Combating COVID-19 under Bolsonaro’s federalisma case of intergovernmental incoordination

Resumo

This article analyzes how federalism has affected policy responses to the COVID-19 pandemic in Brazil. Through historical-institutional analysis, the study examines how the model of federalism adopted by President Bolsonaro’s government influenced policy responses to the pandemic in the country. In addition, the research points out the existence of two models of federalism in the case analyzed, addressing the outcomes of the confrontation between them. The first model refers to ideas and institutional structures that have emerged since the 1988 Brazilian Federal Constitution with cooperative features and strong federal coordination. The second, named “Bolsonaro’s federalism,” is based on a dualistic view of intergovernmental relations with little participation of the federal government in reducing territorial inequalities and supporting subnational governments, while centralizing issues of national importance and adopting a hierarchical stance. The study shows that Bolsonaro’s government increased the conflict with subnational governments and jeopardized the coordination of policy responses to the COVID-19 pandemic. We conclude that healthcare and federative crises go together and raise a key question: what is the importance of governmental coordination to implement policies to respond to the pandemic and its social and economic effects?

Ficha do documento

Tipo

Artigo científico

Ano

2020

Instituição

Escola Brasileira de Administração Pública e de Empresas da Fundação Getulio Vargas (FGV EBAPE)

Fonte

Revista de Administração Pública

Idioma

Português

Acesso

Não informado

DOI

10.1590/0034-761220200354

Identificador

oai:ojs.periodicos.fgv.br:article/81879

Licença

https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0

Temas

Políticas PúblicasDesenvolvimento Regional

Palavras-chave

COVID-19federalismintergovernmental relationspublic policiesBolsonaro’s government.federalismorelaciones intergubernamentalespolíticas públicasgobierno Bolsonaro.relações intergovernamentaisgoverno Bolsonaro.