Business elites and inequality in times of pandemic in Latin America

This article performs a triple analysis to understand the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on economic inequality in Latin America. First, we show the depreciation of Latin American currencies, which generates high economic instability and hampers the development of stable macroeconomic policies for distribution and redistribution. Second, we discuss the consequences of high informality in employment to show the probable increase in inequality. Finally, we identify the preferences of business elites in times of pandemic in five Latin American countries and the government's responses, which evidences strong constraints to implement progressive fiscal reforms.