Resumo: Este artigo discute como a descoordenação intergovernamental durante a pandemia da Covid-19 afetou o debate sobre as desigualdades educacionais no Brasil, tendo como pano de fundo os embates em torno do Exame Nacional do Ensino Médio (Enem). A partir de uma análise sobre as práticas políticas do presidente Jair Bolsonaro e do ministro da Educação, argumenta que a retomada do movimento pendular entre os modelos dual e cooperativo de federalismo afastou o governo federal do papel de coordenador dos sistemas de políticas públicas. Os debates sobre as desigualdades foram, então, desqualificados e as unidades federativas transformadas em adversárias políticas. Conclui-se que os freios e contrapesos contribuíram para minimizar os danos institucionais. Isolado, o governo federal deixou de coordenar políticas públicas que mitigariam os problemas socioeconômicos agravados com a pandemia.
Abstract: This article examines how intergovernmental incoordination during the Covid-19 pandemic in Brazil affected the debate about the educational inequalities, in the context of debates about the Exame Nacional do Ensino Médio (Enem) (National High School Exam). Based on an analysis of the political practices of President Jair Bolsonaro and the Minister of Education, it argues that the resumption of the pendulum movement between the dual and cooperative models of federalism has removed the federal government from the role of coordinator of public policy systems. In this context, discussions about the socio-economic inequalities were disqualified and federative units turned into political opponents. It is concluded that the brakes and counterweights played a decisive role in minimizing institutional damage. In isolation, the federal government failed to coordinate public policies that would mitigate the socio-economic problems aggravated by the pandemic.
