The dynamics of financialized capitalism and the Brazilian health system: reflections in the shadows of the COVID-19 pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic in Brazil has highlighted the importance of the Brazilian Unified National Health System (SUS) and the limitations of the country’s prevailing health system, consisting of the public and private sectors, in the context of financialized capitalism in which typical instabilities and crises are structurally determined. The article discusses the Brazilian health system under the aegis of financialized capitalism and during the COVID-19 pandemic. The article contends that financialization as a systemic pattern of wealth increases the process of commodification of socioeconomic relations which is inherent to this system, making the State’s provision of health services indispensable.

Keywords:
Health System Financing; National Health Systems; Capitalism; COVID-19