EDITORIAL LETTER

While fears of a rapidly spreading virus are growing around the world, governments are torn between restrictions on people's mobility, quarantines in the most extreme cases, and companies on how to continue operating without risking the health of their employees, the audiovisual industry can help mitigate the risk.

The global emergency due to the Coronavirus declared by the World Health Organization will have a significant impact on the global economy during 2020 and the audiovisual industry will not be the exception. It is worth remembering that China is home to a large number of technology factories and the city of Wuhan, where the virus began, is a pole of technological development.

One of the problems experienced by the professional audiovisual industry, with Latin America being an affected region, is the smuggling and counterfeiting of equipment, a phenomenon found mainly in audio products.

Until a few years ago, companies in the audiovisual industry in Latin America had a local vision of the business, which did not allow them to achieve partnerships or joint work with their peers in the sector, affecting overall growth in the long run.

Despite the fact that the economy in Latin American countries maintains constant fluctuations and that growth expectations for the region are at 1.7% for 2019 and 2.5% for 2020 according to World Bank projections, the audiovisual industry has greater possibilities for growth.