Paradiplomacy and cooperation in the Pandemic era: A review from China in Latin America

Abstract

The global pandemic has faced humanity with one of the most devastating, disruptive, and unequal crises of recent times. The collapse of world trade that had been dragging years of economic deceleration after the 2008 crisis; the general closure of borders; the interruption of commercial and productive activities; the fall in employment rates and the increase in the level of world poverty are some of the immediate consequences of this ongoing catastrophe. Unequivocally, the pandemic also brought to our attention the utter fragility of our health and distribution systems and the profound inequities that pierce and divide the globe. The overwhelming differences between hemispheres, countries, and regional or provincial units within the States were catalysts for an uneven response capacity to the health emergency, which had a greater impact on the less developed territories. Latin America, one of the most affected regions, suffered deep setbacks. According to figures from the International Labor Organization, during the year 2020 the decrease in employment was equivalent to 33 million jobs. That year, the fall in terms of economic growth represented 6.8% according to Economic Council of Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) – the worst hit region in the world –, and the poverty rate reached 33%, the highest figure since 2002 in the region. All of them with greater impact on minorities such as indigenous communities, children, and women.