Americas 360 Wilson Center

The economic and social impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic have been severe across the globe, but across the Americas and in other regions, women have suffered disproportionately. The pandemic's effects range from a decline in women's labor force participation, reversing the gains of previous decades, to a surge in gender-based violence during lockdowns.

It has been a year since the COVID-19 virus began its deadly spread through the Western Hemisphere. Vaccination efforts are only slowly getting underway, and in some countries have barely begun. Across the Americas, governments have struggled to procure vaccines from multiple public and private sources. Thus far, only Chile can be seen as a vaccination success story. In this episode of “Americas 360,” our experts discuss the region’s slow rollout of the vaccine and why it has been so challenging.

As Canada looks to restrengthen relations with the United States under the Biden administration and reconsider its role in a Western Hemisphere devastated by COVID-19 and economic disruptions, Pierre Pettigrew, former Minister of Foreign Affairs of Canada, joins our experts to discuss the state of U.S.-Canada relations, the upcoming Summit of the Americas, and the role of Canada in Latin America.

The economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic is being felt around the world, and Latin America is no exception. IMF lending to bolster COVID-ravaged economies has gone to 21 countries in the region, where the pandemic’s impact has been magnified by natural disasters. As countries work to bounce back amid increased viral spread, Alejandro Werner, Director of the IMF’s Western Hemisphere Department, joins our experts to discuss the road to economic recovery in the Americas and the role the IMF can play.

The Inter-American Development Bank mounted a momentous effort in 2020 to help Latin America respond to the public health and economic impacts of the pandemic. As the region battles a second wave of the virus that is clouding its recovery prospects for 2021, Mauricio Claver-Carone, the IDB’s new president, joins our experts to discuss the IDB strategy for addressing these historic challenges.

On January 6, the day the U.S. Congress met to certify President-Elect Joe Biden’s Electoral College victory, a pro-Trump protest turned violent, overwhelming security, breaching and attacking the U.S. Capitol. Guests José Díaz-Briseño of Mexico’s Reforma, Paola De Orte of Brazil’s O Globo, Rafael Mathus Ruiz of Argentina’s La Nación, and Alejandro Santos formerly of Colombia’s Semana Magazine join us to examine regional perceptions of these events and implications for the U.S. image across th