Governing COVID-19 without government in Brazil: Ignorance, neoliberal authoritarianism, and the collapse of public health leadership

TLDR

Brazil’s COVID‑19 response has been described as tragic, driven by President Bolsonaro’s neoliberal authoritarianism, science denial, and ableism that plunged the country into catastrophe. The article argues that Brazil’s public‑health governance during the pandemic exemplifies a form of governance without central government. The authors review Brazil’s public‑health governance, introduce the concepts of “government by exception” and “strategic ignorance,” and outline the emerging features of this non‑governance model. They document new solidarity and mutual‑aid networks in favelas and Indigenous communities that have filled the federal void, concluding that the collapse exposes limits of democratic governance under Bolsonaro.

Abstract

Brazil's governance of the COVID-19 pandemic has been described as nothing short of tragic by several commentators. President Jair Bolsonaro's dangerous brew of neoliberal authoritarianism, science denialism and ableism has plunged this country into catastrophe. In this article we argue that this form (or lack) of public health governance can best be described as governance without (central) government. We begin with an overview of public health governance in the country before introducing the main theoretical concepts that guide our analysis, namely the notions of 'government by exception' and 'strategic ignorance'. Finally, we sketch the main features of this emerging form of (non)governance of COVID-19. We highlight the new forms of solidarity and mutual aid that have emerged in favelas and Indigenous communities, which have stepped in to fill the void left by a limited federal presence. The article concludes by reflecting on what this collapse of public health reveals about the limitations of democratic governance in the age of Bolsonaro.