UNM Political Science Associate Professor and Chair Jami Nelson-Nuñez recently published a research paper in the journal Scientific Data, analyzing the impact of government interventions on the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly focusing on Bolivia. Nelson-Nuñez and her international team of researchers investigated the cause and effect of policies and politics in Bolivia through months of data.
Regarding the study, Nelson-Nuñez highlighted the unique situation in Bolivia, stating, "Bolivia is a really interesting case because they have a system that's mainly decentralized creating a lot of variation across different regions. Our main focus was looking at the effects of policies and how they evolved." She further emphasized the significance of understanding the political dynamics during the pandemic, not only in Bolivia but also in other countries, including the United States.
The tumultuous political environment in Bolivia during the pandemic was a crucial factor in shaping the country's response to COVID-19. Nelson-Nuñez explained, "There was a conflict that had been bubbling for a while. The country was in a moment of crisis of contested leadership. It was interesting to follow how the dynamics of the pandemic in Bolivia were shaped by these political complexities throughout the country."
The study also highlighted the challenges faced by Bolivia in implementing effective non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) due to political unrest and weak state capacity in health services. Nelson-Nuñez noted, "The central government was trying to figure out how to steer the ship for the whole country, while regional and local actors were contesting these decisions. The politics and the dynamics of multi-level governance can render local communities very vulnerable to these types of events."
Ultimately, the lack of public trust and coordination in enforcing NPIs led to a collapse of the hospital system in Bolivia during the summer of 2020. Nelson-Nuñez stressed the importance of understanding the political factors underlying health disparities, stating, "Underlying disparities in health are political. Underneath health realities are important political factors, and if we ignore those, we really don't understand how and why pandemics are occurring or why health disparities are emerging in the way that they are."
In conclusion, Nelson-Nuñez emphasized the interconnectedness of public health and politics, stating, "Health is a resource, and access to services is a resource. We can see political factors across the world that shape the ability of diseases to spread and how deadly global health emergencies can be." The research conducted by Nelson-Nuñez and her colleagues sheds light on the critical relationship between government intervention, political dynamics, and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in Bolivia and beyond.