Abstract

GOMEZ, Renata Gabriela Cortez. Asbestos-related diseases in Latin America: A Critical Medical Anthropology perspective. Rev. Mus. Antropol. [online]. 2023, vol.16, n.2, pp.217-228.  Epub Aug 31, 2023. ISSN 1852-060X.  http://dx.doi.org/10.31048/1852.4826.v16.n2.41000.

Asbestos-related diseases (ARD) cause around 255,000 deaths a year worldwide; however, this problem has not aroused much interest in Latin American medical anthropology, despite the fact that the highest global productivity of asbestos took place in this region during the 1980s. Based on a documentary review of scientific production, gray literature, and other resources, the aim of this article is to elucidate the potential of the theoretical contributions of Critical Medical Anthropology for the research on how the people affected experience and deal with these illnesses in this region, from three dimensions of analysis: a) ARD as a product of the capitalist system, b ) the difficulties in access to health care and pensions for those affected, c) the struggle as a form of agency for those affected. The critical perspective that underlines the importance of the dialectical approach between relations of domination and resistance contributes to the reconstruction of the state of the art and a historicization of the problem in the region.

Keywords : Critical Medical Anthropology; Asbestos; Asbestos-related diseases; Access to health care; Social struggle.

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