The Latin American Minority Rights and the COVID-19 Pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic, having revealed the vulnerability of all peoples to the disease, has also contributed to highlighting inequalities of various societal groups within national populations. The situation of ethnic minorities is, in this respect, paradigmatic. Already marginalized minority groups have been faced with even more extreme isolation than usual when faced with the gloomy realities of healthcare and social protection. This is the case in the situations studied here: the Guarani in Brazil, the Mapuche in Chile, and the Tsáchila in Ecuador. Using the method of structured and focused comparison, this article highlights the links between the social and health problems experienced by the minority groups in question, on the one hand, and the existence of past or current factors of discrimination, on the other hand. It also underlines the possibilities of putting into practice measures of equity in terms of rights, and more specifically, with regard to the right to access to healthcare and social services.