Alarming increase of poverty in Latin America
By Luis Fernando Astorga Gatjens, IID (lferag@racsa.co.cr) and Jaime López contacto@probidad.org
There are more than 200 million poor people in Latin America and this figure is expected to increase from 43% in 2001 to 44% in 2002, stated the November 7, 2002 study of the Commission of Economics for Latin America (Comisión Económica para América Latina (CEPAL).
Honduras (79.1%), Nicaragua (67.4%), Paraguay (61.8%), Bolivia (61.2%), Ecuador (60.2%), Guatemala (60.4%), Colombia (54.9%) y El Salvador (49.9%), are on the top of the poverty list among the countries of Latin America with the highest poverty rates. Other countries like Peru (49%), Venezuela (48.5%) y Mexico (42.3%) were indicated as having high levels of poverty.
This report indicates that at 11.4% Uruguay has the lowest poverty rate in Latin America. This is followed by Chile with a poverty rate of 20% and Costa Rica with 21.7%. The countries occupying the middle positions of this poverty scale are Brazil (36.9%) and Panama (30.8%).
The drastic magnitude of change in the poverty rates for some countries is alarming, they reflect significant deteriorations of economic and social indicators in a short time:
| Country |
Poverty % |
Year |
| Argentina |
19.7
30.3 |
1999
2001 |
| Uruguay |
9.4
11.4 |
1999
2001 |
These figures are upsetting for the majority of the 500 million people of Latin America, particularly for the increasing number of persons with disability living in our region. The World Health Organization and the Pan-American Health Organization have stated that 10% of the population of the presents disabilities. Using this conservative percentage, there are 50 million persons with disabilities in Latin America.
There is a relation between poverty and disability, as was indicated by Bengt Lindqvist, Special Rapporteur of the United Nations, after making supervision visits to many countries to verify the progress made regarding the Standard Rules on the Equalization of Opportunities for Persons with Disabilities: "Poverty leads to disability and disability leads to poverty." (Final Report 2001).
Very damaged by the economic crisis, Latin America is experiencing increasing poverty rates, as the Report of the Commissions states. Under these conditions, the relationship between poverty and disability can only foretell negative outcomes regarding the immediate future of persons with disability.
For more information on the Report of the Economic Commission for Latin America , visit: http://www.eclac.cl
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