FOR A POLITICAL MYSTIQUE OF MENTAL HEALTH

Abstract

The institutionalization of the Brazilian Psychiatric Reform reduced the central role of the social mobilization that had driven its development, contributing to the weakening of the anti-asylum movement and the subsequent emergence of counter-reform processes. This article addresses the challenge of revitalizing the anti-asylum movement through a critical appropriation of the concept of mystique developed by the Landless Workers’ Movement (Movimento dos Trabalhadores Rurais Sem Terra – MST), highlighting the affinities between the two movements, both rooted in Brazil’s popular classes. The study takes the form of a theoretical-analytical essay based on a critical review of the literature and excerpts from ethnographic research conducted by the authors over a decade of work in the field of Psychosocial Care. The first section examines mystique in its political dimension within the MST, emphasizing its role in the production of collective memory, cohesion, and political engagement. It then proposes a critical transposition of this concept to the field of psychosocial care by establishing criteria for identifying meaningful events capable of affectively mobilizing workers, service users, and activists. The second section presents excerpts from research and professional experiences which, interpreted through the Deleuzian concept of the event, are understood as expressions of a "mental health mystique." It is argued that such events condense memory, affect, and political meaning and may therefore function as devices for strengthening political activism and sustaining care in freedom. The article concludes that mystique, rather than constituting an external element to be artificially introduced, is already immanent to psychosocial care practices and should therefore be preserved, elaborated, and activated in the everyday life of mental health services.

Keywords: Mystique; Mental Health; Brazilian Psychiatric Reform; Anti-asylum movement.