Populist Government and Judicial Power in Brazil in Times of the Covid-19 Pandemic: A Conflicting Relationship

Brazil has joined the wave of right-wing populism, which emerged over the past decade at the international level. With the rise of Jair Bolsonaro to power in 2019, a populist, nationalist, ultraconservative, religious, and neoliberal way of doing politics has taken control of the Brazilian government. Populist movements challenge institutions, notably the Judiciary Power. They question its counter-majoritarian function and accuse their members of not acting in the name of preserving national sovereignty. Such an attitude has been adopted by Bolsonaro’s government towards the Federal Supreme Court (STF), the highest judicial body in Brazil, during the Covid-19 pandemic. This paper offers an analysis of how the institutional crisis has impacted constitutionalism in Brazil. Within its responsibilities for constitutional review, the STF, in some important cases, has succeeded in preventing abuses of power by the federal government. As is shown, the STF has played an important opposition role to radical right populism, by responding to the attacks of Bolsonarism and, consequently, confirming the resilience of the Federal Constitution.