An analysis of government responses to COVID-19 in Latin America's three federations

Although Argentina, Brazil, and Mexico are all federal countries, the national and subnational government responses to addressing the spread of COVID-19 evolved differently within each country. In this chapter I identify factors that can explain this variation in government responses to COVID-19. I begin with an analysis of how federal institutions in general allowed for a wide variation in government responses to COVID-19. Nationally led responses, subnationally led responses, and joint national-subnational responses were all possibilities. Then I examine how variations in a variety of economic and political conditions at the national and subnational levels in each country immediately prior to the start of the pandemic likely influenced how willing the national and subnational governments in each country were in adopting strict mitigation measures.