The Economist calls Latin Americans ‘useless’ and backtracks – 06/13/2023 – Nelson de Sá

The print edition of the London magazine The Economist carried an article with the title “A land of useless workers” (below) and the subtitle “Why are Latin Americans so remarkably unproductive?”:

On the website, the first statement gained smaller letters, and the second, larger. But the backlash online was still strong, prompting the American NBC to publish that “Critics attack The Economist for ‘racist’ article calling Latin American workers ‘useless'”. He heard it from a professor at the University of Arizona: “It’s racist, it’s incendiary, it’s insulting.”

The Economist, in the face of social media reactions, changed the first statement on the website to “A land of frustrated workers” and added a lengthy “Editor’s Note” at the beginning of the online text:

“The original title of this article attracted criticism for the phrase ‘A land of useless workers’. We changed it to make it clear that we are looking at the social and economic costs of low productivity. Latin American countries, including powerful oligopolies that squelch competition and a large informal sector that forces companies to remain small scale.As the article makes clear, all of this is beyond the control of Latin American individuals, whose living standards have been undermined. We end with a call for better policy making.”

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