7: Co-production? We do community participation
Experiences and perspectives in the context of the COVID-19 crisis from Latin America
In this chapter, we draw on examples from São Paulo (Brazil) and Santiago (Chile) to explore how, in the context of the current pandemic of COVID-19, grassroots community mobilisation interacted with public health authorities and the State more broadly. For this, we consider the experiences of social movements trying to meet vulnerable communities’ needs in both countries. In the discussion, we argue that, even in contexts of widespread mistrust and abandonment by authorities, the institutionalised forms of interaction between communities and public health services was critical for shaping the nature of grassroots social action and its collaboration with the State. We also discuss how the interaction between the pandemic and co-occurring sociopolitical processes in both countries is reshaping – again – the meanings of community participation.
On 26 February, the first case of COVID-19 was confirmed in São Paulo, Brazil. In the following months, the virus spread throughout the main cities of the country and elsewhere in the Latin American region. Brazil has one of the largest universal health systems globally, operating in a decentralised way, with primary care at ground level, particularly in large and medium-sized cities (Mendonça et al, 2018). The large contingent of workers and the substantial network of basic health units seemed well equipped for track and tracing actions, redirecting cases to specialised treatment, and guiding the general population in adopting protective measures and behaviours (Coelho et al, 2020a).
Unfortunately, this is not what happened. At the time of the pandemic’s arrival, the country’s president denied the virus’s existence and dismantled structures for national monitoring of the evolution of the number of cases, encouraging agglomerations and the use of medicines without proven efficacy, and relativising the need for protective equipment.
| May 2022 onwards | Past Year | Past 30 Days | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Abstract Views | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Full Text Views | 296 | 186 | 15 |
| PDF Downloads | 30 | 21 | 3 |
We are a leading social science publisher
committed to making a difference.
Bristol University Press and
Policy Press
bristoluniversitypress.co.uk