The digital responses of the Brazilian legislative to the Covid-19 pandemic: an analysis of initiatives at the federal and state level

Abstract

This paper aims to map and analyse the digital actions of Brazilian legislative houses at the federal and state levels in response to the pandemic caused by the new coronavirus (Sars-CoV-2). A prospecting of initiatives was carried out, which resulted in the collection of 102 cases, 78 at the federal level and 24 from state parliaments. The occurrences were categorised according to their function: information about the pandemic;transparency about implemented actions;and engagement and participation. The results point to the discrepancy in initiatives at the national and subnational levels;the prevalence of public hearings;and little diversity in the use of digital tools by parliaments, except for the Federal Senate. An in-depth analysis of each type of initiative also allowed us to conclude that some initiatives, even with few cases, made important contributions. Copyright © 2021 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd.