Resumo

The initial months of 2020 are characterized on a global scale by the phenomenon of the pandemic COVID-19, with significant impacts on health and economy. Countries with large populations present an amplified challenge, given the potential for large-scale the risk of saturation of hospital systems. Abrucio (2020) summarizes the Brazilian condition as the antithesis of international learning in the pandemic: the Brazilian government does not combine science and humanism, it does not aggregate different actors against the pandemic, it does not treat the subject as an intersectoral problem.

This paper addresses a little discussed topic regarding the profile of the Brazilian government's response to the spread of the COVID-19 virus. More than that, we emphasize that the use of industrial reconversion, or the mobilization of the installed industrial park, is characterized as a relevant absence at the public policy agenda facing the pandemic. This fact is also explained as a result of the weakening process of Brazilian industry as an object of public policy, particularly since 2016. This absence goes beyond the federal sphere of government, and also extends to state governments.

The industrial reconversion debate points to a transition path towards the redefinition of industrial structures, combining technical changes in companies and government industrial policies (RODRÍGUEZ, 2017). This capacity for articulation is a current imperative for the challenges arising from the pandemic (SKARIYACHAN et al, 2019; BONILLA-ALDANA et al, 2020). Mazzucato and Torreele (2020) show that the protection of societies against COVID-19 necessarily involves the of public health systems and a different approach from national States to face economic and health challenges.

This paper addresses a little discussed topic regarding the profile of the Brazilian government's response to the spread of the COVID-19 virus. More than that, we emphasize that the use of industrial reconversion, or the mobilization of the installed industrial park, is characterized as a relevant absence at the public policy agenda facing the pandemic. This fact is also explained as a result of the weakening process of Brazilian industry as an object of public policy, particularly since 2016. This absence goes beyond the federal sphere of government, and also extends to state governments.

The Brazilian case has been marked by the lack of coordination by the federal government in tackling the pandemic. Thus, what is seen in the industrial perspective, whether aiming at reconversion or business mobilization, constitutes a set of fragmented initiatives, without the programmatic character of articulation between the federal government, States, municipalities and the productive sector. Going beyond government initiatives and programs, there is a record of some corporate actions aimed at productive conversion, without connection with public policies.

In the Brazilian case, the (mis)understanding of the problem, the (dis)orientation of the government nucleus and the (in)visibility of the disputed arguments have clear implications for the perception of the “opportunities windows” in the formulation of public policies. As we have seen, there is no declared public policy, of a federal or state character, oriented towards the conversion or industrial mobilization. What are identified are fragmented and late initiatives, with credit and subsidy resources detached from any coordination of demands.

Abrucio, F. O. (2020). O que deu certo em outros países e o nosso pesadelo. Valor Econômico, 22 May. 2020, p.4-5/Res Publica/ Bonilla-Aldana, D.K., Holguin-Rivera, Y., Cortes-Bonilla, I. et al (2020). Coronavirus infections reported by ProMED, February 2000-January 2020. Travel Med Infect. Mazzucato, M. Torreele, E. (2020). How to Develop a COVID-19 Vaccine for All, Apr 27, 2020. Rodríguez, C. H. (2017). Reconversión industrial en Colombia necesaria para la adecuada inserción en el mercado internacional, Suma de Negocios 8, pp. 150–155.