ABSTRACT
ABSTRACT The authors describe the organization, within the scope of Brazil’s Unified Health System, of the framework for responding to emergency public health situations, specifically the preparation for the onset of the pandemic caused by Sars-CoV-2 in Brazil. The contradictions of the State’s actions in the midst of a serious political-institutional crisis are discussed. The resistance to scientific knowledge in an environment of political conflict and growth of authoritarianism is represented in the dispute for narratives that support opposing proposals to face the crisis. Fake news feed the splitting and are confused with the federal government’s decision to hinder access to information. The denial of the gravity of the situation and the absence of a national action plan are even more exuberant at a time when the country becomes one of the epicenters of the covid-19 pandemic.