The ‘great regression’ and the protests to come in Latin America

Latin America was in turmoil in 2019. Protests raged across different countries and against governments across the political spectrum. Widespread mobilisation from social organisations denounced corruption and voiced various demands, including greater political freedoms, better and affordable public services, and the urgent need to tackle corruption and inequality. The region ended 2019 with unfulfilled promises of a new social pact, and the promise of intensified mobilisations. With COVID-19, Latin American governments can rewrite the region’s socioeconomic path, engaging different actors and recovering the legitimacy of their social contracts above the interests of particular elites and international stakeholders. Failing to do so will be the preamble to period of instability and conflict