The interest of the child and the interest of the elites: Child-trafficking scandals, adoption and paternity in Brazil

Abstract

In 1998, in the State of São Paulo, Brazil, an activist movement made up of a group of poor families sought a review of the legal procedures that led to the adoption of their children in Brazil and abroad. To shed light on a situation denounced by the media as a “child-trafficking scandal,” I present a case in which the lack of birth certificates was used to justify the removal of children by the judiciary system. I then explore the function and meaning of the birth certificate and its relation to “taking on” a child (assumir) with respect to notions of paternity prevailing in the Brazilian popular classes, as well as the changes that may have occurred due to the recent craze for DNA-based paternity tests. Finally, I discuss the link that exists between adoption and DNA paternity tests in Brazil, where, in the name of the best interest of the child, both are urged by a sector of the elite as ways to fight poverty – and by implication, crime – in that country.