The coronavirus pandemic in Latin America is experiencing its most difficult moment, with the announcement that in the last 24 hours the infections in the 34 countries and territories of the region have overcome the barrier of one and a half million cases. And everything suggests that for several days, it is not possible to predict how many, the phenomenon will continue to intensify. It is a wake-up call for
Latin American governments , often overwhelmed by the size of the crisis, which see dense clouds approaching their political, economic and social future.
The curve traceable on the basis of data provided by the health authorities shows an upward trend having accumulated, with 40-50,000 infections per day, 1,507,150 cases since March. To these must be added an increase in the dead, which yesterday had reached 73,546. The main victim of the emergency is Brazil, which contributes to the general budget with half of the infected (802,828) and 60% of the dead (40,919), against the background of tensions due to the health policy adopted by the government of President Jair Bolsonaro.
Peru follows, with 214,788 infected and 6,109 dead, Chile (154,092 and 2,648) and then Mexico (129,184 and 15,357). Six other countries (Ecuador, Colombia, Argentina, Dominican Republic, Panama and Bolivia) have more than 10,000 infected and 400 dead.
Alicia Barcena, secretary of the Economic Commission for Latin America (Cepal), a UN body, supported during a seminar held for the 50th anniversary of the 'Banco de desarrollo de Latin America' (Caf), that for this crisis "we expect a economic retreat for the region of at least 13 years ". The drama is, he said, that "Latin American countries are dedicating less than 2% of GDP to healthcare" and will face a recession with over 200 million poor people, the closure of 2.6 million businesses, a boom in the unemployment and serious problems of sustainability of the public debt.