Original post: National First Childhood Network website
The General Assembly of the National Early Childhood Network, meeting in Rio de Janeiro on the 29th and 30th of June, approved an internal letter on the strategic priorities for the RNPI's action in the face of the current political and economic scenario and its negative impacts in the field of rights of Brazilian children.
The letter denounces the deterioration of the living conditions of children and their families as a result of the budgetary restriction caused by Constitutional Amendment 95, which limits investments in the social area, as well as items of labor and social security reforms, which attack the fundamental rights of workers. , impacting children’s lives. And it reaffirms the RNPI project and its commitment to defending public policies aimed at children in early childhood, in addition to extolling the power of networking ( click here to download the official document of the National Early Childhood Network).
The document was the product of a debate on the political and economic situation that opened the Extraordinary Assembly. Claudius Ceccon, coordinator of the executive secretariat of RNPI/CECIP – Centro de Criação de Imagem Popular, opened the meeting by addressing the political context. “Our task is to think of a new Brazil in the midst of so much adversity. The National Early Childhood Network is a political actor in this game, and we need to reflect together on our nation project. The great value of the Network is our wealth of experience: we have challenges but we also have resources to solve them”, said Claudius.
Then, a debate began on public policies for early childhood and bills currently being processed in Congress. Vital Didonet, RNPI's legislative advisor, reported a series of risks and setbacks both within the federal executive branch and in the National Congress. “Social policies are being fragmented, which leads to the isolation of those who work on their design and implementation. Constitutional Amendment 95, which freezes social investments until 2034, is a major obstacle to Brazilian social development. We need to be aware and well informed, and produce technical documents, pass them on to journalists, publish on blogs to announce the new possible”, said Vital Didonet.
Carmem Hernaez, Rita Coelho, Vital Didonet and Liliana Lugarinho
Rita Coelho, from the Brazilian Early Childhood Education Interforum Movement (MIEIB), also warned about the current situation. “Discussing rights implies having a project of society and utopia, and we have this utopia materialized in the National Early Childhood Plan and the Legal Framework for Early Childhood. And the biggest poison that is affecting our utopia and our nation's plan is the belligerent climate of 'us against them'. Our challenge is to keep the debate ethical and transparent, and value our diversity. The false polarization we observe is a perverse and artificial maneuver, we need to resist and defend spaces for dialogue and participation”, stated Rita.
Liliana Lugarinho, from Estrategia Brasileirinhas e Brasileirinhos Saudáveis (EBBS), addressed the topic of health. “We are very concerned about basic care in municipalities and the lack of resources. One hundred and fifty-five billion reais were no longer invested in health. There is a lack of hospital beds, there is a lack of transport for children and families. The amount of money that is no longer invested in health is frightening, the cost-benefit ratio cannot be applied when we talk about human lives”, stated Liliana. Carmem Hernaez, from Edupas, an organization in Buenos Aires, made the final comment, identifying similarities between the Brazilian situation and the political moment in Argentina, which has reduced spaces for social participation.
“It seems that we are moving from the phase of invisibility of children and adolescents in public policies to a period of harm to these children. Several bills being processed in Congress represent a setback in human rights, such as the reduction of the age of criminal responsibility, the reduction of the working age, and the school without parties. Brazil's problem is not the lack of resources, as they would have us believe, we are seeing a country in which politicians steal children's lunch money”, said Flavio Debique, from Plan Brasil. Fabio Paes, from Aldeias Infantis SOS Brasil, drew attention to the international situation: “There is a project underway, above the president or the legislative power, it is a global project, in which the State does not exist, only market law ”.
Based on the debate established and with the objective of organizing the actions of RNPI members, the assembly discussed and unanimously approved a strategic charter of actions. The document reaffirms the importance of defending the principle of absolute priority in guaranteeing the rights of children and adolescents, and calls on RNPI member organizations to list strategic actions in this scenario. Among the actions listed is the maintenance and expansion of democratic spaces for dialogue and participation and the need to expand and deepen internal and external communication actions, with the aim of disseminating knowledge and strengthening the connection of RNPI members with other organizations and with society in general. Another strategic action highlighted in the letter is to value and recognize the action of organizations that work directly with children and their families, calling for their audiences to know and increase awareness of their rights and actively participate in their demands – as well as for data and reports produced by these organizations are recognized as a source of knowledge and information about the situation of the living conditions of Brazilian children.
“Children are not to blame for any of the present evils, and they should not be penalized by economic adjustment measures. Their life, health, education, food, play and leisure, culture, family ties and others – must be preserved. In times of crisis, these rights require even greater protection and care. Furthermore, access for all children, of all Brazilian childhoods, to opportunities for inclusion and development must be promoted”, states the document.
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