Governing in Times of Crisis | Francisco Sagasti | TEDxPenn

Francisco Sagasti's Governance Approach

• Francisco Sagasti, elected president of Peru in November 2020, adopted a new governance style focused on empowering others, promoting collaboration, and ensuring transparency.
• Despite challenges such as the COVID-19 pandemic, economic downturn, political unrest, and social protests, Sagasti's government achieved significant progress in six months.
• Key accomplishments include securing enough vaccines to vaccinate the population three times over, increasing oxygen supply sevenfold, tripling intensive care units, recovering the economy, and holding free and fair elections.

Decision-Making Principles

• Sagasti emphasizes the importance of distinguishing between circumstances, problems, and conditions when making decisions and allocating resources.
• Every decision involves three strands of influence: mindset (concepts and information processing), evidence (data and information), and character (values, attitudes, and preferences).
• Integrative judgments that combine mindset, evidence, and character are essential in effective governance.

Examples of Principles in Practice

• Conducting General Elections:
  • Elections were conducted successfully, ensuring the peaceful transfer of power.
• Negotiating for Vaccines:
  • Vaccines were made available to everyone free of charge, without special treatment or privileges.
  • An Ethics Committee was created to define a sequence of vaccine distribution based on vulnerability, ensuring equal access for all citizens.
• Managing Social Protests:
  • Social unrest and protests were addressed by focusing on preventing conflicts from turning violent, given time constraints.
  • Information from various sources helped the government understand the motivations and objectives of different parties involved in conflicts.
  • The government prioritized preserving human lives, preventing violent conflicts, and resolving them peacefully.
  • Efforts were made to set the basis for resolving conflicts in the near future, but some issues had to be postponed due to time constraints.

Conclusion

• Sagasti encourages individuals to reflect on their own decision-making processes and improve their personal governance.
• He concludes by quoting Leonard Cohen's song "Anthem," emphasizing the importance of finding cracks through which light can illuminate the darkness in difficult times.