The Mayor of Bogotá participated in the TV current affairs show Politically Correct on the Ecuadorian television network Ecuavisa. In this program, where current Latin American issues are discussed, López explained the measures that Bogotá has taken to mitigate the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic. She also commented on the challenges faced by the countries of the region to strengthen their health and social security systems in the face of the new normality for the post-pandemic world.
In this sense, López explained that her government is applying measures to reduce the number of people on the streets as a way to avoid contagion. With differentiated schedules for each type of commercial activity; strengthening teleworking and with a 24-hour city; Bogotá seeks to reduce the occupation of its public transport and to enable social distancing. In this way, the Mayor´s Office aims to promote economic reactivation without risking public health.
The short term goal of the administration is that only 60% of the city´s workforce will be occupying the streets.
Likewise, Claudia López argued why the pandemic has raised the need to carry out a new social and environmental contract in the region. According to López, South America has become the focus of Covid-19 due to its high rates of inequality and the weakness of its social security systems. This is why, in order to advance with the reduction of extreme poverty, Bogotá is promoting the establishment of a basic income program and the construction of a new system of care for the vulnerable.
With these initiatives, the capital of Colombia seeks that conditional cash transfers for the vulnerable will generate better conditions of education, nutrition and training for the labour market. On the other hand, Bogotá´s administration is assuming social care as one of its main responsibilities. Therefore, the local institutions are articulating welfare and care services for the children, the disabled and the elderly.
See the full interview of Mayor López with Ecuavisa:
