Covidâs Shockwaves Took Poverty in Latin America to a New Nadir May 06 2021, 1:22 AM May 05 2021, 3:30 PM May 06 2021, 1:22 AM (Bloomberg) -- The Covid-19 pandemic has sent a wave of poverty racing across Latin America, deepening declines that began over the past decade and consigning millions to lives of deprivation. (Bloomberg) -- The Covid-19 pandemic has sent a wave of poverty racing across Latin America, deepening declines that began over the past decade and consigning millions to lives of deprivation. The worldâs most unequal region saw 22 million people â the equivalent of everyone in New York state â join the ranks of the poor from 2019 to 2020, unable to meet basic needs. In all, about one-third of Latin Americaâs roughly 600 million residents live in poverty or what the United Nations defines as extreme poverty: subsisting on less than $1.90 a day.