Local Decision Making and Aging Policies During Covid-19

The municipal administration level plays a distinct role in managing and executing dependency policies and care for the elderly in Spain. Numerous services related to aging depend directly on the political leaders of the municipalities, a fact that is especially evident in towns of less than 2000 inhabitants in rural areas. In this article, we analyze the main elements in the decision-making process of mayors and councilors for aging policies in their municipalities. For this purpose, we have carried out fieldwork in 10 rural localities of Extremadura (Spain). The main results highlight the high level of knowledge of the environment that the mayors and councilors have when making decisions, although they state that their lack of knowledge of the pandemic is damaging. In addition, it is observed that other factors have influenced the decision-making process, such as the positioning of the party, the emotional impact of the pandemic, or neighborhood pressure. Finally, a proposal is made to improve decision-making processes in health crises in municipal policy as a result of the results obtained.