Across Latin America and the Caribbean – where an estimated 113 million people live in low-income barrios, favelas or villas – families are struggling to adapt to coronavirus lockdowns or social isolation orders because of more immediate financial imperatives.
I’ve got no money and nothing to eat,” complained María Ticona, 44, a mother of five from Villa Copacabana, a deprived corner of El Alto, in Bolivia. Before the lockdown – which is being strictly enforced by Bolivian troops – Ticona sold bread and scraped together perhaps $4 a day. That income has evaporated. “My kids haven’t eaten properly since the quarantine began,” she complained.
“We’re trying to keep safe but it’s very difficult when a whole family lives in only 16 square metres,” said César Sanabria in the 45,000-strong settlement beside Buenos Aires’ exclusive Recoleta neighbourhood. “We’re not really isolating,” he admitted. “You still see a lot of people on the streets.”
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/apr/21/latin-america-coronavirus-lockdowns-low-income