Plague in the Palace

By Lucy Hale

Over a year since COVID-19 made landfall in Latin America, total infections have topped 22 million and fatalities exceed 700,000. As Latin America’s governments have struggled to control the virus, political elites have fallen ill throughout the region: six presidents, at least 63 ministers and scores of lawmakers have tested positive for the coronavirus, a toll that has doubtlessly disrupted pandemic response. Among those infected include the presidents of the region’s largest countries, Jair Bolsonaro of Brazil and Andrés Manuel López Obrador of Mexico. Colombia’s defense minister, Carlos Holmes Trujillo, died of COVID-19 in January.

Fortunately, vaccine distribution throughout the hemisphere is picking up, and public officials are typically first in line for the jab. President Alberto Fernández was the first Latin American president to be vaccinated publicly, receiving the Sputnik V vaccine on January 21. President Sebastián Piñera of Chile followed afterward, when he was administered the Sinovac vaccine on February 12.

Meanwhile, not all Latin American political elites have publicized their inoculation, and privileged access to vaccines has scandalized the region. The governments of Peru, Argentina and Ecuador have all faced public uproars over line jumping.