Socioeconomic Impacts of Covid-19 Pandemic in Latin America: Cases of Brazil and Mexico

Öz

The Covid-19 pandemic, which emerged in December 2019, has swiftly affected the whole world. The virus appeared in Latin America at the end of February 2020 when Brazil reported the first case. The rapid increase of the cases in the region made Latin America the hotspot of the Covid-19 pandemic at the end of May 2020. The effects of the pandemic in Latin America have been very grave since the countries could not contain the surge of cases, while some leaders, like Brazilian President Bolsonaro, ignored the severity of the pandemic. The economic, social and political impacts as well as a high number of cases and death rates proved that Latin America is one of the most affected regions in the world. Hence, this study examines the effects of the pandemic in Brazil and Mexico, the former with the highest number of cases and deaths, and the latter with the highest mortality rate in the region as of September 15, 2020. Even though they are at different ends of the political spectrum, the populist right Bolsonaro government of Brazil and the populist left López Obrador government of Mexico have used similar discourses to downplay the pandemic and carried out similar unsuccessful policies regarding public health. Consequently, the assessment of various data showed that Brazil and Mexico, as more developed economies of the region, have been experiencing difficulties in coping with the pandemic and they have been negatively affected in terms of socioeconomic conditions.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• Covid-19
• Brazil
• Mexico

Latin Amerika’da Covid-19 Pandemisinin Sosyoekonomik Etkileri: Brezilya ve Meksika Örnekleri

Öz

Aralık 2019’da ortaya çıkan Covid-19 pandemisi hızlı bir şekilde tüm dünyayı etkisi altına almıştır. Virüs Latin Amerika’da ilk kez Şubat 2020 sonlarında görülmüş, ilk vakanın Brezilya’da bildirilmesinin ardından Covid-19 bölgenin diğer ülkelerine de sıçramıştır. Latin Amerika’da vakaların hızlı bir şekilde artması, bölgeyi Mayıs 2020 sonunda pandeminin o dönemdeki merkezi haline getirmiştir. Pandemi bölgede çok ciddi etkiler yaratırken, birçok Latin Amerika ülkesi virüsle mücadele etmekte yetersiz kalmış, Brezilya Devlet Başkanı Bolsonaro örneğinde görüldüğü üzere pandemiyi umursamayan liderler olmuştur. Bölge ülkelerinde görülen yüksek vaka sayıları ve ölüm oranlarının yanı sıra ekonomik, toplumsal ve siyasi etkiler nedeniyle Latin Amerika Covid-19’dan en fazla zarar gören bölgelerden biri olmuştur. Bu çalışmada, 15 Eylül 2020 tarihi itibariyle bölgede en fazla vaka ve ölüm sayısına sahip Brezilya’da ve en yüksek ölüm oranına sahip olan Meksika’da pandeminin etkileri araştırılmıştır. Brezilya’daki popülist sağ Bolsonaro hükümeti ve Meksika’daki popülist sol López Obrador hükümeti, siyasi yelpazenin farklı noktalarında yer almalarına karşın, Covid-19’u önemsiz göstermeyi amaçlayan benzer söylemleri kullanmışlar ve halk sağlığını koruma konusunda başarısız politikalar izlemişlerdir. Çalışmada kullanılan veriler değerlendirildiğinde, Latin Amerika’nın iki büyük ekonomisi olan Brezilya ve Meksika’nın pandemi ile mücadelede zorlandıkları ve bu süreçte özellikle sosyoekonomik açıdan olumsuz etkilendikleri görülmüştür.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• Covid-19
• Brezilya
• Meksika

Kaynakça

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