Lethality and mortality of COVID-19 in an important industrial center in latin america, region of grande abc, São Paulo, Brazil

Introduction: the new coronavirus (COVID-19) disease has been causing economic and health system impacts worldwide, triggering humanitarian crises in vulnerable regions, marked by high mortality rates of the disease. Brazil has been suffering an increase in the number of cases, characteristic of the formation of a second wave, with great epidemiological differences observed in the most diverse regions of the country. Many studies illustrate the behaviour of COVID-19 in the state of São Paulo, but there are gaps in the scientific literature on the epidemiology of COVID-19 in municipalities of the São Paulo metropolitan region that constitute an important industrial pole in Latin America, such as the region of Grande ABC. Objective: to evaluate mortality and lethality trends of COVID-19 during the period March 2020 to July 2021, in municipalities on region of Grande ABC, metropolitan region of São Paulo, Brazil, divided into two periods (March to November 2020 and December to July 2021). Methods: we conducted an ecological time series study with population data from the Brazilian Ministry of Health. We collected the number of cases and deaths confirmed for COVID-19 in the municipalities that make up the region of Grande ABC (Diadema, Mauá, Rio Grande da Serra, Ribeirão Pires, Santo André, São Bernardo do Campo, and São Caetano do Sul) from March 2020 to July 2021. Prais-Winsten linear regression was performed, and the percentage of daily change was calculated. Differences were considered significant when p<0.05. Results: in region of Grande ABC, in the period analysed, 217,264 cases and 10,004 deaths of COVID-19 were recorded. Although the mortality rate remained stationary during the first wave (March to November 2020) and the second wave (December 2020 to July 2021); lethality transitioned from decreasing during the first wave to increasing during the second wave, with rates varying according to municipality. Conclusion: trend analyses in incidence, mortality, and lethality rates assist in understanding the behaviour of the COVID-19 Pandemic in the region known as Grande ABC. Efforts must be maintained throughout the region to control the Pandemic.

The Influence of Government Effectiveness and Corruption on the High Levels of Homicide in Latin America

Most research that has examined the international variation in homicide levels has focused on structural variables, with the suggestion that socio-economic development operates as a cure for violence. In Latin America, development has occurred, but high homicide levels remain, suggesting the involvement of other influencing factors. We posit that government effectiveness and corruption control may contribute to explaining the variation in homicide levels, and in particular in the Latin America region. Our results show that social and economic structural variables are useful but are not conclusive in explaining the variation in homicide levels and that the relationship between homicide, government effectiveness, and corruption control was significant and highly pronounced for countries in the Latin American region. The findings highlight the importance of supporting institutions in improving their effectiveness in Latin America so that reductions in homicide (and improvements in citizen security in general) can be achieved.

The Economic Impact of COVID-19 in Colombia

Available data provide a picture for the macro-economy of Colombia, agriculture, and infrastructure. Recent data on trends on public procurement were difficult to find within the scope of this rapid review. In 2020, macro-level employment figures show a large drop between February and April when COVID-19 lockdown measures were first introduced, followed by a gradual upward trend. In December 2020, the employment rate was 4.09 percentage points lower than the employment rate in December 2019. Macro-level figures from the National Administrative Department of Statistics (DANE) show that a higher percentage of men experienced job losses than women in November 2020. However, the evidence presented by the Universidad Nacional de Colombia based on the DANE great integrated house survey shows that a higher proportion of all jobs lost were lost by women in the second quarter. It may be that the imbalance shifted over time, but it is not possible to directly compare the data. Evidence suggests that women were disproportionately more burdened by home activities due to the closure of schools and childcare. There is also a suggestion that women who have lost out where jobs able to function during lockdowns with technology are more likely to be held by men. Literature also shows that women have lower levels of technology literacy. There is a lack of reliable data for understanding the economic impacts of COVID-19 for people living with disabilities. A report on the COVID-19 response and disability for the Latin America region recommends improving collaboration between policymakers and non-governmental organisations. Younger people experienced greater job losses. Data for November 2020 show 3.3 percent of the population aged under 25 lost their job compared to 1.8 percent of those employed between 24 and 54. Agriculture, livestock, and fishing increased by 2.8% in 2020 compared to 2019. And the sector as a whole grew 3.4% between the third and fourth quarters of 2020. In terms of sector differences, construction was harder hit by the initial mobility restrictions than agriculture. Construction contracted by 30.5% in the second quarter of 2020. It is making a relatively healthy recovery with reports that 84% of projects being reactivated following return to work. The President of the Colombian Chamber of Construction predicting an 8.4% growth in the construction of housing and other buildings in 2021.

