Austerity and pandemic: perspectives for Brazilian cities

Abstract

Based on an analysis of the performance of the Brazilian economy between 2015 and 2019 and the main measures and reforms implemented in that period, the article addresses the employment and income issues in the city of São Paulo in the face of the Covid-19 economic crisis and it points out perspectives for Brazilian cities. Information was collected from databases, papers, reports, from documents open to the public, and news from newspapers about the situation of employment, income and government policies. The first section analyzes the performance of the Brazilian economy from 2015 to 2020 in the context of the fiscal austerity agenda, manifested in Constitutional Amendment 95, Labor Reform and Pension Reform, and the crisis arising from the Covid-19 pandemic. The second section focuses on the impacts of the Covid-19 crisis on the labor market in the city of São Paulo and it also presents aspects related to the cost of living in the city. The third and last section deals with the perspectives for Brazilian cities by analyzing some ongoing measures that directly affect the city dwellers such as Provisional Measure 996, which institutes the Casa Verde Amarela Program, the new legal framework for sanitation and Decree No. 10,530 of October 26, 2020, which implements changes in the health area.