The coronavirus landed in Latin America on February 26, when Brazil confirmed a case in São Paulo. Since then, governments across the region have taken an array of actions to protect their citizens and contain COVID-19’s spread.
Aside from the health risks, there will be an economic impact as well. China ranks as either the first or second-largest trade partner for several Latin American countries. On March 2, the OECD decreased global GDP growth expectations for the year by half a point to 2.4 percent. Prior to the epidemic, the IMF predicted 1.6 percent GDP growth for the region for 2020. In a perfect storm for economies, dropping oil prices have resulted in plunging Latin American markets and currencies.
RELATED LINKS:
https://www.as-coa.org/articles/coronavirus-latin-america#argentina
