The disputes over rights in the pandemic context in Brazil and the social movements' role in the construction of strategic litigation

Abstract

The article intends to discuss the process of social mobilization and contentious politics in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic in Brazil, considering the specific process of engagement of civil society and the role played by the Judiciary in this scenario. Understanding that the demands aimed at the defense of vulnerable groups in the context of violations caused by the pandemic motivate an interesting discussion about the relationship between the Legal Mobilization Theory (built from the dialogue with the Contentious Politics Theory) and critical theories of Law , the present work will seek to carry out a qualitative analysis of the main cases taken to the Supreme Court in the context of the coronavirus pandemic, in order to understand how the construction of strategic performances by social movements in this institutional arena has been taking place. A moment of crisis, marked by systematic violations of urgent and fundamental rights - which enhance inequalities historically present in the Brazilian context - is a favorable opportunity to think about the new contours of social mobilization in a panorama of realignment of demands generated by the demonstration of new (and old) violence.