Dialectical Tensions of Sustainability and Health during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Tale from Latin America

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to discuss the relationship between sustainability and health in the context of the coronavirus pandemic in Latin America, the region with the second highest number of deaths due to COVID-19. After performing a dialectical analysis on mass media discourses about the pandemic, we argue that sustainability must be understood in relation to tensions such as (a) health and economy, (b) isolation and interconnectedness of health management, and (c) access to and excess of information about the pandemic. Based on this analysis, we suggest that if health is to be considered a fourth pillar of sustainability, it needs to be approached in close connection with these inseparable and irreducible tensions in order to broaden the way in which it has been approached in global sustainable development agendas and to recognize the role of individuals and communities in health issues.

El propósito de este artículo es discutir la relación entre sostenibilidad y salud en el contexto de la pandemia del coronavirus en América Latina, la región con el segundo mayor número de muertes por COVID-19. Luego de realizar un análisis dialéctico sobre los discursos de los medios de comunicación sobre la pandemia, argumentamos que la sustentabilidad debe entenderse en relación con tensiones tales como (a) salud y economía, (b) aislamiento e interconexión de la gestión de la salud, y (c) acceso y exceso de información sobre la pandemia. Con base en este análisis, sugerimos que si la salud se considera un cuarto pilar de la sostenibilidad.