Direito e Pobreza

Grupo Direito e Pobreza is a research group at the University of São Paulo’s Faculty of Law, focused on the legal dimensions of poverty, underdevelopment, and economic power concentration. Its work seeks to develop legal solutions through empirical research, examining how law can move beyond reinforcing inequality and become an instrument for social change.

The group’s activities follow three connected stages: education, research, and intervention. It introduces undergraduate students to the historical development of poverty in Brazil and the legal and economic structures that have shaped inequality. Research themes are selected annually, with attention to abuses of economic power and their relationship to law. The group then applies its findings to practical cases, supporting governmental and nongovernmental institutions capable of contributing to social intervention.

Its team includes faculty members, coordinators, and students, and changes each year. The group shares research through publications on subjects including inequality, colonial economic structures, intellectual property, public health, access to medicines, and vaccines. Its website also provides information about its team, projects, publications, and alumni.