The report ‘Recovery at a crossroads: how countries spent Covid-19 rescue funds’, by the Coalition for Financial Transparency, was released here by the Latin American Network for Economic and Social Justice (Latindadd).

It specifies that 38 percent of the Covid-19 recovery funds in 21 developing countries served to rescue large companies instead of dedicating themselves to social protection actions, small companies or informal workers.

‘Despite the cost of living crisis, governments in developing countries, often with their hands tied by international financial institutions such as the IMF, prioritize large companies over people,’ said the director of the Coalition for Financial Transparency, Matti Kohonen.

According to the expert, the priority given to large companies included loans (in Peru with state-subsidized interest) and tax cuts and excluded those most affected by the pandemic, especially women and workers.

He adds that a third less money (up to 2.4 percent of GDP, on average) was spent in 2021 compared to 2020, due to the worsening economic situation, even as needs increased.

Between the consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic and the rise in the cost of living, the report predicts that this year alone between 75 and 95 million people will fall into extreme poverty, as inequality has increased, according to the United Nations. .

In addition, the study warns that 85 percent of the world’s population will live under informal strict austerity measures next year.

ef/oda/mrs