The right to housing and the pandemic: social mobilization and institutional responses

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought substantial changes across the planet, but has especially affected those who were already structurally socially vulnerable, notably those living in informal housing. The article aims to problematize not only the process of social mobilization organized by Zero Eviction Campaign – composed of several organizations that defend the right to housing – but also the institutional responses, either from Legislative Power or from the Judiciary Power through the Brazilian Supreme Court. The chosen methodology is the legal-social bias along with the case study and the understanding of the Law in the broader social environment. Despite the risks of political stripping arising from any struggles within the institutional framework, it is concluded that the relevance of the social cause was decisive for the continuity of the society’s engagement, as well as for the recognition by the Supreme Court of the need for prevalence – albeit temporary – of the right to housing in the face of the right to property.