Bolivia: Elections and/or Corona

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Things are picking up in Bolivia regarding the general elections and the spread of covid-19. To refresh your memory, my last post covered the developments surrounding the rise in virus infections in the country and the decision to go ahead with the presidential and legislative election in September this year. After summarizing what had happened, I expressed my doubt about whether the elections were going to happen or not. In fact, I conditioned the elections to the country's ability to get some type of control over the spread of the virus. Well, it seems the virus is far too fast for such considerations.

In the last few days since my last post, five of the eight candidates have expressed their concern about the alarming increase in the rate of contagion and what would that mean if the elections go on as planned. The presidential candidates of Juntos (Together), Libre 21 (Free 21), Creemos (We belive), Pan-Bol (National Action Party Bolivia) and Frente Para la Victoria (Front for Victory, FPV) have in fact called for a postponement of the elections. The ADN (Democratic Nationalist Action) candidate was the only one not to issue a statement. The candidates of MAS and CC (Citizens Community), Arce and Mesa, respectively, are the only ones insisting on elections to take place as planned.

On the one side, the candidates are concerned with older people infecting themselves at the ballot box or somewhere where it is bound to be an agglomeration of people. Another concern is about the possibility of electoral officials infecting themselves in similar circumstances, and also the possibility of these people bringing the virus home. Either way, for all the candidates in favor of postponing the elections the risk of infection is bound to be magnified by the electoral process. And we are not talking about the realistic possibility of having to vote in a second round of elections because it is almost certain that no candidate will be able to fulfill a direct election. Finally, the FPV candidate, Chi Hyun Chung, said he would prefer if the elections take place six months from now, once the pandemic is under control or over.

On the other side, only one candidate, namely Mesa, has proposed a plan to carry out the elections in what he calls a safe manner. He proposed a number of measures of which the most important is: the elections can take place in two schedules. One where older voters (40+) and those most in danger can vote and another for voters under 40. These two candidates highlight the urgency of clearing up the presidency question, which would bring the country forward.

Of all the candidates for president and vice president, two have tested positive, Janine Anez (Juntos) and Feliciano Mamani (PAN Bol).

In the mean time, the recently implemented (2018-2019) public health insurance scheme (namely the universal health insurance) is about to be overwhelmed. Already they are running out of beds, they cannot keep up with the tests and the country is running out of medicines. The private health system is also under stress. The situation is getting very critical.

Some of the largest and most affected cities, towns and regions are going back to rigid measures having to restrict movement, gatherings and economic activity. This, in turn is provoking much displeasure on the people and those who are being economically affected by such measures. So much so, that some labor groups, such as the Bolivian Workers Central (COB) has decided to ignore the measures and has organized marches in La Paz calling for work, health and education.