Who is responsible for Brazil’s COVID-19 catastrophe?

Despite being relatively well-placed to combat COVID-19, Brazil now has one of the highest death rates in the world. Often seen as a problem of coordination between levels of government, the real issue has been federal-level failures that stem back to a pre-existing political crisis. This catastrophic, top-down mishandling of the pandemic has effectively neutralised the strengths and often heroic efforts of the national healthcare system, write Gabriela Lotta (FGV), Michelle Fernandez (Universidade de Brasilia), Deisy Ventura (Universidade de Sao Paulo), Danielle Rached (FGV), Melania Amorim (Universidade Federal de Campina Grande), Lorena Barberia (Universidade de Sao Paulo), Tatiane Moraes (Fiocruz), and Clare Wenham (LSE Health Policy).