MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Latin America remains the world's most unequal region

Salazar-Xirinachs deemed this historical and structural inequality “unacceptable”

The United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) warned in its latest report that Latin America continues to be the most unequal region globally, with extreme concentration of wealth stifling growth and social mobility.

ECLAC Executive Secretary José Manuel Salazar-Xirinachs pointed out from the agency's headquarters in Santiago (Chile) that the area suffers from a “low capacity to grow,” insufficient social mobility, high inequality, and ineffective governance.

According to the document, the concentration of income remains extreme, with the richest 10% amassing 34.2% of the total income, while the poorest 10% achieved only 1.7% of the total income.

Salazar-Xirinachs deemed this historical and structural inequality “unacceptable from the point of view of human rights and justice, and inefficient from the economic perspective.”

While the report noted a slow trend toward reducing some disparities in recent years, significant gaps remain, particularly for vulnerable groups. The Gini coefficient, which measures income difference, saw a slight reduction from 0.456 to 0.452. Monetary and multidimensional poverty also fell, driven by improvements in housing and services.

The gender gap has shown no variation since 2014. For every 100 men experiencing multidimensional deprivation, there are 122 women in the same situation.

The situation for indigenous peoples and migrants—especially those in an irregular status—remains highly concerning.

The study was focused on possible pathways to overcome these questions, for which ECLAC proposed to reduce educational inequality, create quality jobs and promote gender equality, confront discrimination and disrespect against people with disabilities, native communities, and migrants, and strengthen social institutions as well as their financing. The Executive Secretary concluded that these complex issues required an integrated approach to provide adequate solutions.