“Mais Médicos”: Discourses, Bodies, and the Biopolitics of Medical Internationalism

Authors

Keywords:

Mais Médicos, Cuban Medical Internationalism, Biopolitics, Biopower, Poststructuralism

Abstract

Starting in 2013, the Mais Médicos program brought over 11,400 Cuban doctors to work in Brazil. The program aimed to reduce inequality in access to medical care; but it was met with heavy resistance from Brazilian medical professionals. This article employs Foucault, Butler, and other post-modern thinkers to analyze Mais Médicos. Specifically, we argue that Mais Médicos did not lead to a politicization of Brazilian health care, but rather that pre-existing discourses were called upon to support or counter the arrival of Cuban doctors. This discursive struggle resulted in a dispute over biopower within Brazilian society. We base our claims on fieldwork and interviews conducted with Cuban doctors, Brazilian doctors, and Brazilian politicians.

Author Biography

José Oviedo Pérez, Universidad Federal do Rio Grande do Sul

Mestrando em Estudos Estratégicos Internacionais na Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul

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Published

2020-05-06

Issue

No. 34 (2020)

Section

Articles

License

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