COVID-19 in Southern Brazil: Public Health Management and Regional Impacts.

Abstract

The political party base in Brazil plays a fundamental role in pre serving the Democratic Rule of Law. This study empirically analyzes the relationship between the population infected by the coronavirus, weighted by the deaths in the respective municipalities of the sample. The sample consists of the 15 municipalities with the smallest and largest populations from the states of Santa Catarina (SC), Paraná (PR), and Rio Grande do Sul (RS), totaling 45 municipalities per sample and 90 southern Brazilian cities analyzed. Initially, a Normal Distribution is used for the population of the municipalities, the infected population, and deaths caused by SARS-CoV-2 to assess the political management capacity based on party affiliation (Right, Center, or Left) during the pandemic. Subsequently, a Multiple Regression Analysis is conducted to determine whether the predictor variables maintain their significance when considering the territorial, economic, and healthcare structure of municipalities with small and large populations. The results indicate favorable effects for the party base, particularly in larger municipalities. This suggests that the political leaders of these municipalities (mayors) may have influenced the population, particularly in cases where anti-isolation policies were adopted, potentially leading to collapses in the public healthcare system.