From wuhan to ‘planalto central’: Federalism, constitutional patriotism and the ‘supremo’ in the face of covid-19

Objective: The paper aims to discuss the federative consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic, specifically the treatment between the federative units that integrate the Brazilian state and the protection given by the Brazilian Constitution of 1988 to federalism, focusing on fighting the calamity of public health In this sense, the paper first analyses the latest judgements of the Brazilian Supreme Federal Court (STF) on the issue Notably, the ‘Acao Direta de Inconstitucionalidade’ (ADI) 6341 and ‘Arguicao de Descumprimento de Preceito Fundamental’ (ADPF) 672 Afterwards, it considers the hermeneutical responsibility for the action of the Constitutional Courts in the face of a crisis The paper adopts Constitutional Patriotism as its theoretical framework to highlight the possibilities of argument and insertion of constitutional postulates in front of situations such as those generated by the dissemination of COVID-19 in Brazil Methodology: In the field of methods, the paper adopts a qualitative proposal Starting from the inductive approach, it embraces a monographic procedure with explanatory and exploratory purposes The research is bibliographic and documentary, focusing mainly on the case-law surrounding the object of study Results: The paper concludes by conceptualizing the cooperative federalism in health present in the 1988 Constitution under the nature granted by Constitutional Patriotism, as well as its incorporation to the STF’s provisions on judicial review of Executive acts Contribution: The research contribution lies on the evolution of the study on the legitimacy of Constitutional Courts’ performance concerning the crisis, especially involving the STF, allowing for a broader discussion on the role of Constitutional Courts in contemporary times © 2020, Centro Universitario Curitiba - UNICURITIBA All rights reserved