POVERTY Exclusion and poverty are increasingly common in Argentina 22-07-2024 16:40 Argentina is suffering from rising unemployment, social exclusion and poverty – the number of those considered destitute has doubled since the first quarter of 2023.
POLITICS & ECONOMY Milei’s shock therapy ignites ‘brutal’ income inequality 20-07-2024 18:44 President Javier Milei’s economic overhaul is driving up income inequality in Argentina, testing just how much “shock therapy” his constituents can bear.
POVERTY IN THE CAPITAL Crisis creating 300 more homeless each month in Buenos Aires City 17-07-2024 06:57 The number of people sleeping rough in the nation’s capital is rising by 10% a month, according to Buenos Aires City Security Minister Waldo Wolff. by Ramón Indart
ECONOMIC INDICATORS Social indicators cast doubt over Milei's 'catastrophe' averted claim 04-07-2024 13:09 President Javier Milei recently stated that the government’s social policy is “extremely good” and it had help prevent a “catastrophe.” Yet the government's own data and reports produced by private institutions indicate most social indicators have recorded a step backwards since he took office. by Agustina Bordigoni
Editorial When Loan is a national debt 29-06-2024 04:22 On the nationwide clamour for the reappearance of a missing child.
OPINION & ANALYSIS Poverty has no limit in Argentina 22-06-2024 05:28 Argentina’s food crisis and the profound reasons for structural decay. How we reached the current state of emergency, from the Kirchners to Milei. by Alejandra Daiha
INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND IMF urges increased assistance for Argentina’s poorest 06-06-2024 15:37 Fund’s chief spokeswoman Julie Kozack warns that Milei’s economic adjustment “should not fall disproportionately on working families.”
POLITICAL INTERVENTION? Pope Francis warns against imposing debt burden on ordinary people 05-06-2024 16:46 Argentine pontiff, speaking before an audience that included former economy minister Martín Guzmán, says “no government can demand its people suffer deprivations incompatible with human dignity.”
ECONOMIC INDICATORS Poverty climbed to 55.5% in first quarter, according to UCA 04-06-2024 16:33 Data obtained in new study highlights chilling growth in poverty levels – nearly 25 million people in urban areas nationwide are now considered to be poor.
POVERTY NGOs seek state support for five million living in villas 19-05-2024 05:02 Around 12% of the population lives in slum neighbourhoods in Argentina; Residents need state support to improve their lot; Lack of educational, job and social opportunities hurting nation’s youth.
EDITORIAL Single digit should not mean single issue 18-05-2024 06:13 Single-digit inflation relieves the poor more than anybody but comes at a price – must they also be the ones to pay it?
Economic indicators Poverty rate was 48.9% in April, says Universidad Di Tella study 15-05-2024 17:48 Estimated 29 million people in Argentina were poor last month, reveals a new study by the Universidad Torcuato Di Tella.
POLITICS & POVERTY Police raid dozens of soup kitchens 14-05-2024 22:11 Authorities say dozens of raids had been carried out against soup kitchens and groups that manage them as part of a probe into alleged extortion of the poor.
FEATURE Poverty, marginalisation, cocaine: Gangs find lucrative combo 30-03-2024 06:48 Argentina's economy is in intensive care. Financial stagnation, coupled with record inflation and the slashing of public spending have resulted in rising poverty and marginalisation. But in every crisis some see opportunity, and this time, it is crime groups. With drug-trafficking expanding in the barrios, analysts warn of new complex dynamics in the long run. by Josefina Salomon*, In.Visibles
POVERTY Poverty reached 41.7% in second half of 2023 28-03-2024 16:24 Poverty levels rose slightly in the second half of 2023 as soaring inflation pummelled household spending power even before Milei’s shock therapy.
FINANCE Milei seeks US$15 billion for removal of currency controls 18-03-2024 11:24 President Javier Milei says he would open up restrictions on foreign currency immediately if he has US$15 billion; Money could be provided by the IMF, multilateral bodies, private investors and even “some countries."
CHILD POVERTY Six out of every 10 schoolchildren in Argentina are poor, says UCA 13-03-2024 16:21 A report by UCA's Social Debt Observatory exposes complex situation facing Argentine children and youths who attend educational institutions.
