Example of an Essay on Aging in Brazilian Society

In Machado de Assis’ book ‘Memorial de Aires,’ the protagonist, a retired diplomat, faces the loneliness and social marginalization typical of old age, despite his vast experience and accumulated wisdom. Analogously, in the contemporary Brazilian context, the elderly population experiences an aging process marked by systematic devaluation and institutional neglect. From this perspective, two major challenges for building dignified perspectives on aging must be overcome: ineffective public policies and ageism rooted in society. In the face of this scenario, ineffective public policies pose an obstacle to promoting dignified perspectives on aging, as they prevent adequate protection of the rights guaranteed to the elderly population. According to the sociologist Émile Durkheim, a society without clear rules, values, and limits is in a state of social anomie. In this sociological sense, this anomic state can be observed in today’s Brazilian reality, as state omissions allow systematic violations of the rights of the elderly, such as neglect in long-term care institutions, precarious health care, and the lack of effective active aging programs. Moreover, although the Statute of the Elderly has provided comprehensive protection since 2003 and the Inter-American Convention on the Rights of Older Persons was approved by the Organization of American States in 2015, Brazil has yet to ratify this important international instrument, demonstrating governmental disregard. Based on this, urgent and pragmatic change must be made to transform this situation, not only to value the elderly population in the country but also to protect them.