COLUMN
My sister wasn’t killed by biology, but by neoliberalism
26 days (at least) were lost in attempts to save state money
This afternoon, my sister Natália Pimenta lost her life to leukemia. However, the mastermind of today’s death was not biology, but neoliberal politics, the abuse of the judiciary and the bureaucratic machine of the capitalist state.
Natália fought bravely against her illness, overcoming all the predictions made by the doctors. At a certain point, however, we ran out of alternative medicines available in Brazil. In the United States, a new drug could extend her life by years.
The medication costs millions of reais for a treatment lasting months. This simple fact is already an excrescence of the capitalist system and inhuman greed. But even in the face of this, the Brazilian state is obliged to buy the medicine and preserve life.
Through frankly illegal measures, the STF has sought to reduce the cases in which “high-cost” medicines can be supplied. Even so, she fit the criteria.
However, having the right is the least of the problem. When we applied to the courts, we were surprised to see our application denied and an aberrant amount of data demanded. They even questioned the effectiveness of a drug approved by the US FDA!
We responded promptly with all the information requested, in a legal document that, including the annexes, totaled more than 100 pages. The document was rejected in less than 20 minutes. They didn’t even read it. A scandal!
We were forced to appeal and, in the second instance, common sense won. This victory cost us 15 days – 15 days of bleeding, 15 days of infections, 15 days of her on a respirator and 15 days of suffering for her family. She was unconscious, but the rest of us were not.
Even after winning in court, the epic was not over. It became necessary to get the Ministry of Health to buy the medicine ordered by the courts. And the slow, torturous process began, where bureaucrat after bureaucrat was passed around, with abusive requests…
In one standard request, they even mentioned the idea of supplying the medication in 180 days! The idea of talking to someone “she doesn’t have 180 days, she can’t wait another 30” and that they didn’t even care, had never crossed my mind.
The Ministry of Health never issued the purchase order. It’s been 11 days since then. At best, it would have taken three more to place the order. She died on Saturday afternoon, without the doctors being able to do anything else.
26 days (at least) were lost in the attempts to save the state money. She didn’t have 26 days. In a morbid joke, two hours after Natália’s death, we received a call from an official asking for information on how to buy the medicine in the “near future”.
In the case of Health, more than any other, the “fiscal austerity” policy of Paulo Guedes and Fernando Haddad costs lives. This slow process was designed to kill people. It was not invented by any government.
It is the work of anonymous bureaucrats in the pay of the financial market. People who, whoever governs, remain and do the bidding of capital. Including murder, as in this case.
