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Latin America risks another lost decade

Monday, October 5, 2020

Significance

The health crisis, national lockdowns and a global recession have combined to create a difficult environment in Latin America, while governments’ responses to the pandemic have been uneven. The region is once again repeating its history of boom-and-bust cycles and risks experiencing a lost decade similar to the 1980s.

Impacts

  • Income polarisation will increase, with a simultaneous rise in poverty and concentration of wealth at the top.
  • Regional collaboration is unlikely due to lack of political leadership and ideological differences.
  • While a Biden presidency might take a more cooperative line, Latin America will receive little US attention whatever the election outcome.

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