ECONOMIC INDICATORS UNICEF: 7 out of 10 children live in poverty in Argentina 12-03-2024 17:16 Approximately 8.6 million kids under the age of 18 live in low-income households or in environments where they are deprived of their rights, reports local branch of UN agency dedicated to children.
IMPACT OF AUSTERITY Financing the fiscal surplus: Stories behind reduction in state spending 08-03-2024 08:52 Argentina recorded its first monthly budget surplus in nearly 12 years in January, President Milei’s first month in office. But according to one analysis, a third of those spending cuts came from a refusal to update pension payments for inflation. A look at the faces behind the figures. by Agustina Bordigoni
#8M: WOMEN'S RIGHTS Feminists ready to rally for rights in face of Milei pushback 06-03-2024 09:37 International Women’s Day takes place this week and feminists across Argentina are ready to take to the streets to highlight the food crisis, the right to abortion, the pay gap, gender violence and much more. by Ashton Goren
PONTIFICAL MESSAGE Pope Francis says state must guarantee ‘social justice’ 28-02-2024 22:49 Two weeks after meeting President Milei at Vatican, pontiff contradicts head of state’s views on markets, the state and social justice in a pointed message to a Catholic NGO in Buenos Aires.
FOCUS ON VENEZUELA Venezuela calls in oil debt it once traded away for literal beans 26-02-2024 10:56 Impoverished and desperate for cash, Venezuela is trying to collect old debts from the Petrocaribe oil exchange programme.
EDITORIAL Poverty also in the debate 24-02-2024 06:08 Discussing figures is one thing and denialism quite another – this applies to the human rights debate and it also applies to poverty.
ECONOMY & POLITICS Milei blames political 'caste' as study estimates 57% poverty rate 19-02-2024 14:06 President blames political "caste" for the soaring poverty that a study estimates plagues 57% of population.
ECONOMIC INDICATORS Inflation leaving more than a million Argentines poor per month 19-02-2024 13:45 Over the past three months, over 3.6 million people have slipped into poverty, new data shows.
ECONOMIC INDICATORS Poverty hit 20-year high of 57.4% in January, says UCA body 18-02-2024 10:21 Prestigious UCA Social Debt Observatory says poverty is at 20-year high: 57.4%, equivalent to 27 million people, are now considered poor in Argentina. Extreme poverty affects 15%, some seven million people. by Gonzalo Martínez
LIVING WITH POVERTY ‘Comedores’ in crisis: Emergency food aid at risk from cuts 15-02-2024 16:30 Milei government’s move to suspend aid to soup kitchens and introduce a new system to ‘cut out the middleman’ damages emergency food assistance efforts. by Agustina Bordigoni
POVERTY More hunger, less money: Soup kitchens count rations 15-02-2024 00:33 At community meal centres across Argentina, a dual crisis is biting: the influx of ever more hungry mouths to feed during an economic crisis, and a decision by President Javier Milei's new government to freeze their aid.
El Salvador Elections Next hurdle for El Salvador's Bukele: the economy 05-02-2024 11:35 With high public debt, nearly a third of the population living in poverty and fast-rising consumer prices, Salvadorans are increasingly starting to think of what comes next.
GRIPPED BY CRISIS In danger of extinction? Middle class slammed by crisis and austerity measures 16-01-2024 17:16 The removal of subsidies, rising rent and the increased costs of prepaid healthcare schemes and private schools are slamming the middle class, specialists warn. March will be a difficult month with the start of classes and the billing of basic public services shooting up. by Agustina Bordigoni
INTERVIEW / PERIODISMO PURO Juan Grabois: ‘A disruption evidently captivated most Argentines’ 23-12-2023 06:46 Lawyer, social leader and former presidential candidate Juan Grabois on Javier Milei, the government’s economic emergency measures and receiving criticism from both sides. by Jorge Fontevecchia
BLOOMBERG – FEATURE Argentina’s ruined railways will force Milei to confront poverty 21-12-2023 00:29 Those living off state subsidies in ghost towns abandoned by the once-robust train service fear the pain of the new president’s spending cuts will be acute.
