Abstract
This chapter addresses the multidimensional impacts of the COVID- 19 pandemic on the lives of citizens of one of the largest and most unequal metropolises in the world, São Paulo. It is widely recognised that Brazil’s response to the COVID- 19 pandemic has been more than fl awed, with a disproportionate
impact on poor and indigenous communities (Curtice, 2020 ; The Lancet , 2020 ). The virulent politicisation of the pandemic set the powerful federal government, in the hands of a far- right populist, on a collision course with the interests of
federal states and cities in Brazil. While the Brazilian president has repeatedly denied the gravity of the pandemic, states and cities struggled to impose partial lockdowns and to organise medical responses, in the face of contradictory policy being enacted in their distant capital, Brasilia. This chapter describes
the structural circumstances that led São Paulo to become one of the cities worse affected by the virus, leading to the almost complete collapse of its public health system.
impact on poor and indigenous communities (Curtice, 2020 ; The Lancet , 2020 ). The virulent politicisation of the pandemic set the powerful federal government, in the hands of a far- right populist, on a collision course with the interests of
federal states and cities in Brazil. While the Brazilian president has repeatedly denied the gravity of the pandemic, states and cities struggled to impose partial lockdowns and to organise medical responses, in the face of contradictory policy being enacted in their distant capital, Brasilia. This chapter describes
the structural circumstances that led São Paulo to become one of the cities worse affected by the virus, leading to the almost complete collapse of its public health system.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Title of host publication | Global Reflections on COVID-19 and Urban Inequalities series |
| Subtitle of host publication | Volume 1: Community and Society |
| Editors | Brian Doucet, Rianne van Melik, Pierre Filion |
| Place of Publication | Bristol, UK |
| Publisher | Bristol University Press |
| Chapter | 12 |
| Pages | 129-139 |
| Number of pages | 11 |
| ISBN (Electronic) | 978-1-5292-1888-6 |
| ISBN (Print) | 978-1-5292-1887-9 |
| Publication status | Published - 2021 |
Keywords
- COVID-19
- Pandemic responses
- Community organisation
- Grassroots movements
- Community
- Spatial Planning
