Pandemie v Jižní Americe: politické a sociální konsekvence

Abstract

In the present COVID-19 pandemic, South American countries are facing difficult challenges that go beyond the medical aspects. In this paper, in which I focus mostly on Brazil as a paradigmatic case, I defend that the pandemic is exposing the fragility of the state (not just of its institutions, but of its very idea) in this macro-region and in Brazil in particular, and may therefore have a negative impact not only on the health of the citizens and on the national economies, but also on the social fabric at large. The paper discusses, first, the situation in South America at large and, second, the politicization of the crisis provoked by the Brazilian president Bolsonaro and his followers. After presenting the economic measures taken by the Brazilian government and the popular reaction, I will offer comments on the weakness of the state and on the lack of national and international solidarity in Brazil and in South America.