The Impact of the Pandemic on Latin America: Social Setbacks and Rising Inequalities

Abstract

In this chapter, we analyze the social impact of the Covid-19 pandemic in Latin America. Based on a review of statistical data and empirical research, we examine what has happened in terms of health, the labor market, income, poverty, care work, and education since the beginning of the pandemic. The crisis is still underway, and it is too early for the final balance sheets. Future scenarios will partially depend on the mitigation policies applied. However, the pandemic has already affected Latin American societies in such a way that setbacks can be foreseen in many of the social indicators that had been gradually improving for decades.