The article presents an exploratory case study on the response of Latin American constitutional courts to COVID-19 in adverse political scenarios, focusing on the experiences of Brazil and Mexico. Based on the analysis of jurisprudence and interviews with Human Rights activists and researchers from Latin American think tanks, we seek to reflect on the strategic choices that such bodies face about whether or not to position themselves in crisis scenarios, facing trade-offs such as support of public opinion, challenges of decision-making implementation and the maintenance of unity and consistency of position within the Judiciary. It is concluded that, even when persistent implementation challenges are present, such decisions represent an important stimulus and reinforce institutional pressures for political reaction in times of crisis. However, for the courts, the benefits related to the strengthening of social legitimacy and their institutional roles are not as evident.