peruibe when he could not provide a Covid pass. The mandate applies for access to popular tourist spots and other public spaces such as cinemas, theaters, gyms, museums, sports stadiums and conference venues -- but not restaurants, bars or shopping malls. Brazil had a late start with coronavirus vaccination but is now the country with the fourth-most doses administered.
25 Oct 2021
Covid-19 has caused over 600,000 deaths in Brazil. But who, or what, is responsible for the situation that many see as a complete mishandling of the health crisis?A parliamentary commission suggests President Bolsonaro should now face charges of crimes against humanity for his responsibility in the management of the pandemic. Our Brazil bureau has more on the story.
27 Oct 2021
A live broadcast video from Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has been removed from Facebook, YouTube and Instagram. In the video, the president falsely stated that UK citizens are developing AIDS after receiving two Covid-19 vaccine doses. After the video was posted, fact-checking and governmental entities scrambled to clarify that there is no evidence to demonstrate a link between Covid-19 vaccines and the development of viruses such as HIV.
28 Oct 2021
Politicians in Brazil have voted to back a report recommending criminal charges be leveled against right-wing populist President Jair Bolsonaro over his response to the COVID pandemic.
30 Oct 2021
A Brazilian Senate committee has backed criminal charges against President Jair Bolsonaro over his handling of the Covid-19 pandemic. A 1,200-page report accuses the president of downplaying the disease and questioning the safety of vaccines, exposing the public to mass infections. However, the Senate committee doesn't have the power to bring charges, and it's unlikely that the attorney general or lower house speaker will open criminal proceedings, since they are both Bolsonaro allies. We tell you more.
7 Nov 2021
Winning bids went to subsidiaries of Telefonica, Telecom Italia and America Movil. Huawei was exluded from the tender amid US-China tech standoff.
17 Nov 2021
Argentina captain Lionel Messi is fit again and will start their World Cup qualifier at home to Brazil on Tuesday, coach Lionel Scaloni told reporters on Monday (November 15).
Scaloni made similar comments ahead of Argentina’s last game, a 1-0 win against Uruguay on Friday, although Messi only appeared for the final 14 minutes of the match.
Argentina are second in South America’s 10-team qualifying group, six points behind Brazil, who are the only team from the region to have secured their place at Qatar 2022 so far.
20 Nov 2021
Sao Paulo's Fashion week -edition 52- stretched into Wednesday featuring designs based on fashion in the popular mobile-based game "Free Fire."
19 Nov 2021
This comes after the Brazilian government committed to end illegal deforestation at the UN climate summit in Glasgow.
12 Dec
The 'agricultural mafia' taking over Brazil's Amazon rainforest
22 Dec
A video has been widely shared in pro-Bolsonaro circles on Brazilian social media. It claims to show Brazil's former president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva being insulted by Parisian students during a Batucada performance, while on the French leg of his European tour. We explore how the performance was hijacked and twisted by rival political supporters.
25 Dec
The pandemic claimed more than 600,000 lives in Brazil. But an effective vaccination campaign has turned the tide. While the pandemic may not be causing the havoc it did in the first half of 2021, it remains a major challenge.
Latest
6 hours ago
The war in Ukraine has forced a major rethink of European security, with further enlargement of both NATO and the EU now on the table. Kyiv has asked for a fast-track procedure for EU membership. Moldova and Georgia have also applied. The EU has made it clear that Ukraine belongs to the European family. However, admitting several more nations would be highly challenging. And even before the war, the EU was already negotiating with candidate countries Albania, the Republic of North Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia and Turkey. We discuss how far the EU should grow, and how fast that process should be, with two MEPs.
6 hours ago
As Berlin seeks to ween itself off Russian energy sources, Chancellor Scholz has said Qatar "plays an important role" in energy policy. The visiting Emir of Qatar has confirmed could start LNG deliveries by 2024.
6 hours ago
Germany's defense minister has said the anti-aircraft tank will be used to protect "critical infrastructure" in Ukraine from Russian attacks.
7 hours ago
On day two of the Cannes Film Festival, FRANCE 24's Olivia Salazar-Winspear tells us why the première of "Top Gun: Maverick" has movie fans jostling to catch a glimpse of US actor Tom Cruise on the red carpet. We also take a look at the first films competing for the Palme d'Or, as Kirill Serebrennikov returns to Cannes to present "Tchaikovsky's Wife". The Russian director was unable to attend the screenings of his last two films, "Petrov's Flu" and "Leto", due to living under virtual house arrest in Moscow in recent years.
7 hours ago
Taipei has introduced a "new Taiwan model" to shift away from its "zero-COVID" strategy. But public health experts warn of an increase in COVID-19 fatalities if the island can't streamline policies.
7 hours ago
In France, coming out of the closet and living openly as a member of the LGBTI+ community can be a significant psychological, emotional and social challenge. Until just 40 years ago, it was also a legal one. In 1982, the age of consent was lowered from 21 to 18 for homosexuals in France, making it the same for everyone. This landmark law paved the way for important civil liberties, including the legalisation of same-sex marriage in 2013. But there are still obstacles to be overcome. To find out more about the ongoing fight for equality, we speak to Sébastien Tüller, LGBTI+ legal advisor for Amnesty International France.