COVID IN COLOMBIA: A CRISIS OF GOVERNABILITY AND RESPONSE/COVID en Colombia: una crisis de gobernabilidad y de respuesta

The explosive growth of the COVID-19 pandemic in the year 2020 presented a sharp challenge to the institutional and economic capacity of countries around the world. This article examines efforts to confront and cope with the pandemic in a specific case, that of Colombia. It identifies a crisis of governability in the country that has been exacerbated by the pandemic, but which preceded COVID-19 and is likely to outlast it as well. We describe the context in which the pandemic unfolded and the government's response, which has laid bare the fragility of Colombia's socioeconomic and political achievements, evidencing deeper structural problems. The country is subject to a high level of informality in the economy's, a lack of social safety nets for more than half of the population, and the ongoing presence of violence and illegal groups. With the pandemic added to this backdrop, social tensions rose, and blame games and confrontations between national and subnational governments became part of the daily news. Policy measures were undertaken to reduce the number of infections, including extensive lockdowns; while assessments of their effectiveness in meeting their stated objectives vary, there has undeniably been significant regression on economic and social indicators. The dynamics of the 2022 elections will undoubtedly be marked by the consequences of the COVID-19 emergency. Keywords: COVID-19, governability crisis, pandemic, social unrest, state capacity. El explosivo crecimiento de la pandemia de COVID-19 en el año 2020 presentó un fuerte desafío a la capacidad institucional y económica de los países de todo el mundo. Este artículo examina los esfuerzos para enfrentar y afrontar la pandemia en un caso específico, el de Colombia. El manuscrito identifica una crisis de gobernabilidad en el país que ha sido exacerbada por la pandemia, pero que precedió la crisis del COVID-19 y es probable que también la supere. En el trabajo describimos el contexto en el que se desarrolló la pandemia y la respuesta del gobierno, que ha puesto al descubierto la fragilidad de los logros socioeconómicos y políticos de Colombia, evidenciando problemas estructurales más profundos. El país está sujeto a un alto nivel de informalidad en la economía, la falta de redes de seguridad social para más de la mitad de la población y la presencia constante de violencia y grupos ilegales. Con la pandemia sumada a este telón de fondo, aumentaron las tensiones sociales, y los juegos de culpas y