There
is fear and growing poverty, in most corners of the world. We witness uncertainty
and despair. The pandemic is killing people and destroying livelihoods. These
are the two critical dimensions that must be tackled as a matter of great
priority. Both are very urgent matters. The wise leader is the one that can
strike the right balance between them. And who knows how the balance should
evolve. That means, among other things, that an absolute and prolonged lockdown,
with no economy, is not a balanced approach. It is not even necessary if there
are enough masks to go around and the appropriate human behaviours are followed.
I
just learned, for instance, that Argentina has decided to close its commercial
airspace up to September. That is too long and certainly not a sage decision. A
country like Argentina, which is already in an awfully bad economic shape,
should approach any drastic decision with lots of prudence. The same,
elsewhere. I mention Argentina as just an example.
