Iberoamerica: from the “generation of crisis” to the “generation of pandemic”

Abstract

According to statistics, at least 2/3 of the population of the Iberoamerican countries are young people under the age of 29-30. Today this generation with different social status, ethnic origins, different levels of education and professional training is facing ever greater life difficulties. Many young people are deprived of the employment opportunities, due to the unemployment, which has become a consequence of the pandemic, youth poverty rates are growing, and the number of NEET group who are “Not in Education, neither in Employment, or Training” is increasing. The article aims to identify the common and particular challenges of the young generation in Latin America and the Iberian Peninsula. The author aims to show how the Iberoamerican situation coincides with the global trend or differs from it. Particular attention is paid to government’s attempts on both sides of the Atlantic to mitigate the plight of the "Covid generation", and the efforts to prevent the risks of growing frustration and disappointment among young people. The results of sociological surveys allow to get the opinion of young Latin Americans, Spaniards and Portuguese about the public policies effectiveness (or limitations) aimed at the needs of the Iberoamerican youth.