In the two years since the sixth Ministerial Conference on the Information Society in Latin America andthe Caribbean, held in Cartagena de Indias (Colombia) in April 2018, issues in the digital sphere that werethen considered to be emerging or incipient have come to occupy centre stage. Meanwhile, the coronavirus(COVID-19) pandemic has had an unprecedented economic and social impact on Latin America and theCaribbean. It is estimated that the region’s GDP has contracted by about 7.7%, that the value of exports hasfallen by 13% and that reduced demand and the slowdown of supply have led to the closure of over 2.7 millionbusinesses, resulting in more than 18 million unemployed. All these dynamics will have major effects on thelevel of inequality and poverty in the region, and it is estimated that the number of people living in poverty will increase by more than 45 million.