Hello, and welcome back to the Latin America Weekly newsletter. In this issue: how the pandemic will reduce fertility in Latin America. Argentina’s midterm elections. Venezuela’s olive branch to the U.S. And a new Haitian tragedy.
Covid’s impact on Latin American fertility rates
The pandemic claimed over 1.32 million lives in Latin America (32 percent of deaths worldwide) and is having widespread economic, social, and political effects across the region. It has also intensified a downward trend in fertility rates.
- Preliminary fertility data from Ecuador, Chile, Colombia, Peru, and Brazil point out a drop in births in 2020. In the latter three, the number of new babies born is also down this year.
Uncertainty. Latin America was the hardest-hit region by the pandemic, but internal differences impede a one-size-fits-all interpretation. Still, demographic researcher Suzana Cavenaghi told The Brazilian Report that it was healthcare bottlenecks that acted as a disincentive to having children — more so than economic impacts, which historically have marginal effects.
- Ms. Cavenaghi also highlights that in Brazil’s case, potential mothers still had haunting images of the Zika outbreak fresh in their minds. Zika infections in pregnant women are linked to microcephaly and other congenital defects. ...