Urban Crises and COVID-19 in Brazil: Poor People, Victims Again

Abstract

This chapter examines how the social conditions of Black and poor populations in Brazilian cities has resulted in both harsher economic and health consequences in one of the world's most unequal countries. It emphasizes how housing plays a major role in the struggle of Black and poor groups as low-income residents can often only find housing in favelas on the periphery. It also points out that neighborhoods on the outskirts are not only far away from jobs, but also have been largely abandoned by the state and consist of substandard and overcrowded housing. The chapter talks about the flexibilization of labor laws that has aggravated the COVID-19 pandemic as the state has failed to fulfill its mediation role between employer and employee. It mentions the lack of basic sanitation and substandard housing conditions that hamper the cleanliness and personal hygiene necessary to avoid the spread of COVID-19.