“Private and personal”: Corporate political activity, informal governance, and the undermining of marketing regulation in Brazil

Abstract

Few studies have investigated corporate political activity by unhealthy commodity industries in low-and middle-income countries, and the significance of social and political context has been largely neglected. This study aimed to explore the stalled development of marketing restriction policies in Brazil with an analysis of strategies used to undermine the Legal Framework for Early Childhood. Using a constructivist approach based on a typology of corporate political strategies, decision-making processes were assessed to understand interference by food companies in the Legal Framework, and how this was perceived by policy actors. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with public health advocates, academics and legislature officials. Three broad strategies that contributed to the stalling of marketing restrictions in the Legal Framework were identified: relational approaches to policy influence; collective participation in formal decision-making; and specific strategy choices (information and financial incentives). Key opportunities for policy influence through informal social networks in the 'backstage' of policy making are found to privilege commercial sector actors. Informal policy making may have a critical function in obstructing the development of health-focused regulation in Brazil. This highlights the need for a better understanding of non-codified and hidden corporate efforts to shape the policy environment.

The role of private healthcare sector actors in health service delivery and financing policy processes in low-and middle-income countries: a scoping review

“…Our analysis, therefore, suggests important linkages with the scholarship with other commercial determinants of health, the pharmaceutical industry in health policy processes, and those producing unhealthy commodities. 62 63 …”

What Are Healthy Societies? A Thematic Analysis of Relevant Conceptual Frameworks

“…There is a particular gap in documents that examined environments occupied by the urban poor—something that is increasingly recognised in some of the CDoH literature. 106 , 107 The lack of LMIC perspectives (See Supplementary file 1 ) suggests these frameworks may not address the issues in ways meaningful to the majority of the world’s population. 11 However, even within LMICs, due in large part to the political economy and history of public health — which has placed a great deal of emphasis on population control in LMICs — the health sector has been largely preoccupied with maternal and child health limiting broader considerations.…”

The Foundations of Corporate Strategies Comment on "‘Part of the Solution’: Food Corporation Strategies for Regulatory Capture and Legitimacy"

“…The empirical research findings about the effects of CPA activities on policy outcomes are mixed. 16 Recently an increased study of political activities suggests their influences on health issues such as government efforts to control obesity and noncommunicable diseases in Thailand, 17 self-regulation of food marketing to children in Malaysia, 18 food marketing policies in Brazil, 19 commercial milk formula policy in the Philippines 20 and food marketing in South Africa, Columbia and Indonesia. 21 However, there has been little empirical health research into the three direct CPA discussed here.…”

“…45 - 49 Health researchers in undemocratically governed countries or emerging economies need to investigate the genesis of corporate rights and resultant predominant types of CPA. 47 In countries without strong institutions and systems of checks and balances, including public reporting on CPA, research methods used in other countries 19 such as interviews with relevant individuals, news reports, websites, and other data sources can be used to study CPA.…”