Latin America demands effective pandemic response while right wing leaders deny the problem
Coronavirus is ravaging the economies and societies of countries all across Latin America. Peru on Sunday reported 15,000 cases, the second most in Latin America behind Brazil, and the Finance Minister in Lima said that the economy there is in shambles. The virus is spreading through Brazil’s favelas and through the poor neighborhoods of Mexico City. Guatemala is trying to cope with a new outbreak caused when infected deportees arrived from the United States. Some governments in the region have acted proactively, but other politicians, especially Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, refuse to even acknowledge the seriousness of the pandemic. Patricio Zamorano, an academic and international analyst and Co-Director of the Council on Hemispheric Affairs, COHA, joins the show.