Politics and Poverty drive Latin America to be new epicenter of COVID-19 pandemic

The world is suffering and working hard to come out victorious from the COVID-19 pandemic. But the situation isn’t the same everywhere.

 

The coronavirus infection started in China with its epicenter in Wuhan. From there it spread like a wildfire to Europe and North America, making New York as the next epicenter. And now the current situation indicates South America as the next hotspot.

 

So, what went wrong?

 

The politics in South America countries seemed to be the driving factor of different ideologies on how to tackle the pandemic spreading across borders. Poverty and hunger just added to the mayhem created by reckless policies of administrations.

 

Mexico President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador is keen to open country despite a rising number of coronavirus cases to kickoff important projects in-country, including a new railroad project in the southeast.

 

In Brazil, president Jair Bolsonaro has consistently defied his country’s medical authorities guidelines of social distancing and has been holding rallies throughout the pandemic duration supporting his government. He is also been seen shaking hands and holding children in arms against the protocols.

 

Furthermore, in Nicaragua President Daniel Ortego is playing politics by targeting his opponents for the financial crisis in-country due to coronavirus lockdown, deeming it to be opposition strategy.

 

Contrasting countries in South America

 

The situation isn’t ubiquitous in South America. Many countries are projecting a stark contrast and showcasing the ideal leadership and tackling strategies of the pandemic.

 

In Peru, President Martin Vizcarra has extended the national emergency till the end of June. He has also created a national task force for expediting relief efforts along with social distancing protocols.

 

El Salvador President Nayib Bukele has ordered to send the “curfew violators” to government-operated “quarantine centers”, although this has been declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court.

 

No matter how drastic and successful the efforts are, South America is consistently having spikes of positive cases heading towards a dangerous number. World Health Organization declared Latin America as the new epicenter last week.

 

Brazil has already surpassed Russia and China, standing at number two of the most positive cases of COVID-19, just after the U.S.

 

Inequality – a major factor to the current situation

Economic inequality rift tends to widen as the pandemic period continues. Unfortunately, this is a major problem for South American countries already suffering from inequality economically and widespread poverty.

 

Poverty leads to low availability of basic sanitation measures required during a pandemic, along with the availability of clean water, vaccines, and basic medical facilities. This is the major indicator of the massive death toll in South American countries.

 

However, inequality and poverty are not the only factors. Costa Rica, for instance, is 16th of the countries with maximum inequality, according to the Gini index. But with just 0.2 deaths per 100,000 people, Costa Rica has the lowest COVID-19 mortality rates in South America.

 

An overall strong public health system with strong administration, not politicizing the current situation is also the deciding factor of a country’s performance during pandemic times.

Source: https://edition.cnn.com/2020/05/29/americas/coronavirus-costa-rica-brazil-analysis-intl/index.html