Latin America faces growing challenges in 2021

Economic fragility, political fragmentation and social polarization problems persist in Latin America,while the outbreak of the COVID-9 pandemic has made it worse, says a report issued by the Institute of Latin American Studies, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, on Tuesday.

The Report on Development of Latin America and Caribbean (2020-2021) also says the outbreak triggered the worst recession in 120 years, undoing whatever poverty reduction programs had achieved over the past 10 years and stagnating regional coordination.

Wang Peng, director of the Department of Inter-Disciplinary Studies, ILAS, said the Latin America region's economy has long been fragile. But the urgent needs of development and recovery from the pandemic's impacts may add impetus to the regional transformation.

Lin Hua, an associate research fellow at the Department of Culture and Social Problems, ILAS, said that elections in 2021 have and those next year will increase political uncertainty, adding that the pandemic had brought more social challenges.

He said the pandemic also exposed the digital gap in Latin America as countries struggled to adopt online education and work-from-home measures, apart from inequality with regard to COVID-19 vaccines' global distribution, countries' international standing and governments' negotiating capability.

One good thing, the report showed, was that cooperation between China and Latin America has retained its momentum despite the pandemic. Bilateral trade is expected to exceed $400 billion in 2021. China and Nicaragua resumed diplomatic ties on Dec 10. The two sides have cooperated at various levels and forms to fight against COVID-19. China dispatched medical teams, provided medical supplies, assisted with medical procurement, and joined hands with Latin American countries in vaccine development.

According to the report, challenges will remain and Latin American countries should try to secure stable development in the short term. The region also needs to propel structural reform and regional integration to strengthen economic resilience in the medium term, and a new development pattern with a balance between social and economic development in the long term.