November 3, 2026
The COVID-19 period between 2019 to 2020 left many scars on our societies. Many of us will never get over the disruption to our daily lives and the restrictions and curfews we were placed under for our own good. But, not everything bad with the society happened as a result of the COVID pandemic and all of our existing problems have little to do with it either.
Latin America and the Caribbean was underperforming well before the pandemic. The so called “democratic institutions,” were weak well before the pandemic caused governments to become dictatorial for only that time.
Corruption was rampant before the pandemic. In 2015 for example, Latin America experienced a watershed moment characterized by massive anti-corruption investigations, high-profile political downfalls, and a sharp rise in public awareness and protests.
Onn the economic front, Real GDP growth for Latin America and the Caribbean in 2015 was 0.24% according to macro data, or approximately -0.5% according to official figures from the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC).
So, we cannot blame the pandemic for our problems. We simply have to do better.