Solidariedade como via alternativa de controle do superendividamento dos idosos decorrente do assédio de consumo para aquisição de crédito

Abstract

The country has been going through, especially from the 70s of the last century, through na intense and irreversible aging process of its population with profound social and economic consequences, ranging from changes in the profile of brazilian families to the empowerment of the elderly in the market of consumption. Such vicissitudes are not unnoticed by the Market of production and circulation of goods and services and, in particular, by financial institutions: heavy advertising campaigns are promoted every year aimed at offering payroll-deductible loans. The techniques, however, used to capture this particular and hypervulnerable niche of consumers are sometimes translated into true practices of consumer harassment, essentially represented in targeted actions and illicit advertising, compromising the freedom of the elderly, with the potential to lead to the unthinking acquisition of credit and, therefore, to its most harmful effect: irreversible indebtedness. The present work intends, therefore, as a general objective, to approach how the solidarism forged in the associations can be instrumentalized as a way of defending the elderly consumer against consumer harassment practices aimed at contracting payroll-deducted credit. As specific objectives, it is proposed: to analyze the aging process of the Brazilian population and its characteristics, as well as the national and international protective normative treatment regarding the elderly; study the consumption habits of the Brazilian elderly, as well as their position in the market as hypervulnerable; expose how consumer harassment to purchase credit can lead the elderly to behaviors that are harmful to their financial health, culminating in irreversible over-indebtedness; and, finally, to explain how the lack of solidarity among the elderly makes it difficult for them to defend themselves in the consumer market, in particular with regard to the prevention and control of consumer harassment practices when taking out credit, contributing to their over-indebtedness and downgrade. of the standard of living. To carry out this study, the deductive method was adopted, with consultations to national and foreign bibliography and access to information contained in databases of the Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística, Confederação Nacional do Comércio de Bens, Serviços e Turismo and Banco Central do Brasil. In the end, it was concluded that the solidarism forged within associations of the elderly is a feasible instrument for the prevention and defense of over-indebtedness resulting from consumer harassment for taking out credit. The research is in line with the public policy and regional development research line by studying and developing alternative ways to defend such a niche of consumers in the face of consumer harassment practices for acquiring credit with the potential to lead them to over-indebtedness.