Governments across Latin America are urgently trying to find the right balance between protecting jobs and protecting public health. Perhaps nowhere has the debate been as contentious as in Brazil, where the president has said the country needs to protect jobs, not practice social distancing. But is this a false choice? Brazilian economist Monica de Bolle joins AQ’s Editor-in-chief Brian Winter to discuss how Brazil can contain the virus, as well as the economic fallout.
Subscribe to the Americas Quarterly Podcast on iTunes, Spotify, Google Play and Soundcloud
Guests:
Monica de Bolle is a senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics and a professor at Johns Hopkins University’s School of Advanced International Studies.
Brian Winter is the editor-in-chief of Americas Quarterly
Background reading:
- “How to Think About the Lockdown Decision in Latin America,” by Eduardo Levy Yeyati and Andrés Malamud
- “Bolsonaro Faces His Biggest Crisis – And Is Struggling” by Oliver Stuenkel
