El Independiente covers Jubilee USA Network and Latindadd's Pandemic Vulnerability Map and quotes Eric LeCompte and Aldo Caliari on the pandemic's effects in the Caribbean and Latin America. Read an excerpt below and the full article here. 

Inequality and low income: the main vulnerabilities of Paraguay

In a study carried out by the Latin American Network for Economic and Social Justice (Latindadd), Paraguay's main vulnerabilities were detected as low social coverage, unequal access to new technologies, low hospital capacity, a weak anti-money laundering system, and low population income.

The so-called “Vulnerability Map” analyzes the conditions in 24 countries in the region and takes into account 12 dimensions, among which the fiscal situation, public debt, health system, employment, poverty and inequality stand out.

Eric LeCompte, Executive Director of Jubilee USA, said, "this 'Vulnerability Map' shows that a simple focus on historical median income levels leaves us all in the dark."

"Dependence on tourism activity — which the pandemic decimated — pre-existing levels of poverty and inequality, large informal sectors, and narrow tax bases are some of the factors that explain why the pandemic affected developing countries the most. We hope that presenting the data in this way provides a clearer picture of the challenges in developing countries,” explained LeCompte.

In turn, Aldo Caliari, Director of Policy at Jubilee USA, stated that "we need more action by rich countries so that developing countries can face the global crisis."

Read more here.