Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore how the COVID-19 pandemic has been managed in Brazil, especially at the Federal Administrative level, with the focus being on the implications for human rights and public health in the country. Design/methodology/approach The research is built on a qualitative design made up of a case-study and review of the literature and is based on inductive reasoning. Findings Main conclusions were that: by not making sufficient efforts to safeguard the lives of Brazilians or to strengthen public health institutions amid the pandemic, Bolsonaro’s Administration may be violating the rights to life and health, among others, by omission; it was demonstrated that the President has worked unceasingly to bulldoze anti-COVID-19 efforts, which can be better explained through the concepts of necropolitics and neoliberal authoritarianism. Research limitations/implications One of the limitations to this research is that this paper was not able to discuss more thoroughly which other human rights norms and principles (apart from the right to health, life and the duty to protect vulnerable populations) have possibly been violated amid the COVID-19 pandemic in the country. Overall, this research can help expand the literature on human rights in health management during and after emergency times. Originality/value This paper focuses on recent events and on urgent matters that need to be addressed immediately in Brazil. This study provides an innovative health policy/human rights analysis to build an academic account of the ongoing pandemic in the largest country in South America.

The protection of personal data in the cyberspace has been an issue of concern for quite some time. However, with the revolutions in information technology, big data and the internet of things, data privacy protection has become paramount in an era of free information flows. Considering this context, this research intends to shine a light on the experience of Brazil regarding data privacy protection, through the analysis of a brand new bill passed by Congress: the Brazilian General Personal Data Protection Act. Our assessment of the legislation was made from the perspective of a human rights-based approach to data, aiming to analyze both advancements, limitations and contradictions of the rights-discourse in the LGPD. Our main conclusions were that the (public and national) security rhetoric, also present in the bill, can create a state of exception regarding the processing of personal data of those considered “enemies of the state”, which may result in violations of fundamental rights and procedural guarantees.

No abstract

Dream the impossible dream? An ecosocialist account of the human right to a healthy environmentSonhar o sonho impossível? Uma abordagem ecossocialista ao direito humano a um meio ambiente saudável

No abstract