Chile's poverty reaches record levels as coronavirus crisis causes unemployment to skyrocket

Record ID: 1560230

  • Title: Chile's poverty reaches record levels as coronavirus crisis causes unemployment to skyrocket
  • Date: 1st July 2020
  • Summary: SANTIAGO, CHILE (JUNE 28, 2020) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF DRONE FLYING OVER ''CAMPAMENTO DIGNIDAD'' (CAMP DIGNITY) PEOPLE IN CAMP TODDLER GRABBING BANANA GENERAL OF PEOPLE AT CAMP BOYS BOXING AT CAMP (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) LEADER OF DIGNITY CAMP, MARIA JOSE DIAZ, SAYING: "I call on the authorities, because there are a lot of people here and the authorities are nowhere to be seen, so in that sense, we need support and to be heard. There are a lot of needs here that are not being met. There are lots of babies here. We need formula, diapers, ingredients for casseroles, because at the moment we are going hungry and we have needs.'' CHILDREN SITTING ON OLD SOFA MAN HAVING HAIR CUT GIRLS PLAYING WITH TOYS WOODEN PLANKS IN MIDDLE OF CAMP SANTIAGO, CHILE (JULY, 01, 2020) (REUTERS) (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) UNIVERSITY OF SANTIAGO ACADEMIC AND ECONOMIST, GONZALO MARTNER, SAYING: ''The coronavirus crisis has completely changed the picture, because a large number of families had a precarious job and an income that fluctuated but when an unemployment explosion hit, that led many families to fall into poverty, or worsen the problem that already existed." SANTIAGO, CHILE (JUNE 28, 2020) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF GIRLS PLAYING WOMAN WITH WATER CONTAINER DOGS PLAYING WITH TREE BRANCHES
  • Embargoed: 15th July 2020 20:45
  • Keywords: Camp Dignity Santiago coronavirus economy poor poverty
  • Location: SANTIAGO, CHILE
  • City: SANTIAGO, CHILE
  • Country: Mexico
  • Topics: Health/Medicine
  • Reuters ID: LVA001CKZCBIF
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: EDITORS PLEASE NOTE: QUALITY AS INCOMING, PART ORIGINALLY SHOT IN PORTRAIT
    The ongoing coronavirus pandemic has reduced many people to poverty in Chile. Santiago, a city of six million, largely depends on the informal economy and protests which broke out in October and raged until mid-December over social injustices and entrenched inequality also affected many businesses.
    At the foot of the Andes Mountains lies Campamento Dignidad (Camp Dignity), which is a plot of land provided by the government to those who are living just above the line of poverty and are forced to dwell in these camps because they cannot afford to pay rent elsewhere.
    Chile's unemployment rate hit 11.2% between March and May, the government said on Tuesday (June 30), laying bare the devastating impact of coronavirus lockdown measures on the South American nation's economy.
    The pandemic has exploded in Chile since May, with cases soaring to over 275,000 and the death toll at 5,575. All of Santiago, the country's capital and economic engine, is now under lockdown.
    People working in the commerce, accommodation, food services and construction sectors were the worst affected, national statistics agency INE said, while self-employed people were the worst hit across the board.
    The coronavirus outbreak has deepened a growing economic crisis in Chile, once among Latin America's most stable economies.
    The country was hit by widespread protests over inequality late in 2019, leading to billions in losses and damages to businesses. Economists now widely predict double digit unemployment and a drop in gross domestic product of around 7.5% by year's end.
    (Production: Esteban Medel, Geraldine Downer)
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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