WASHINGTON, DC – Latin America and the Caribbean need a hard reset. With less than one-tenth of the world’s population, the region has accounted for more than one-quarter of total COVID-19 deaths. The pandemic continues to rage almost unabated in Brazil, Paraguay, Chile, Argentina, and elsewhere. Worse, owing to its large informal sectors, weak health systems, and fiscal restrictions, the region’s economy has been hit harder than any other, declining by 7% last year – the largest contraction since 1821.

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Eric Parrado is Chief Economist of the Inter-American Development Bank.