According to the case study, poverty is the major social problem facing Brazil leading to high infant mortality rates. After subsistence farming was replaced by sugar cane plantations, the people of Bom Jesus were impoverished, malnourished and some resulted in substance abuse to relieve stress. According to Scheper-Hughes, the problems Bom Jesus experienced were influenced by what Scheper-Hughes referred to as “global financialization” (Bain, 2002). This “global financialization” came about when subsistence farmers were forced out of their lands by mechanized sugar plantations. They then were forced to seek employment in the plantations, but the wages were too low to sustain their families. In addition, other crops like beans were also displaced and this made it difficult for the people of Bom Jesus to have balanced diet.
The research was conducted in a northeastern community called Bom Jesus. Scheper- Hughes used the participant-observation research methodology. This methodology involves creating a close relationship with the members of the community by sharing in their activities so as to collect data from them. From the case study, Hughes created some close relationships with women who told her about their lives in Bom Jesus as well the problems they faced in the community (Bain, 2002). Hughes also used secondary data to get information for her research by consulting church records and local registry books to collect data on infant mortality rates. From the data collected, the infant mortality rate in Brazil was higher as compared to industrialized nations like Canada. However, according to Hughes, the rates given by the government were not correct as she found this to be more after collecting data from the local registry and churches.
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Hughes is of the school of thought that scientists and researchers ought to question figures provided by the government when conducting their research. This is to ascertain that the picture the statistics present match those of the people’s lives. In Brazil, the infant mortality rates provided did not match the real mortality rates as seen in the data collected (Bain, 2002).
Reference
Bain, C. M. (2002). Transitions in society: The challenge of change . Don Mills, Ont.: Oxford University Press.
