Pandemic Power Plays: Environmental Deregulation & Erosion of Indigenous Rights in Latin America During COVID-19

Authors

• Sabrina Prado

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic reshaped global politics. Many governments used their emergency powers under the pretense of maintaining public health and sustaining the economy. However, in Latin America, these powers were exploited and the pandemic became a guise for expanding executive powers and propounding corporate friendly rollbacks which weakens environmental protections and minority rights. This paper will examine how emergency laws were used to sidestep the democratic process and facilitate policies that benefited corporate interests at the expense of environmental regulation and indigenous rights specifically. Brazil, Colombia, and Bolivia were three countries whose leaders centralized power and accelerated environmentally destructive policies all while promoting their actions as helping their populations through the crisis. For example, in Brazil, Jair Bolsonaro’s administration rolled back environmental regulations under the guise of economic recovery, fueling deforestation and allowing for previously illegal resource extraction in the Amazon. Similarly, Colombia and Bolivia expedited mining and logging projects with minimal oversight, while enforcement agencies ‘powers were weakened. This created tension as people noticed the differences between populist rhetoric and policy outcomes, where the governments claimed to represent the marginalized while enacting policies that ultimately benefited corporate elites. These actions highlight the dangers of emergency powers and how they can be exacerbated by international crisis. This paper will explain how the pandemic was not just a health crisis but a turning point for Latin America that execrated existing issues of democratic weakness, ecological damage, and the oppression of Indigenous communities. To rectify consequences of the pandemic era actions, Latin America must address these rollbacks. This will require effort, both by the governments and the people, to reinforce democratic accountability, restore environmental protections, and challenge corporate-driven policymaking.

Recommended Citation

Sabrina Prado, Pandemic Power Plays: Environmental Deregulation & Erosion of Indigenous Rights in Latin America During COVID-19, 1 Latin Am. & Carib. L. Rev. (2026), https://ecollections.law.fiu.edu/latinamericancaribbeanlawreview/vol1/iss1/16.