Abstract

CARDARELLO, Andréa. The Movement of the Mothers of the Courthouse Square: ‘‘Legal Child Trafficking,’’ Adoption and Poverty in Brazil. Rev. Mus. Antropol. [online]. 2023, vol.16, n.2, pp.327-338.  Epub Aug 31, 2023. ISSN 1852-060X.  http://dx.doi.org/10.31048/1852.4826.v16.n2.38906.

In 1998, in São Paulo, Brazil, a movement of poor families demanded a revision of the legal procedures that led to their children being put up for national and international adoption. The examination of judicial records revealed that ‘‘irregular’’ adoptions were allowed by the legal authorities without obtaining the families’ consent and bypassing their rights to defend themselves against accusations that included child abuse and abandonment. The study of this movement brought out particular kinship represen- tations among the country’s poorer classes as well as the perception of poverty held by the country’s elite. In this article, I argue that one sector of the elite views poor children both as potential threats to society and as a means of fulfilling the desires of prospective adoptive parents, especially when the child is a ‘‘white’’ or light-skinned newborn.

Keywords : Adoption; Child trafficking; Poverty; Social movements; Brazil.

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