The costs and benefits of duality: Colombia’s decentralization and the response to the COVID-19 pandemic

Custos e benefícios da dualidade: a descentralização da Colômbia e a resposta à pandemia de COVID-19

Los costos y efectos de la dualidad: descentralización en Colombia y la respuesta a la pandemia de COVID-19

Abstract

Colombia’s duality between the relative strength of the central government and the broad process of decentralization towards subnational and local governments has shaped the country’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Substantial tensions have arisen between the national and subnational governments in the handling of the crisis. Thus, blurred policy boundaries challenge multi-level government coordination. Yet, intergovernmental relations and multi-level governance have worked at some extent. Meanwhile, leadership styles, the level of political support, the local governance environment and the level of local institutional capacity have affected the strategies of local government leaders and their success to tackle the pandemic. Moreover, uneven healthcare capacity across the Colombian territory posits further challenges for a national response to the pandemic that ensures both effectiveness and equity.

Keywords:
COVID-19; decentralization; intergovernmental relations; government capacity; Colombia; multilevel governance