The state’s management of the pandemic: reflections on the Latin American experience

Abstract

The COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic is a typical problematic issue that meets the characteristics of a ‘wicked problem’. This paper analyzes some aspects of the state’s management of this crisis, the policies and technologies adopted by different governments to face it and try to solve it, the strategies and power resources used and the factors that conditioned the results achieved. The work highlights the great number of variables that contribute to explain the successes and failures produced in different countries, as well as the weight that can be attributed to the institutional capacity of governments. This conceptual examination of the subject is illustrated with special reference to the experience of Latin American countries. Keywords: COVID-19, wicked problems, institutional capacity, power resources, government strategies