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PROTESTE was established in Brazil in 2001 and is the largest consumers association in Latin America, with more than 160 thousand associates. Its comprehensive approach and mainstream media presence distinguish it from other consumers’ organizations in the country.
Along the years, PROTESTE has developed several activities to reinforce consumer´s rights and to improve the conditions of the Brazilian market. From 2001 to 2019, PROTESTE tested and evaluated more than 11.000 products and services, informing the general public about the results obtained. PROTESTE´s laboratory and comparative tests are well-known by Brazilian population and public authorities, and often lead to the apprehension of products proven to be unsafe or non-compliant to Brazilian regulations.
To illustrate that, in 2018, Brazilian sanitary authority apprehended 7 slots of olive oil after a test done by PROTESTE proved it was contaminated with a mix of oils unsuitable for human consumption. Besides the tests, PROTESTE provides its associates with legal advice and legal support in complaints and legal claims. Also, PROTESTE advocacy campaigns achieved great results in Brazil.
In 2001, PROTESTE started a public campaign aiming to guarantee that financial institutions informed consumers about the effective costs of credit. The campaign involved pubic authorities and parliamentarians throughout the years to raise awareness on the issue.
Finally, in 2008 Brazilian monetary authority issued a regulation obligating financial institutions to provide accurate information for consumers about the total cost of credit (and not only the interest rate as it was as usual). Brazilian Central Bank highlighted that the resolution was a result of our campaign.
Partnerships with market players – for the past few years, PROTESTE has been investing in an innovative approach for consumer´s protection in Brazil: building strong partnerships with the private sector. These partnerships aim to bring companies together with PROTESTE to discuss measures to improve market conditions in Brazil, creating a better environment both for consumers and companies.
For example, in 2018, PROTESTE and Google Brazil co-organized a forum to discuss data protection, bringing together professionals, representatives of the government and the National Congress to address this issue. In 2020, a comprehensive discussion on 5G technology implementation will be held in partnership with all national telecommunication companies.