Insider

Your all-access pass to FP

After COVID-19, Latin America Braces for ‘Lost Decade’

Already one of the most unequal regions in the world, it may face an unprecedented rise in inequality and poverty due to the economic carnage of the pandemic.

By , an intern at Foreign Policy in 2020, and , an intern at Foreign Policy from 2020-2021.
Alicia Barcena, chief of the United Nations Economic Committee for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), attends a panel during the U.N. Global Compact for Migration in Marrakesh in 2018.
Alicia Barcena, chief of the United Nations Economic Committee for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), attends a panel during the U.N. Global Compact for Migration in Marrakesh in 2018.
Alicia Barcena, chief of the United Nations Economic Committee for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), attends a panel during the U.N. Global Compact for Migration in Marrakesh in 2018. FADEL SENNA/AFP via Getty Images

In 2020 alone, nearly 45 million more Latin Americans will be forced into poverty as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, with tens of millions pushed into extreme poverty, a recent study from the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) study estimated. More than one-third of the region’s population will face unemployment and food insecurity, threatening dire long-term impacts for Latin America.

Augusta Saraiva was an intern at Foreign Policy in 2020. Twitter: @gutavsaraiva

Darcy Palder was an intern at Foreign Policy from 2020-2021.

More from Foreign Policy

The USS Nimitz and Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force and South Korean Navy warships sail in formation during a joint naval exercise off the South Korean coast.
The USS Nimitz and Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force and South Korean Navy warships sail in formation during a joint naval exercise off the South Korean coast.

America Is a Heartbeat Away From a War It Could Lose

Global war is neither a theoretical contingency nor the fever dream of hawks and militarists.

A protester waves a Palestinian flag in front of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, during a demonstration calling for a ceasefire in Gaza. People sit and walk on the grass lawn in front of the protester and barricades.
A protester waves a Palestinian flag in front of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, during a demonstration calling for a ceasefire in Gaza. People sit and walk on the grass lawn in front of the protester and barricades.

The West’s Incoherent Critique of Israel’s Gaza Strategy

The reality of fighting Hamas in Gaza makes this war terrible one way or another.

Biden dressed in a dark blue suit walks with his head down past a row of alternating U.S. and Israeli flags.
Biden dressed in a dark blue suit walks with his head down past a row of alternating U.S. and Israeli flags.

Biden Owns the Israel-Palestine Conflict Now

In tying Washington to Israel’s war in Gaza, the U.S. president now shares responsibility for the broader conflict’s fate.

U.S. President Joe Biden is seen in profile as he greets Chinese President Xi Jinping with a handshake. Xi, a 70-year-old man in a dark blue suit, smiles as he takes the hand of Biden, an 80-year-old man who also wears a dark blue suit.
U.S. President Joe Biden is seen in profile as he greets Chinese President Xi Jinping with a handshake. Xi, a 70-year-old man in a dark blue suit, smiles as he takes the hand of Biden, an 80-year-old man who also wears a dark blue suit.

Taiwan’s Room to Maneuver Shrinks as Biden and Xi Meet

As the latest crisis in the straits wraps up, Taipei is on the back foot.