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The objective of this study is to address the diplomatic and economic implications of the participation of Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) countries in the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).

The study examines official documents related to the BRI and LAC's signing of the Memorandum of Understanding within the framework of the BRI (MoUs) in order to look into what it means to join the BRI. Additionally, it also introduces the findings of articles in Asian Education and Development Studies' current issue published in 2020.

In LAC, the BRI does not represent a new policy, but rather the updating and rebranding of a pre-existing one. The BRI primarily consists of an official discursive framework which aims to build a coherent narrative for a wide range of different projects and policies geared toward the improvement of connectivity with China through the development of trade and investments. However, most of these projects were implemented prior to the BRI. Pragmatism lies at the core of this framework which neither has a regulated accession process nor any binding effects. As a result, the signing the MoU represents, foremost, a diplomatic mise-en-scène. The study operates under the belief that BRI membership is not dichotomous; rather, it must be observed in terms of the countries' level of participation. In line with this, the implementation of a generalized BRI policy in LAC countries would not be advisable. Moreover, it must be noted that the BRI's reach to Latin America can be rather problematic due to the fact that the latter was not initially a participant.

The study aims to explore the significance of the BRI beyond the official discourse and discuss the involvement of LAC countries in it. Scholars studying the BRI in other regions have noted that there is not enough information on this policy in the context of LAC.

This chapter is a comprehensive description and in-depth analysis of the current COVID-19 pandemic and political crisis in Chile. It provides a structural analysis of the Chilean economy and discusses how Chileans in different social strata are coping with both COVID-19 and the social revolution. This is a historical case study of Chilean society and its experience with a simultaneous pandemic and transformative social change. As the analysis show, Chile is known as one of the most economically developed and, until recently, most politically stable countries in Latin America. It is also known for the high quality and wide coverage of its healthcare, mental health services, and preventative programs. Nevertheless, with COVID-19, it is experiencing its worst pandemic in 100 years. This nation, which has a population of about 19 million, has reported over 1.5 million cases of COVID-19 and greater than 30,000 deaths (Chuaqui & Linn, 2016/2019). It has recently ranked among the top 10 countries in the world in COVID-19 related deaths per 100,000 residents. The first case of COVID-19 was reported in March 2020 in the midst of a profound social revolution that was ongoing from October of the previous year. The rapid social, economic, and political changes that have occurred with both the social revolution (estallido) and the COVID-19 pandemic have resulted in disproportionately experienced unemployment, isolation, illness, and death and have produced in many “middle” and lower class Chileans an anomic crisis that includes anxiety and depression because of the uncertainty about the future. This analysis provides insights for interpreting the outcomes of the recent national election of delegates to the upcoming Constitutional convention and the potential reforms that will be proposed for the new Constitution to address long-standing social and economic inequity in Chile.