Statement on the Coronavirus pandemic in Latin America and the poverty situation in the region

In the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, more commonly known as Coronavirus, which is impacting global health with over 300,000 infections and 13,000 deaths as of March 20, 2020, measures to prevent contagion have been widely disseminated. Within this context, we want to highlight two essential measures: “washing your hands” and “staying home.” The working group “Sensibilities, Subjectivities, and Poverty” emphasizes the importance of prevention and adherence to these measures. 

However, we consider it necessary to point out that in Latin America both measures must be contextualized within a structural scenario of inequality and social exclusion.

In this regard, it is important to remember that Latin America faces a significant deficit in access to safe drinking water and sanitation. Most of the region's countries are far from achieving universal access, and this is compounded by the deteriorating quality of groundwater, a consequence of inadequate wastewater management and pesticide use. This situation is exacerbated among low-income populations, disproportionately impacting children, women, and indigenous communities. According to data from the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), in 2018, 490 million people (69% of Latin America's population) lacked access to safe sanitation. 

We would also like to draw attention to the housing deficit in Latin America, where only 60% of families in the region have adequate housing, 22% live in rooms that require improvements and 18% need a new house, according to data published by the XVI General Assembly of Ministers and Highest Authorities of Latin America and the Caribbean in 2007. 

This highlights the problem, as families live in houses that lack adequate sanitation, have irregular electricity service (or lack thereof), are made of low-quality materials that do not offer any type of security, and live in overcrowded conditions, in conditions of indigence, or on the streets.

All of this exposes a certain failure of public policies, which is becoming more evident and more urgent to address today.

April 2020
CLACSO Working Group
Sensibilities, subjectivities and poverty

This statement expresses the position of the Working Group on Sensibilities, Subjectivities and Poverty and not necessarily that of the centers and institutions that make up the CLACSO international network, its Steering Committee or its Executive Secretariat.