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1 1 (June 26, 2020)

handle is hein.crs/govdqzz0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Updated June 26,2020 Latin America and the Caribbean: Impact of COVID-19 The Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic is having widespread economic, social, and politicaleffects on Latin America and the Caribbean, aregion with strong congressionalinterest becauseof deep U.S. linkages. As of June 26,2020, the region had almost 2.3 million confirmed cases andover 105,000 deaths, with some countries experiencing a surgein deaths. Brazil, Mexico, Peru, Chile, and Ecuadorhave the highest numbers of deaths in the region, and Brazilnowhas the highest number of deaths worldwide afterthe United States. Therankings change in terms of per capita deaths-Peru has the highest number ofrecorded deaths per capita, closely followed by Brazil, Chile, and Ecuador (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 sa Etienne maintained that the virus is surgingacrossourregionandexpressed 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 issued guidance onmeasures to reduceCOVID-19 transmission amongindigenous populations, Afro- descendants, and other ethnic groups. Before the pandemic, the InternationalMonetary 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 that rely heavily on global trade and investment, which thepandenic is significantly affecting. Oil-producing countries in the region, especially Venezuela and Ecuador-and, to alesser 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 Commission 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 ofpoverty is expected to increase frm 30.3% of the region's population in 2019 to 34.3% in 2020 (almost 215 million people), with almost 29 million people moving into poverty during the year. Table I. COVID-19 Deaths and Mortality Rates in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) (countries with more than 500 deaths, as of June 26, 2020) Regional Deaths per Rank 100,000 (deaths per 100,000) Brazil 54,971 26.24 2 Mexico 25,060 19.86 5 Peru 8,761 27.39 I Chile 4,903 26.18 3 Ecuador 4,343 25.42 4 Colombia 2,611 5.26 9 Argentina 1,150 2.58 13 Bolivia 91 3 8.04 7 Dom. Rep. 698 6.57 8 Guatemala 623 3.61 II Panama 564 13.50 6 Total LAC 105,555 United States 124,410 38.03 - Source: Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Coronavirus Resource Center, Mortality Analyses, accessed June 26,2020, 3:00 a.m. EDT, updated daily at https//coronavirus.jhu.edu/data/mortality. Notes: Other countries with comparatively high death rates in the region include Honduras, ranked 10*i (4.44deaths per 100,000), and Antigua and Barbuda, ranked I 2*(3.1 2 deaths per 100,000). Another economic challenge for the region is that incoming remittances fromabro ad (the majority fromthe United States) are expectedto drop significantly as aresult of COVID-19. For severalcountries-El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, and Nicaragua- remittances play a significant role in their economies. The xa S 1,k y\

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