Frantz Fanon, decolonization and knowledge in mental health: contribution for Brazilian public health

Abstract

The essay emphasizes the psychosocial reflection of the Martinican psychiatrist Frantz Fanon. Fanon’s thought is marked by criticism of colonial domination and racism, as in “Black Skin, White Masks” and “The Damned of the Earth.” A literary transcendence signalizes his passionate and liberating speech, relevant in postcolonial and decolonial theories. Fanon is increasingly acknowledged for his political discussion of the diasporic contemporary world, although his medical and social ideas and practices, as precursors in mental health assistance, are less well known. Mentioned by Paulo Freire and Boaventura de Sousa Santos, Fanon stresses culture in his sociogenesis and when he criticizes the inadequacy of Eurocentric psychoanalysis to deal with colonial oppression and racism. Although he was cited by Franco Basaglia, Fanon did not feature as a benchmark in Brazilian Psychiatric Reform, though his decolonial and antiracist thought, is, when viewed in perspective, is an important contribution to Public Health.