Latin America Challenges in a Post-Pandemic Scenario by Dr. Jorge Guzman, Former Consul of Colombia in Calgary

Latin America Challenges in a Post-pandemic Scenario by Dr. Jorge Guzman, Former Consul of Colombia in Calgary

Latin America is the most unequal region in the world. Perhaps, governments have diminished inequality and poverty in the last 14 years, the current socio-economic consequences of the pandemic have increased the number of poor families again. The region is continually struggling with corruption and is facing the second biggest migration in the world from Venezuela. In addition, the high polarization within societies, the continued risk of the institutional instability, and a new global context caused by the commercial war between China and the US have become new challenges for Latin American governments. The following years are crucial and the measures, policies, and even the tone of Latin American governments will determine the path of the post-pandemic era.

Presentation by Dr. Jorge Guzman, Former Consul of Colombia in Calgary

Jorge Guzmán is a Colombian Fulbright Scholar, former Diplomat, and member of the Alpha Sigma Nu, the international Jesuit Honor Society. Dr. Guzman attended the Institute for Advanced Studies in Administration in Caracas, Venezuela, where he received a Master’s in Public Management in 2011. From 1997 to 2001, he attended the Universidad Externado de Colombia, where he earned a bachelor’s in government and International Relations.  Doctor Guzman has experience in the management of social projects, the design of public policies, and the identification, design, and evaluation of regional and bilateral social development and integration projects, with specific knowledge of vulnerable communities and rural areas. During his studies in the Ph.D. program, Dr. Guzman was Consul General of Colombia in Calgary, Canada from 2018 to 2020. Before his studies at Loyola, Dr. Guzman was advisor of the Office of the Minister of Foreign Affairs from 2010 to 2016, was advisor of the Office of the Vice-President of Colombia from 2007 to 2010, and advisor of the Ambassador of Colombia in Venezuela from 2002 to 2006.