ABSTRACT
The COVID-19 pandemic has revealed multiple dimensions of the civilizational and ecological crisis, highlighting the failure of the dominant capitalist development model and the unjust global concentration of wealth, resulting in profound social inequalities. At the local level, the ‘Cuidar é Resistir’ campaign has demonstrated that traditional populations can offer promising responses for the future. Through the coordination of various actions, such as food collection and distribution, support for local products, and effective communication, this campaign has promoted sanitary, economic, and food security, while reducing social and environmental pressures. The participation of civil society organizations, public institutions, and the Unified Health System has been crucial in this process. The campaign’s experience suggests that the future in the face of the pandemic and the climate crisis can be found in the ways of life of traditional communities, which can inspire new ways of inhabiting the planet, promoting a sustainable and compassionate relationship between humans and nature. By learning from traditional ways of life and combining their practices with the positive dimensions of scientific and technopolitical thinking, based on solidarity and collaborative knowledge, it is possible to employ strategies of living governance to promote the ‘Buen Vivir’ (Good Living) paradigm.
KEYWORDS
Social cohesion; Solidarity; Community integration; Community health indicators; Leadership and governance capacity