OECD: COVID-19 threatens to lose 20-year progress in welfare in Latin America

Many of the improvements in the well-being of the population of the most developed countries in Latin America, which had already slowed down since the middle of the last decade, run the risk of being lost with the pandemic, indicates the OECD in a report.

The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) looks at different indicators of well-being in Latin America, not only in the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), with the aim of guiding public policies towards an improvement in the lives of citizens.

In this report, it analyzes eleven countries (Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Mexico, Paraguay, Peru and Uruguay) with material conditions that are in a “medium-high” range of the region.

His first conclusion is that between 2000 and 2019 there were “considerable improvements” in well-being.

The number of people living in absolute poverty went from one third to one fifth, there was a “substantial decrease” in income inequality, and access to clean water and the internet improved, while irregular settlements or shantytowns were reduced and life expectancy rose from 73 to 77 years.

The mortality rate in children under five fell by half and that of mothers during pregnancy by 30%. The percentage of the population with upper secondary education increased from 34% to 46% and that of those who did university studies from 12% to 19%.

Stop in 2010

This positive outlook suffered a slowdown starting in 2010, when the decline in commodity prices led to a halt in the improvement of material conditions, which in some countries even fell back.

As of 2014, the statistics of the workforce and the perception of the personal standard of living worsened. The rate of reduction in income inequality and poverty also decreased.

Some structural problems weighed heavily, such as the high rate of irregular employment, the high number of people who neither study nor work, or the high rates of obesity.

The region, which is rich in natural resources, is also particularly vulnerable to climate change and the loss of biodiversity, as evidenced by the fact that intact forest mass has decreased by 8% so far in the 21st century.

The authors of the report note that the average indicators hide important differences between countries and within each nation, with more degraded situations in certain social groups, such as women, youth, rural population, indigenous peoples and people with a lower educational level.

Aggravation with the pandemic

In general terms, the region was experiencing a situation of vulnerability that aggravated the pandemic, which resulted in a “drastic” increase in unemployment and absolute poverty in 2020.

Poor housing conditions made it difficult to fight the virus, and the digital divide hampered both distance learning and working.

“There is a risk that the COVID-19 pandemic will derail many of the well-being gains made in recent decades and exacerbate existing problems,” warns the OECD.

To overcome this situation, his recommendation is that multidisciplinary approaches will be necessary, which take into account various elements of well-being, and not just wealth, when drawing up public policies.

“Using social welfare priorities, which have broad citizen support, as a basis for public spending, is key both to obtain the maximum return on investment in welfare matters and to reinforce public accountability,” the organization emphasizes.

This guidance – he adds – can be particularly useful in the context of the pandemic, since it would allow governments to “rethink the priorities, design, harmonization and connection” of the policies to be addressed.