[BostonCard]

Mexico and Brazil are important for showing that there is no correlation between ideology and competence.  Brazil has one of the most right wing governments in Latin America; Mexico has one of the most left-wing governments in Latin America.  What they have in common is their competence (or lack thereof).

Contrast that to Uruguay.

https://www.economist.com/the-americas/2...h-covid-19

Uruguay borders Brazil, which is the worst hit country in the region.  Uruguay has the highest share of population over 65 in the continent, so it should be particularly vulnerable.  The difference between Brazil and Uruguay is not the severity of the lockdown (you can see from the article that the Uruguayan president did not impose a stringent lockdown).  The difference was the speed of response and the amount of testing.

Luis Lacalle Pou, the centre-right president, was swift but not strict. On March 13th he declared an emergency and shut the borders. Like the populist leaders of Brazil and Mexico, he is at pains to shield the economy. Unlike them, he does not make light of the disease. “It was such a surprise to see a president listen to a doctor, or a mathematician, digest the advice, then communicate a message to the public free of any politics,” says Eduardo Savio, an epidemiologist who advised the government.

Leadership makes a difference.

BC

[BostonCard]

Mexico and Brazil are important for showing that there is no correlation between ideology and competence.  Brazil has one of the most right wing governments in Latin America; Mexico has one of the most left-wing governments in Latin America.  What they have in common is their competence (or lack thereof).

Contrast that to Uruguay.

https://www.economist.com/the-americas/2...h-covid-19

Uruguay borders Brazil, which is the worst hit country in the region.  Uruguay has the highest share of population over 65 in the continent, so it should be particularly vulnerable.  The difference between Brazil and Uruguay is not the severity of the lockdown (you can see from the article that the Uruguayan president did not impose a stringent lockdown).  The difference was the speed of response and the amount of testing.

Luis Lacalle Pou, the centre-right president, was swift but not strict. On March 13th he declared an emergency and shut the borders. Like the populist leaders of Brazil and Mexico, he is at pains to shield the economy. Unlike them, he does not make light of the disease. “It was such a surprise to see a president listen to a doctor, or a mathematician, digest the advice, then communicate a message to the public free of any politics,” says Eduardo Savio, an epidemiologist who advised the government.

Leadership makes a difference.

BC