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Bolivia's Social Policy Response to Covid-19: Hindered by Political and Economic Crises
[working paper]
Corporate Editor
Universität Bremen, SFB 1342 Globale Entwicklungsdynamiken von Sozialpolitik / CRC 1342 Global Dynamics of Social Policy
Abstract Bolivia during 2020 was the victim of simultaneous political, economic, and public health crises. The three crises interacted with one another in ways that made each individual crisis more severe. The country’s social policy response to the Covid-19 pandemic was uneven. Emergency cash transfers, a l... view more
Bolivia during 2020 was the victim of simultaneous political, economic, and public health crises. The three crises interacted with one another in ways that made each individual crisis more severe. The country’s social policy response to the Covid-19 pandemic was uneven. Emergency cash transfers, a legacy of the left-wing Movement toward Socialism’s (MAS) nearly 14 years in power, performed well. Although the amounts transferred were quite modest, they did reach the vast majority of Bolivians. On education, however, the government failed utterly, ultimately abandoning its constitutional obligation to provide free and universal schooling to all children. Online education never got off the ground and the school year was prematurely cancelled. The Bolivian state’s chronic weakness was on display in its healthcare policy response. Not only did the government inherit inadequate infrastructure, but a combination of administrative incompetence and corruption marred the procurement of much-needed ventilators and other medical equipment. The result was one of the world’s highest Covid-19 mortality rates.... view less
Keywords
Bolivia; social policy; health policy; educational policy; epidemic; public health; social benefits; social support; South America
Classification
Health Policy
Social Security
Free Keywords
Pandemic; Covid-19; Corona virus
Document language
English
Publication Year
2021
City
Bremen
Page/Pages
22 p.
Series
CRC 1342 Covid-19 Social Policy Response Series, 19
ISSN
2702-6744
Status
Published Version; peer reviewed
Licence
Creative Commons - Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0