Malaria in Southern Venezuela: The Hottest Hotspot in Latin America

Malaria cases in Latin America reached ~1 million in 2017 and 2018, with 53% and 51% reported from Venezuela, respectively. In this study, we characterized the spatiotemporal dynamics of malaria transmission between 2007-2017 in southern Venezuela, the main endemic area of the country. We found that disease transmission was focal and more prevalent in the southeast of southern Venezuela where two persistent hotspots of Plasmodium vivax (76%) and P. falciparum (18%) linked to deforestation for illegal gold mining accounted for ~60% of the country-wide number of cases. Incidence has increased nearly tenfold in the last decade, showing an explosive epidemic growth due to a significant lack of disease control. We suggest that a source-sink pattern of Plasmodium sp. dispersal account for the re-emergence and progression of malaria transmission in the last 4 years across the country due to the internal migration of infected people to and from the hotspots and other malaria-prone ecosystems. We observe a similar pattern explaining the spillover of cases across international borders affecting neighboring countries. This study provides baseline epidemiological data and guidance for malaria control to further assess the dynamics of cross-border malaria, the role of asymptomatic carriers, drug-resistant evolution, and innovative control efforts in the Latin America region.

Latin American Direction of Ukrainian Economic Diplomacy: The Overview of Successes and Failings

In the article, the authors analyzed successes and failings of the Ukrainian economic diplomacy in Latin America region. Such results were achieved by analyzing the degree of scientific investigation the possibilities, features and basic characteristics of economic diplomacy by contemporary Ukrainian and foreign researchers, as well as by analyzing the websites of Ukrainian embassies in Latin American countries and using the information of the State Statistics Service of Ukraine and mass media. Researchers drew attention to the peculiarities of economic relations between Ukraine and Latin America countries. It has been found that bilateral relations between Ukraine and Latin American countries are generally poorly developed, the embassies of Ukraine exist only in five countries: Mexico, Cuba, Argentina, Brazil and Chile, and these embassies in turn represent Ukraine’s national interests in 15 other Latin American countries. Ukraine has the most well-established economic relations with the first five above-mentioned countries as a result of economic diplomacy. It was concluded that Ukrainian economic diplomacy has some achievements (the developing of volume of export-import operations between Ukraine and all regional countries, except Cuba, and the opening of the honorary consulate in Chile) and failings (the lack of diplomatic missions in all LA countries, problems with updating information on planned activities in the economic sphere (2015, 2016) on the embassies’ web-site, negative trade balance for Ukraine).

Open Justice in Latin America?

The new trend of information technology and communications has been adopted by court systems. A similar path follows other powers in the republics: executive branches with e-government portals and legislative branches with informative and participatory portals. Despite the fact that technology has reached the judiciary branch, we know very little about the changes, advantages or disadvantages of this adoption. The purpose of this chapter is to explore the use of technology, especially in the websites portals in the Latin America region. An assessment model, which has been developed by Sandoval and Gil-García (2015) and that has four components: information, interaction, integration and participation, has been implemented on a sample of 25 countries during the month of July, 2015. Findings reveal a great disparity among the different countries in the region.

Territory, sustainability, and beyond: Latin American urbanization through a political ecology

In this article, I identify how territory is a useful concept to explore the political ecologies of urbanization. In the Latin America region, territory is a key concept to explore urban and rural connections between (neo)extractivism, violence, and dispossession, with socio-ecological transformations in the configuration of urban spatialities. Following recent calls to re-locate both urban theory and political ecology beyond the Anglophone debate, the article proposes a dialogue between the Latin American theorization on territory and the political ecology of urbanization. Based on an empirical analysis of urbanization in Bogotá, Colombia, the article also discusses implications for urban justice with respect to territory and sustainability. Finally, the article offers some remarks to further the research agenda on the political ecology of urbanization with a focus on territory.