Persistence of extreme poverty, limits of the market economy and the Social State

This issue of the CBPS Journal brings together scientific contributions that reflect Brazil’s structural challenges in promoting social justice, with emphasis on the persistence of extreme poverty, which still affects around 9.5 million people. The editorial highlights how political decisions, particularly austerity measures and Constitutional Amendment No. 95/2016, have weakened the Social State envisioned by the 1988 Constitution, while initiatives such as Bolsa Família have demonstrated positive impacts on health and inequality reduction. The articles in this issue address various themes, such as brain cancer prevention in primary care, women’s mental health during the pandemic, access to mental health services in primary care, the nutritional impact of COVID-19 on vulnerable populations, syphilis in pregnant women, protozoal diagnosis by PCR, mortality trends due to stroke, skin cancer in the elderly, and the rights of immigrant adolescents. These studies reaffirm the strategic role of science in shaping integrated and sustainable public policies. With an explicitly interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary approach that integrates public health, social sciences, education, and public policy, CBPS consolidates itself as a space of excellence devoted to the production of critical knowledge, committed to equity, human dignity, and the reconstruction of the constitutional pact of the Social State.