Fighting COVID-19 in a Fragile Democracy: The Case of Brazil
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.54103/2531-6710/32109Palavras-chave:
right to health, COVID-19, Brazil, populism, comparative constitutionalism, democratic resilienceResumo
This article examines the intersection of constitutionalism, populism, and the right to health through Brazil's response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Drawing on the 1988 Federal Constitution, the dynamics of Brazilian cooperative federalism, and a comparative analysis with the United States, it argues that the catastrophic pandemic response was not the product of institutional incapacity but of deliberate political choices by a populist government that treated the right to health as a target rather than a state obligation. It further reflects on the post-pandemic accountability trajectory, including the criminal conviction of former President Jair Bolsonaro in September 2025 for an attempted coup — a development that raises persisting questions about populism, democratic resilience, the judicialization of governance, and the structural inequalities that shaped COVID-19 mortality in both countries.
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