Online debate held to launch book on “invisible” Brazilians without ID

On October 25, at 6 pm, on FGV’s YouTube channel, FGV Press will hold a webinar to launch “Invisible People: An Ethnography About Brazilians Without ID,” a book by Fernanda da Escóssia, which presents the results of her doctoral dissertation about the experiences of Brazilian adults without a birth certificate. Oder the course of two years, she immersed herself in the daily activities of a free public service for issuing birth certificates, based on a bus at Praça Onze in downtown Rio de Janeiro. Her book describes the people who come to this bus and the strategies they use to prove they are who they claim to be.

People without a birth certificate cannot obtain any other ID documents. They cannot vote, get a job in the formal economy, open a bank account or hold assets in their name. They can only obtain emergency medical care and they cannot participate in social programs. Access to education is limited, as schools often require documentation for enrollment. According to the National Household Sampling Survey (PNAD), in 2015 there were approximately 3 million Brazilians of different ages without ID documents. No official estimates have been made since then.

This ethnography published by FGV Press reflects on the usefulness of ID documents. The author presents the hypothesis that applying for a birth certificate allows people to uphold their rights and citizenship, as well as record their family history. She shows that obtaining a birth certificate and ensuing rights is part of a larger process of constructing identity and citizenship.

The launch webinar’s speakers will be the book’s author, Fernanda da Escóssia, who is a journalist, university professor, researcher and editor of Piauí Magazine; Professor Letícia Ferreira of Rio de Janeiro Federal University, who has a doctorate in social anthropology; and Vitória Régia da Silva, a journalist, editor of Capitolina Magazine and reporter for gender group Gênero e Número. The moderator will be Cristiane Costa, a professor of journalism at Rio de Janeiro Federal University’s School of Communication and the author of “Punishment for Rent,” who has a doctorate in communication and culture.

To take part in the event, please sign up here.