Why Latin America’s economy has been so badly hurt by covid-19

BEFORE THE pandemic hit, Jaime Alirio Pinilla, a 45-year-old in Bogotá, the capital of Colombia, was employed as a construction worker. “But because of this shit I lost my job and now work on the streets,” he says, standing behind a steel cart from which he sells orange juice, sweets, cigarettes and coffee. Colombia has already had one of the longest lockdowns in the world; now it also faces daily clashes between protesters and security forces, as riots over the economic situation continue for a third week. “We've been locked up for more than a year, and we can’t bear this any longer,” says Mr Pinilla. “The economy is ruined, we’re surviving, not living.”