A paradiplomacia estadual durante o governo Bolsonaro: O estudo de caso de São Paulo e Maranhão

Abstract

The year 2020 was a year of great changes both globally and within the Brazilian context. The disease Sars-Cov-2, known as Covid-19, spread worldwide, becoming a pandemic in 2020. The disease required social isolation and preventive measures such as: the closure of establishments for in-person activities, encouragement of mask-wearing, and the use of hand sanitizer. However, the rise of Jair Messias Bolsonaro in leading the presidency of the country led Brazil to become the second country with the highest number of deaths from the disease at the time. His denialist and anti-science views regarding the situation of the disease in the country not only put more lives at risk but also promoted a new type of state paradiplomacy marked by conflict between the federal government and subnational entities. This paper discusses a bit about the paradiplomacy during Bolsonaro’s government, which, unlike previous administrations, built a highly conflicted relationship between the federal government and subnational entities. It became the only alternative for subnational agents to combat and reduce the disease's impact in their states. In light of this context, this paper aims to analyze the paradiplomacy developed by the states of São Paulo and Maranhão during Bolsonaro's government.