Recession to hit Latin America

By Gustavo Ribeiro

It appears that the Covid-19 crisis has finally sunk in for the Brazilian government. Except for the Health Ministry, the administration had resisted going all-in with measures to prevent an economic collapse. But as awareness about the virus goes up, recession gets closer. 

That is what Gregory Daco, chief U.S. economist at Oxford Economics, calls the “Lockdown Paradox.” The steps to prevent a full-scale health emergency—such as closing shops, restricting transportation, or social distancing people from one another—are the very same that will drive countries to a recession.

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