Political action analysis of the Brazilian Health Care Reform Movement in the COVID-19 pandemic: 2020- 2021

Abstract

The aim of this study is to analyze the political action of the Brazilian Health Care Reform Movement (MRSB, Movimento da Reforma Sanitária Brasileira), particularly Cebes and Abrasco, during the COVID-19 pandemic. The data were obtained through the documental review of publications from the abovementioned entities, which describe their positions on government actions implemented between January 2020 and June 2021. The results show that the performance of these entities included several actions, most of them reactive and critical of the Federal Government’s role in the pandemic. Moreover, they led the creation of “Frente pela Vida”, an organization that brought together several scientific entities and civil society organizations, whose highlight was the preparation and dissemination of the “Frente pela Vida Plan”, a document that contains a comprehensive analysis of the pandemic and its social determinants, as well as a set of proposals to face the pandemic and its effects on the population’s living and health conditions. It is concluded that the performance of the MRSB entities reveals alignment with the original project of the Brazilian Health Care Reform (RSB, Reforma Sanitária Brasileira), emphasizing the relationship between health and democracy, the defense of the universal right to health and the expansion and strengthening of the Brazilian Unified Health System - SUS (Sistema Único de Saúde).