The COVID-19 pandemic has demonstrated that the future is digital. As a result, it has highlighted the transformative power of technology for Latin America and the Caribbean, and accelerated its digital transformation, not only in leading start-up markets like Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, and Mexico, but throughout the entire region.
The ambition and capability of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) to affect the political affairs of nations across Latin America and the Caribbean have only grown during the global pandemic. Recent events in Guyana and Paraguay show that COVID-19 vaccines have influenced governments, either directly or indirectly, toward Beijing’s political preferences.
After several months of waiting, the Colombian government unveiled a tax bill intended to address the fiscal and social crisis triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the proposed bill has not been well-received, and the following verdict has been almost unanimous: the proposal punishes the Colombian middle-class and jeopardizes economic recovery. Unless an agreement is reached in Congress in the coming months, Colombia could risk its post-pandemic socioeconomic recovery.
The strategic environment of Latin America is in the early phases of a profound, negative transformation reflecting the combined effects of three of the most powerful global forces of our era: (1) the spread of a new, populist model for capturing democratic states with vulnerable institutions and transforming them into authoritarian regimes with expanded levels of elite-sanctioned criminality; (2) the Covid-19 pandemic’s profound, multi-dimensional, long-term blow to the region; and (3) China’s advances in pursuit of its economic ambitions, which have profound economic and political consequences for its partners.
The race to research, develop, test, approve, and distribute effective COVID-19 vaccines has turned the search for global normalcy into yet another frontier to be exploited for geopolitical gain, with Russia taking the opportunity to use vaccines as a means to advance relations throughout Latin America.
As Brazil spirals deeper into the epidemiological crisis caused by COVID-19, a new political dilemma has also arisen in the South American nation. Following President Jair Bolsonaro’s sudden and unexpected firing of Minister of Defense General Fernando Azevedo e Silva last Monday, the chiefs of the Brazilian army, navy, and air force all announced their resignations in response.
CARICOM has already proven the effectiveness of using multilateral systems to advance hemispheric solutions, creating an opportunity for the Biden administration to advance common interests in the region.
The COVID-19 pandemic has put informal settlements, and the policy failures that they represent, back in the spotlight. Immediate strategies to combat the virus in slums have been deployed throughout Latin America, which includes five of the countries—Brazil, Peru, Colombia, Mexico, Argentina—that have suffered the most COVID-19-related deaths per capita. However, the strong regional impact from COVID-19 calls for differentiated governance and policy response.
15 major commercial airlines—including AirFrance/KLM, Lufthansa Cargo, and United Airlines—have signed an agreement with UNICEF to support the delivery of COVID-19 vaccines to hundreds of countries around the world.
