Zero Hunger Thesis

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Zero Hunger and its Participants The Zero Hunger program, in Brazil sought to eradicate the problem of hunger that plagued the country. The program had been formed in 2003 under the presidency of Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who prioritized erasing hunger issues within the country. Considering that the program had been Lula’s first major social policy, there is an indication that this was the government’s view on “fixing” the country. Overall, the program’s main objectives focused on four different pillars: expanding access to food, increased support for family farming, increased income generation, and a greater degree of partnerships and social mobilization. By completing these set objectives, the highest officials of the program theorized …show more content…

They were crucial because they had a more direct relation with the townspeople while retaining the rhetoric of the higher officials. Also known as the “Coordenadorias”, these agents were made up of people with backgrounds of various social organizations and ideologies. Their diversity contributed to a greater understanding of the ways in which the rural poor operated. For example, Ansell mentions that the agents’ parents were normally raised with their grandparents in the countryside as subsistence cultivators. The close relationships were still evident in their lives which enhanced their sense of familiarity with the people. Ansell’s conversation with Eugena, a Coordenadoria consultant, demonstrated this connection. She states “My Uncles still live there, Aaron, we enjoy a much easier life in the city, with running water and electricity and schools and Internet. But everybody in the office has a parent or an uncle or a grandparent in that beautiful system of family agriculture” (Ansell, …show more content…

They, however, saw the cause of the “broken machine” from a different view compared to those in Brasilia. They see the “neoliberal present” as the causation for the hardships and corruption that exists in Northeast Brazil (Ansell, 98). These agents, although having different perspectives, played into the direction of the high-level officials. By challenging the traditional patronage systems that existed and pursued events that relied heavily on the townspeople’s participation, they continued the agenda of those in Brasilia without much consideration to the local

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