Pandemic and Social Security in Latin America

Organized by the Friedrich Ebert Foundation (FES Argentina), the Argentine Institute for Economic Development (IADE), the Latin American Council of Social Sciences (CLACSO) and the CLACSO Working Group on Social Security and Pension Systems, the Conversation will be held virtually on Tuesday, April 21. “Pandemic and Social Security in Latin America: Impacts and Responses. More Welfare State?”

This first activity will involve a diagnostic analysis of the impact of Covid-19 on social security systems in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Mexico, and Uruguay, and a survey of the responses from national governments. It will also seek to foster reflection on these factors and the lessons learned regarding the role of the state in our societies.

The presentation of the discussion is led by Karina Batthyány (CLACSO), Svenja Blanke (FES) and Sergio Carpenter (IADE) with moderation by Nicolás Dvoskin (IADE, Social Security and Pension Systems Working Group).

Guests: Roxana Mazzola (FLACSO - Argentina), Rosa María Marques (Catholic University of São Paulo – Brazil), Marco Kremerman (Fundación Sol – Chile), Berenice Ramírez (UNAM – Mexico) and Hugo Bai (PIT CNT – Uruguay).

The spread of the Covid-19 virus throughout Latin America has exacerbated its pre-existing socio-economic problems. The speed of contagion and the high mortality rate of the pandemic virus have strained the capacity of states to respond to the challenge of social protection. These responses have varied in intensity because the state's integration and capabilities, on the one hand, and the political imprints of its leaders, on the other, differ significantly.

[+] Thinking about the pandemic