For 2020, an average regional economy contraction of 5.3% is expected. Likewise, a strong increase in unemployment is expected, with negative effects on poverty, extreme poverty and inequality
The Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) will present on Tuesday, May 12, the special report COVID-19 No. 3 on monitoring the economic and social effects of the coronavirus in the region, entitled The social challenge in times of COVID- 19.
The new document, the third in a series that examines the evolution of the pandemic and its effects in the region, will this time provide an estimate of the social impact and related challenges that the current crisis would have for the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean, both in 2020 and in the medium and long term.
The presentation of the report will be made through a virtual press conference offered by Alicia Bárcena, ECLAC Executive Secretary, from Santiago, Chile, at 11:30 local time (UTC / GMT -4: 00).
It will be transmitted online over the internet through the institution’s website and its social networks on Twitter (@cepal_onu) and Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/cepal.onu). Journalists may send their questions in advance to the email conferenceprensa@cepal.org, which will be answered by the Executive Secretary of ECLAC live once the document has been presented. Questions will only be received until 12:00 p.m. local time.
According to recent ECLAC estimates, COVID-19 impacts the economies of Latin America and the Caribbean through external and internal factors whose joint effect will lead to the worst contraction that the region has suffered since 1914 and 1930. By 2020 An average regional economy contraction of 5.3% is expected. Likewise, a strong increase in unemployment is expected, with negative effects on poverty, extreme poverty and inequality. The approximate magnitude of these social challenges, as well as the details of a proposal for an emergency income for the population in poverty, will be part of the new report to be delivered by the Executive Secretary of the United Nations regional commission, on Tuesday 12 of May.
The media is invited to participate in the virtual press conference. Journalists must connect starting at 11:30 a.m. Local time (UTC / GMT -4: 00) through the ECLAC website. It is requested that the questions on the topics of the conference be sent in advance to the email conferenceprensa@cepal.org. Questions will only be received until 12:00 p.m. Local time on Tuesday, May 12.
The complete electronic version of the new ECLAC document, together with a press release and the presentation by Executive Secretary Alicia Bárcena, will be available on the ECLAC website and on the page of the Observatory COVID-19 in Latin America and the Caribe on Tuesday May 12, as soon as the press conference ends.