COVID-19 and social inequalities

Alejandra del C. Rivera Alvarado[1]

COVID-19, the pandemic of the 21st century, is a novel coronavirus that causes respiratory infections in humans. To date, 859.395 cases and 42.328 deaths have been detected worldwide. The most vulnerable population is older adults. Dan Patrick, Republican lieutenant governor of Texas, during an interview with Fox News[2]He opined that older people should sacrifice themselves for the future of the United States. This comment, which may seem quite shocking, highlights that for the capitalist system and its neoliberal model, there is a social segment that is expendable: older people, the working class, and the most impoverished.

While it's true that this disease can infect anyone, it doesn't affect everyone equally in socioeconomic terms. This is due to the inequalities that exist between social classes. In Latin America, some countries have opted for quarantine.[3]In Peru, the most remote populations lack adequate housing for isolation, as well as basic services such as electricity, water, and sanitation. Many of these people face precarious employment, and most are informal workers.[4]because they lack the necessary conditions for survival. In this regard, David Harvey[5] He points out that “the new working class”[6] They bear the brunt of it, as they are the workforce that faces the greatest risk of contracting the virus at work or being exposed to being fired.

Likewise, healthcare workers also face these conditions. Despite playing a vital role as those responsible for protecting our lives in the fight against COVID-19, staffing levels are often reduced or their working conditions are made more precarious. Many of them are on short-term contracts, with salaries that don't last the month, forcing them to take on other jobs in the private sector, subjecting them to grueling workdays that can exceed eight hours.

This context of precariousness also impacts households, and women bear the brunt of it. In these times of COVID-19, when caregiving is more crucial than ever, women are on the front lines, performing a wide range of tasks: housework, public cleaning, selling food in local markets, hospital work, pharmacy services, and medical and nursing duties. These are often unrecognized and frequently invisible jobs, especially during this crisis, which has exacerbated the exploitation inherent in this system.

Furthermore, abandoning or cutting the budget and failing to give public health the importance it deserves is tantamount to sending many people, mostly poor, to their deaths. The Pan American Health Organization estimates that 30% of the region's population lacks access to healthcare due to economic reasons. In Latin America, Chile has the second-highest per capita spending on public health, but access is not equal for all Chileans due to the level of healthcare privatization. Compared to Cuba, which still ranks first in access to public healthcare, Chile ranks fifteenth.[7]Access to healthcare is a problem for the most disadvantaged. In a context where states do not invest in quality public health with universal access and prioritize supporting private interests, it is clear that the neglect of public health and social assistance is now being paid for dearly: with lives.

It's important to remember that before the coronavirus arrived in Latin American countries, there were already prevalent illnesses, including heart disease, vascular problems, diabetes, and cancer. With the arrival of the coronavirus, much of the care provided to these patients has been neglected. Attention has become focused on a single problem: COVID-19, leading to the neglect of other diseases.

Likewise, the types of illnesses suffered by the working class are closely linked to the type of work they do. Marciano Sánchez Bayle, spokesperson for the Federation of Associations in Defense of Public Healthcare in Spain, stated on the digital program that these pathologies are associated with quality of life and purchasing power. COVID-19 is a product of the system in which we live. David Harvey[8] It states that capital alters environmental conditions and causes viruses to mutate constantly. Diseases of the 21st century are linked to the changes brought about by the neoliberal model and the capitalist system. This system has been characterized by the accumulation of capital and the protection of its economic interests, which in many cases has led to precariousness, individualism, consumerism, wars, and environmental destruction.

In short, it is urgent and necessary for the people of Latin America to demand the defense of a universal healthcare system that guarantees quality care and has sufficient health resources to restructure the public health system, not only to withstand COVID-19, but also future viruses. Primary care is fundamental to disease prevention, especially when public health is understood holistically, not only to cure diseases or viruses, but also to consider people's socioeconomic situation and quality of life. Cuba is a clear example of comprehensive, community-based public health. Cuba, once again, gives us a lesson in solidarity with the countries most affected by COVID-19, such as China, Italy, Spain, and other countries that have requested and received its support. Restructuring public health is not just a matter of management; it implies rethinking the economic and social model we want to follow: whether we continue with a capitalist system at the service of the market and large corporations, or whether we opt for a system with community-based, grassroots, and more humane principles, respecting nature and ecosystems.

[1]Political scientist from the National University of San Marcos, Lima, Peru, with a Master's degree in Sociology: Specialization in Political Studies from the same institution. Co-author with Jazmín Goicochea Medina of the essay "La resistencia sindical tiene rostro de mujer" (Union Resistance Has a Woman's Face), winner of the "Feminisms and Unions in Ibero-America" ​​competition, organized by CLACSO and UNPAZ.
[2]El Tiempo newspaper, retrieved from: https://www.eltiempo.com/mundo/eeuu-y-canada/dan-patrick-dice-que-adultos-mayores-deberian-sacriificarse-por-estados-unidos-476492
[3]In medicine, quarantine is a term used to describe the isolation of people for an unspecified period of time as a method to prevent or limit the risk of the spread of a disease.
[4]The National Institute of Statistics of Peru indicates that formal employment represents 27,4% at the national level; while informal employment represents 72,6%.
[5]Source: David Harvey. Anti-capitalist Politics in Times of COVID-19, published on March 22, 2020 http://www.sinpermiso.info/textos/politica-anticapitalista-en-tiempos-de-covid-19
[6]David, H. He refers, for example, to McDonald's workers or to 20th-century metalworkers.
[7] Idem.
[8]Idem.

DOWNLOAD NOTE