Social and solidarity economics in India and Brazil

The purpose of this paper is to present the policies in the field of social and solidarity economics (SSE) in India and in Brazil, to draw a comparison between them and to present their strengths and weaknesses. This proposal is based on the innovative initiative of an ongoing collaboration between India and Brazil in the field of SSE within the South-South Triangular Cooperation framework of the International Labor Organization.

The methodological procedures used for the elaboration of this article were: literature review in both countries and field trips to India and Brazil.

The study helped us understand the realities of SSE in both countries. The importance of SSE can be observed as a means to deal with poverty and the need to generate income for portions of the population, in spite of the historic, cultural, political, economic and social differences. The Indian experience contributes to the theme of the insertion of women in the mechanisms of generation of work positions and income opportunities, whereas the Brazilian experience contributes to the topic of social cooperativism.

Despite the contributions of SSE to mitigate poverty and income deficiency, considering a significant share of the poor, particularly in India, the mechanisms for inclusion of this population are limited. A similar situation, however, to a lesser degree can also be observed in Brazil.

This study is an input for the elaboration of public policies of SSE, including the advantages of its transversality.

Besides, it will also help in the analysis and elaboration of social policies from an integrated and emancipatory view.

Within the international context, the authors understand that this was the first comparative study on the topic of SSE, undertaken between Brazil and India.