Post COVID-19 Snapshots of Latin American countries: Mexico and Brazil
Continuing with the series we began two weeks ago, in the following paragraphs we’ll be taking a look at Mexico and Brazil, the two biggest countries in the region not only in extension but also in population and market size.
Mexico
The 6th country in the world with more COVID-19 cases and 3rd country in the world with more deaths is also one of the countries with less tests per million inhabitants. This fact sheds doubt on the accuracy of the numbers given by the health department and the real state of the pandemic in the territory.
The Mexican government has had a hesitant position towards confinements privileging the economy over the population’s health. This lack of leadership has weakened Lopez Obrador’s image and spurred protests against him and his team. Several demonstrations have taken place during the pandemic with Mexicans asking for AMLO’s resignation. As always, the president has not given importance to the protests stating that these are just the higher classes who have always been against him and his policies.
The attack by Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generacion in early July in Mexico City against Omar García Harfuch’s convoy is a sign of the weakness of AMLO’s position against organized crime. It was seen as a display of power on the cartel’s side and a challenge on all of Mexico’s institutions.
In mid-July a series of videos and photographs were published in different media outlets with a display of military power and organization of the CJNG. These two incidents have shown that this cartel led by “El Mencho” is the new challenger to AMLO’s authority and a player that will clearly cause trouble all over the Mexican territory if not dealt with properly.
Brazil
This is the second country in the world with most cases and most deaths and also the first in the region in both aspects.
Since the beginning of the pandemic, Bolsonaro has underestimated the importance and impact of the virus. Nevertheless, he has reacted and at least the testing policy is allowing to keep a tap on the pulse of the virus in the country.
Brazilian authorities have also tried to privilege the protection of the economy over health of the population, failing at both.
Resistance towards Bolsonaro’s right wing policies have led to criticism and protests in the large Brazilian cities even during the pandemic.
The Brazilian economy has been affected greatly by the pandemic with thousands of small businesses being forced to close down and unemployment figures are on the rise. Tourism, one of Brazil’s
main sources of income, has been paralyzed for the past 5 months, leaving thousand without their jobs in hotels and restaurants. This will surely lead to a spike in the numbers for street crime and home burglaries.