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Begin forwarded message: > From: H-Net Staff via H-REVIEW <[email protected]> > Date: August 31, 2020 at 3:57:15 PM EDT > To: [email protected] > Cc: H-Net Staff <[email protected]> > Subject: H-Net Review [H-Environment]: Gomez on Hochman, 'The Sanitation of > Brazil: Nation, State, and Public Health, 1889-1930' > Reply-To: [email protected] > > Gilberto Hochman. The Sanitation of Brazil: Nation, State, and > Public Health, 1889-1930. Translated by Diane Grosklaus Whitty. > Lemann Institute for Brazilian Studies Series. Urbana University of > Illinois Press, 2016. xiv + 216 pp. $25.00 (paper), ISBN > 978-0-252-08211-5; $95.00 (cloth), ISBN 978-0-252-04061-0. > > Reviewed by Rocio Gomez (Virginia Commonwealth University) > Published on H-Environment (August, 2020) > Commissioned by Daniella McCahey > > In the opening lines of the conclusion, Gilberto Hochman writes: "It > is hard to adopt a strictly neutral scholarly perspective on > Brazilian public health policy, a topic that has us staring hard in > the face of human suffering and misery" (p. 149). Similarly, this > book review was written during the coronavirus summer and has thus > been influenced by human suffering, past and present. Ironically, > Hochman's scholarly tome has found a contemporary parallel in how > Brazil has approached the current crisis, making its contributions > echo into the present as much as in the past. > > Originally published in 1998, stunningly translated by Diane > Grosklaus Whitty, and newly published for broader audiences by > University of Illinois Press in 2016, this book became an instant > classic in Brazil when it first came out. Focusing on the First > Republic (1889-1930), _The Sanitation of Brazil _examines how the > country developed its public health measures, the political hurdles > in building these reforms, and the cultural considerations to mutual > interdependence. Using archival documents, political treatises, and > legislation, the book dissects the growing awareness among Brazilian > elites that they are surrounded by a very sick country. With yellow > fever, Chagas disease, leprosy, and lurking parasite-borne > infirmities surrounding the metropoles, politicians and medical > doctors alike resigned themselves to the idea of creating a "vast > hospital" across the country, a term employed by physician Miguel > Pereira in an October 1916 speech to the National Academy of Medicine > (pp. 33-35). Public health, as Hochman notes, is not truly public and > exposes the social inequalities in a society, foreboding and timely > words. > > Evolving throughout the book is the idea of health, namely, the > question: to whom, when, and where is the government responsible? > Institutions, both scientific and medical, grew alongside this idea > and determined the approach to assuring the health of the public and > community. However, the riddle emerged with how to apply these > preventative and curative measures across such vast swaths of the > country. At its core, the book argues that the commitment to public > health remained intrinsically tied to the creation of public > authority. This slippery tightrope attempted to "collectivize" > healthcare while at the same time recognizing federal legislation. > Consequently, there exists two principal problems: the creation of a > "we" over "I" and a recognition of the federal government in a > country historically combative to any idea that dominated regional > sovereignty. > > The two salient themes of the book depict a country attempting to > balance its social inequalities and its vast territory while relating > the theme of interdependence. Hochman repeatedly points to government > efforts to structure itself in a way that facilitated the > implementation of public health policy throughout the country. These > efforts attempted to include state power and local support, which > proved uneven in the end. In this disparate application, Hochman > underscores interdependence. Interdependence emphasizes the idea that > the individual has a responsibility to society and vice versa. Using > Abram De Swaan's theory of "collectivization of [health]care" and > Norbert Elias's analysis of the state's roles, the author emphasizes > the reciprocal dependence between individuals, groups, and > institutions in order to avoid the perceived antagonism between > individual and society (p. 4). While tempting to read this section > solely as relevant to our current situation, Hochman reminds us of > the historical context of not only Brazil's size but also the > previous animosity between states and the federal government in the > nineteenth century. Ranging from regional bullheadedness or downright > military aggression toward any nationalist measures, this hurdle in > modern Brazil developed far before the First Republic was even a > dream. > > Using primarily federal health documents and sanitation policies from > 1919-30, the book is arranged chronologically and thematically to > accommodate the focus on public health policy, political structures, > and political maneuverings. Chapter 2 examines the 1916-20 campaign > for the sanitation of Brazil and its efforts to implement new reforms > to limit communicable disease. Chapter 3 examines the question of > responsibility and who should be responsible for communicable > diseases. It analyzes the political structure of public health > agencies and discussion among professionals on reforms and > legislation. Chapter 4 examines the success and failures of these > public health and sanitation measures in addition to how they > informed future interactions between state and federal officials. > Chapter 5 is the odd one, in particular because it focuses > exclusively on the state of São Paulo. It examines its perceived > exceptionalism and explores the state's public health measures as not > separate but rather very much central to federal efforts on public > health policy. > > While overall a fascinating and relevant read, the book does raise > some pertinent questions. Because the First Republic began just a > year after abolition in 1888, it seems fit to answer how this newly > freed population participated in or benefited from reforms (if any). > Unfortunately, this question remains a gaping hole in the > historiography due to lack of sources and the subsequent mass > migration that took place to urban centers. Furthermore, the book > primarily uses archives in Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo, which asks > what the political response to policy was in the states farthest from > the metropoles. > > Overall, the book proves to be integral to the discussion of early > public health and sanitation reform in Latin America. With its recent > translation, it will appeal to scholars in Latin American studies, > public health, and policy studies. While it may be used for first- or > second-year students, upper-level and graduate students may find it > most relevant in understanding the relationship between politics, > interdependence, and public health. A riddle that has yet to be > solved by Brazil, or the United States for that matter. > > Citation: Rocio Gomez. Review of Hochman, Gilberto, _The Sanitation > of Brazil: Nation, State, and Public Health, 1889-1930_. > H-Environment, H-Net Reviews. August, 2020. > URL: https://www.h-net.org/reviews/showrev.php?id=55453 > > This work is licensed under a Creative Commons > Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States > License. > > -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Groups.io Links: You receive all messages sent to this group. View/Reply Online (#1041): https://groups.io/g/marxmail/message/1041 Mute This Topic: https://groups.io/mt/76542257/21656 -=-=- POSTING RULES & NOTES<br />#1 YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message.<br />#2 This mail-list, like most, is publicly & permanently archived.<br />#3 Subscribe and post under an alias if #2 is a concern. -=-=- Group Owner: [email protected] Unsubscribe: https://groups.io/g/marxmail/leave/8674936/1316126222/xyzzy [[email protected]] -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
