Eric LeCompte and Aldo Caliari were quoted in an article by Prensa Latina discussing the vulnerability of Latin America and the Caribbean to the COVID-19 pandemic. Read an excerpt below and read the full article here. 

Latin America and the Caribbean, the region most affected by Covid-19

Today, the region of Latin America and the Caribbean is the most affected in the world by the Covid-19 pandemic, according to a report by two non-governmental organizations.

The executive director of Jubilee USA, Eric LeCompte, pointed out that the pandemic affected Latin America and the Caribbean more due to factors such as dependence on tourism, pre-existing levels of poverty and inequality, large informal sectors and narrow tax bases. 

Le Compte warned that only countries categorized by the World Bank as being low-income can access emergency debt relief and other measures to mitigate the impact of the pandemic.

For Latindadd and Jubilee, that approach may dangerously underestimate how middle-income countries are suffering from damage caused by the pandemic. "We need more action from rich countries so that developing countries can face the crisis," said Jubilee USA Policy Director Aldo Caliari.

Read more here.