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1 1 (July 2, 2020)

handle is hein.crs/govebfv0001 and id is 1 raw text is: ~in~ ih A4Jj~ )t4 ~% tiel 'Me ~ ~14 S Updated July 2, 2020 Latin America and the Caribbean: Impact of COVID-19 The Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic is having widespread economic, social, and political effects on Latin America and the Caribbean, a region with strong congressionalinterest because of deep U.S. linkages. As of July 2, 2020, the region had almost2.7 million confirmed cases and almost 119,000 deaths, with several countries experiencing a surge in deaths. Brazil, Mexico, Peru, Chile, and Ecuador have the highest numbers of deaths in the region, and Brazilnow has the highestnumber of deaths worldwide after the United States. Therankings change in terms ofper capita deaths-Peruhas the highest number ofrecorded deaths per capita, closely followed by Chile, Brazil, Ecuador, and Mexico (see Table 1). Experts and observers are concerned that several countries, such as Brazil, Haiti, Mexico, Nicaragua, and Venezuela, are significantly undercounting their death tolls. Many observers have expressed particular concern for Venezuela, where the country's health care systemwas collapsing prior to the pandemic. Experts have criticized the presidents of Brazil, Mexico, and Nicaragua for playing down the virus threat and not taking adequate actions to stemits spread. On May 19, 2020, Director of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) Dr. Caris s a Etienne maintained that the virus is surgingacross ourregion andexpressed concern about the poor and other vulnerable groups at greatest risk. Dr. Etienne conveyed particular concern for cities, towns, and remote communities in the Amazon Basin, including indigenous communities, as well as women (who make up 70% of the health workforce), people of African descent, migrants in temporary settlements, and prisoners in crowdedjails with poor sanitation. On June 9, PAHO is sued guidance on measures to reduce COVID-19 transmission among indigenous populations, Afro- descendants, and other ethnic groups. Economic Impact Before the pandemic, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) projected 1.6% economic growth for the region in 2020 but forecast a recession several countries. On June 24, 2020, the IMFrevised its regional forecast to a contraction of 9.4%, with almost every country in recession. Economic recovery may be a protracted process in countries thatrely heavily on global trade and investment, which thepandenic is significantly affecting. Oil-producing countries in the region, especially Venezuela and Ecuador-and, to a les ser extent, Brazil, Colombia, and Mexico-are being negatively affected by the historic drop in the price of oil that began in late February 2020. Caribbean nations that depend on tourismface deep economic recessions, with projected annual GDP declines between 5%-10%. The decline in economic growth in 2020 is expected to exacerbate income inequality and poverty throughout the region. Latin America was already the mostunequalregion in the world in terms of income inequality, according to the U.N. Economic Commis sion for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC). ECLAC projects that in 2020, inequality will rise in all countries, with the worst results in the region's largest economies-Brazil, Mexico, and Argentina. The level of poverty is expected to increase fium 30.3% of the region's population in 2019 to 34.3% in 2020, with almost 29 million people moving into poverty. Table I. COVID-1 9 Deaths and Mortality Rates in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) (countries with more than 500 deaths, as ofJuly2, 2020) Regional Country Deaths Deaths per Rank 100,000 (deaths per 100,000) Brazil 60,632 28.95 3 Mexico 28,510 22.59 5 Peru 9,860 30.82 1 Chile 5,753 30.72 2 Ecuador 4,576 26.78 4 Colombia 3,488 7.03 9 Argentina 1,351 3.04 1 3 Bolivia 1,201 10.58 7 Dom. Rep. 754 7.10 8 Guatemala 817 4.74 11 Panama 645 15.44 6 Honduras 542 5.65 10 Total LAC 118,886 - - United States 128,062 39.14 - Source: Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Coronavirus Resou rce Center, Mortality Analyses, accessed July 2, 2020, 3:00 a.m. EDT, updated daily at httpsi/coronavirus.jh u.edu/data/mortality. Notes: Antigua and Barbuda had 3.12deaths per 100,000, 12th highest in the region. Another economic challenge for the region is thatincoming remittances fromabroad(the majority fromthe United States) are expected to drop significantly as a result of COVID-19. For severalcountries-El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, and Nicaragua- remittances play a significant role in their economies. The

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