Coronavirus could push Latin America, Caribbean into deepest recession since 1930s
Even before the coronavirus swept through Latin America and the Caribbean, the region was ailing. With sluggish commodity prices and massive debt, economic growth was anemic — averaging just 0.7 percent annually over the last six years.
The coronavirus is threatening to turn that economic malaise into a full-blown disaster.
“Latin America has not been doing well over the last half decade,” said Jerry Haar, an international business professor at Florida International University. “This is like a kick to the groin to someone who already has a double hernia.”
The Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean has been scrambling to revise its economic forecasts downward as the severity of the pandemic has come into view. The group now expects South American economies to shrink 5.2 percent this year, the Caribbean to contract 2.5 percent, and Central American GDP to slump 2.3 percent.
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