UN warns that economic crisis due to coronavirus could lead to an increase in illicit crops in Latin America

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The victims of the economic crisis due to the coronavirus 3:29

(CNN Spanish) - Due to the economic crisis caused by the coronavirus and the great loss of jobs that Latin America faces due to confinement orders to stop the spread of the virus, the region could experience an increase in illicit crops, it warned this Thursday. the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).

The warning is in the UNODC report on changing the routes of illicit crops in the midst of the covid-19 pandemic.

"This severe economic contraction and subsequent job losses will translate into an increase in the number of vulnerable households that resort to negative coping mechanisms, such as illicit cultivation of crops, if there are no other income-generating options," says the report.

And he adds that the "reduction of economic opportunities for the population and the increase in unemployment rates can increase participation in illegal activities such as drug trafficking."

• What are Latin American countries offering to alleviate the economic crisis due to the coronavirus pandemic?

The report warns that the economic recession caused by restrictive coronavirus measures may "lead to a lasting and profound transformation of the drug markets." However, he also says that the transformation of those markets still needs more research.

"The economic difficulties caused by covid-19 can affect people who are already in a position of socioeconomic disadvantage, more than others," says the UN.

The report of some Latin American countries

Regarding Colombia, the report explains that although due to "pressure from the forces of order" the eradication of the coca leaf continues according to government plans and the production of cocaine has been halted in the short term, "it is likely that there is a resurgence in the event of an economic crisis. ”

From Bolivia, the UN explains that due to the "political turmoil" of the end of 2019 and the challenges of the spread of the coronavirus, the authorities have "limitations" to "control the cultivation of coca leaves, which could lead to an increase of their cultivation ”.

In Peru, there has been a drop in the price of cocaine due to the reduction of "trafficking opportunities" and the decrease in the cultivation of coca leaf, the report indicates. But the UN says that "an impending economic crisis may lead more farmers to increase or grow coca in all major cocaine-producing countries."

UNODC adds that despite the crisis in illicit crops, the situation may not last long "as consumer prices for cocaine are increasing and drug traffickers can adapt."

The increase in poverty amid the crisis and the transformation of drug trafficking

The UN forecasts the economic contraction in Latin America to be 5.3%, "the worst economic crisis in its history," says the report, which compares this figure to the Great Depression of 1930, when there was an economic contraction of 5 %.

The report is not encouraging in terms of increasing poverty: the UN, citing "conservative estimates", expects the percentage of people living below the poverty line to increase by 4 percentage points, from 30% to 34% . And that extreme poverty goes from 11% to 13%.

"The covid-19 crisis will affect both the number of jobs (increased unemployment and underemployment) and the quality of work (reduced wages and access to social protection) available, particularly among the most vulnerable groups, such as workers in the sector informal, ”says the report. "Although accurate estimates are not available the number of informal jobs lost will be even greater than the number of formal jobs lost."

Finally, the UN warns that after the experience of the 2008-2009 economic crisis, it is possible to assume that the economic recession "can lead to a lasting transformation of the illicit drug markets and the potential worsening of the illicit drug economies throughout the world".

illicit crops drug trafficking