Over a third of metropolitan Buenos Aires, 34.9%, live below the poverty line which is equivalent to 4.4 million people, more than double the official Argentine government estimate, according to a paper from the Argentine Catholic University, UCA, and the local Caritas chapter from the Catholic Church.
Over half a million families live in 864 slums and irregular settlements in metropolitan Buenos Aires surrounding Argentina’s capital. Of this number 66% have over fifteen years since founded and in 65% of them expansion either horizontally or vertically continues.
Latin America has experienced significant advances in the reduction of poverty but has barely improved the deep social inequalities that limit its development according to Heraldo Muñoz, head of the regional UN Program for Development.
One morning October last year two agents from the Venezuelan presidency cabinet left on a special mission from the Miraflores Palace (seat of the Executive). They headed a few blocks away to the Central Bank to pick up five million dollars cash, expenses-money for the coming international tour of President Chavez to Moscow, Kiev, Teheran, Damascus and Tripoli.
Poverty in the United States has grown steadily in the past few years. According to the US Census bureau, 46.2 million people lived in poverty in 2010, the highest in the 52 years poverty estimates have been published.
One out of every four US Hispanics – 13.2 million people – is living in poverty, according to a report based on the US 2010 Census data that was released this week.
The United States poverty rate hit its highest level since 1993 in 2010 with a record 46 million Americans living below the poverty line, according to a US government report on Tuesday that depicted the grim effects of stubbornly high unemployment.
Former president Lula da Silva described as ‘nonsense’ the biblical statement that the poor will be “blessed with treasure in heaven” and strongly supported the policies of his government (2003/2010) which helped millions in Brazil lift from poverty.
A new global order is emerging as a result of the world crisis and recession in developed countries and Latin America has a crucial role to play given its very satisfactory economic performance in recent years, said Unasur Secretary General Maria Emma Mejia.
An estimated 17.6% of Argentine children between the age of 5 and 17 living in urban areas are forced to work, according to a report from the Argentine Catholic University, UCA, released last week.