MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Two out of five Latinamericans live in poverty

Some 220 million Latinamericans that is two out of five, in 2002 lived in poverty of which 95 million live miserably, according to the latest report from the United Nations Economic Commission for Latinamerica and the Caribbean, Cepal.

The report released in Cepal office in Santiago reveals that 43,4% of the region's population lives below the poverty line, an almost one percentage increase over 2001, while 18,8% of the poor live in indigence compared to 18,2% the previous year.

The Social Review of Latinamerica 2002-2003 reveals that poverty indexes have remained constant for the last five years, since 1997.

"The only exception was 2000 when the good economic performance of the region helped reduce poverty by 4 million people", said Cepal Director Jose Antonio Ocampo who anticipated that in 2003 poverty will reach 43,9% of which 19,4% indigent.

Although most countries of the region did not experience major changes, Argentina and Uruguay suffered considerably the drop into poverty.

According to Cepal in urban Argentina poverty rocketed from 19,4 to 45,4%, while those living miserably trebled from 6,7 to 20,9%.

Uruguay also underwent an impoverishment process with the index in urban areas growing from 9,4 to 15,4%, although indigence remained rather stable at 2,5% of the whole population.

In the other extreme Mexico and Ecuador experienced a "perceptible" decrease in poverty percentages in urban areas comparing 2000 with 2002. In Mexico the reduction was 1,7% and in Ecuador 8% considered significant since in 1999, 64% of Ecuadorians lived in poverty.

Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Panama and Venezuela remained flan or experienced a slight increase below one percent.

Only Chile and Dominican Republic managed acceptable reductions in the percentage of people living in poverty, and seem in line to the goal of cutting poverty in 2015 by half as was agreed in the "Millennium Summit".

Regarding under nourishment, this is extensive to 11% of the regional population, 55 million, according to the UN Food Program. This is particularly serious with 9% of children and with 19,4% who suffer what is described as chronic under nourishment.

However in spite of the impressive numbers, the under nourished population in the last decade dropped in 20 of the 24 countries of the region, indicated Mr. Ocampo.