Presidential policy narratives and the (mis)use of scientific expertise: Covid-19 policy responses in Brazil, Colombia, and Mexico

Political leaders rely on narratives to make sense of crises, but the extent to which such narratives are used to (de)mobilize scientific evidence in policy responses has not been fully explored. Based on the analysis of public messages and communications of the presidents of Brazil, Colombia, and Mexico, we discuss how they have narratively approached the Covid-19 crisis, particularly with respect to the degree of their reliance on scientific expertise. Building on debates on policy narratives, crisis management, and evidence-based policymaking, we argue that the narratives presidents devised had significant (and mostly negative) effects on the design of policy responses. Their narratives sidelined (Bolsonaro), leveraged (Duque), or limited (López-Obrador) the role of scientific expertise in policy responses. Thus, in contrast to previous literature, these narratives aligned more with the president’s agendas and personal biases, than with the need to explain the crisis for their societies or to design appropriate policies.