Brasília – The economic recovery seen in most Latin American countries after the international financial crisis of 2008 was responsible for the decline in poverty and indigence in the region, according a report disclosed this Tuesday (30th), in Chile, by the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (Eclac).
The 2010 Social Panorama of Latin America claims that 32.1% of Latin Americans remain in a situation of poverty and 12.9% are considered indigent.
According to the Eclac, despite the strong repercussions of the international financial crisis in Latin America, there is optimism in the sense that the region is resuming its trend of poverty reduction, which began in 2003.
In most of the nine countries surveyed by the Eclac, poverty has decreased. The example of Brazil is cited in the document, considering the decline seen in 2008 and 2009, a period during which poverty dropped from 25.8% to 24.9%. Argentina, Chile, Paraguay, the Dominican Republic and Uruguay also recorded declines in the poverty index.
During the same period, however, poverty increased in other countries, such as Costa Rica (from 16.4% to 19.9%) and Ecuador (from 39% to 40.2%). Over a slightly longer time frame, from 2006 to 2008, poverty in Mexico grew from 31.7% to 34.8%.
The Eclac’s report claims that the combination of increased employment in poorer locations and government investment aiming to cushion the impact of the international crisis has resulted in a reduction of inequality in Latin America. The last seven years have been good for the majority of the countries, according to the organization.
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