ECONOMIC INDICATORS Milei kicks off government with 160.9% annual inflation rate 14-12-2023 00:41 Prices soared 12.8% in November, prior to the new president’s inauguration; Concerning increases for health, food and beverages, with dramatic post-devaluation uptick expected next month.
ECONOMIC INDICATORS Argentina’s poverty rate has risen to 44.7%, says UCA body 05-12-2023 23:12 Latest study by UCA’s social debt observatory says that without welfare programmes, poverty would affect 49% of the population; Extreme poverty has risen 9.6%, finds report.
President on poverty 'Badly measured' – Fernández questions official poverty rate 04-12-2023 13:53 President Alberto Fernández has questioned the INDEC national statistics bureau, saying he think that Argentina’s official poverty rate is “badly measured.”
Living with inflation A shirt for rice: bartering to survive in inflation-battered Argentina 15-11-2023 11:06 Faced with soaring prices as inflation bites away at purchasing power, ever-increasing numbers of Argentines are turning to bartering to make ends meet.
Living with inflation Inflation hits new high before presidential run-off vote 13-11-2023 19:05 Inflation rate has hit 143%, just days before a presidential run-off election in which the state of the economy will be a deciding factor.
ECONOMIC INDICATORS Annual inflation hits 143% before election 13-11-2023 17:51 Inflation in Argentina accelerated last month to its highest annual level since the country was exiting hyperinflation more than three decades ago.
MONTEVIDEO In prosperous Uruguay, homeless population grows in the capital 13-11-2023 16:55 Uruguay stands out in Latin America for its high income per capita, low inequality and low poverty. Yet homelessness is increasing on the streets of Montevideo.
ECONOMIC INDICATORS Inflation slowed to 8.3% in October, prices up 142.7% year-on-year 13-11-2023 16:06 Inflation slowed in October to 8.3%, reports INDEC; Consumer prices in Argentina up 142.7% over the last 12 months.
FEATURE: SOCIETY & POVERTY Argentina and the infantilisation of poverty 01-11-2023 05:39 Experts say Argentina is going through a process of “poverty infantilisation” – minors are poorer than the rest of the population, with teens and children in single-parent homes the most vulnerable. Are welfare programmes just a patch or are they preventing the situation from getting worse? by Sabrina Chemen
ANALYSIS Inflation surges to 138% ahead of presidential election 12-10-2023 16:50 Inflation jumps to its highest level in three decades, underscoring the extent of the economic crisis that will confront the winner of the country’s presidential election.
EDITORIAL The poverty of politics 30-09-2023 05:00 One can only tremble at what levels poverty might reach for the second half of this year after last month’s double-digit inflation.
BLOOMBERG – ANALYSIS Poverty above 40% fuels despair ahead of vote 27-09-2023 18:20 Surging consumer price increases are the dominant factor behind Argentina's ballooning poverty rate.
ECONOMIC INDICATORS More than 40% of Argentines living in poverty, official data shows 27-09-2023 16:36 Data from INDEC national statistics bureau reveals approximately 18.6 million Argentines are now considered poor, with 4.3 million destitute; Poverty affected 40.1% in first half of year; Experts warn figure likely to soar even higher in future given post-PASO devaluation of peso and soaring price hikes.
POVERTY Poverty on electoral agenda as INDEC prepares to release data 22-09-2023 16:51 National statistics bureau will reveal Argentina's poverty rate on Wednesday, less than a month before the election; Specialists expect rate of 40% or higher.
ECONOMIC INDICATORS UCA report: Poverty rate would be 50% without welfare support 03-09-2023 10:24 New report from the Catholic University of Argentina’s Social Debt Observatory concludes poverty affects 38.9% of the population; Those under 17 most affected; Without child benefit and welfare support payments from the government, half of Argentina would be poor.
ANALYSIS Inflation cooled to 113% before election price surge 15-08-2023 16:58 Annual inflation in Argentina eased slightly in July before last Sunday’s stunning election result sent prices soaring.
ECONOMIC CRISIS Poverty bites in the Conurbano, but demands go beyond economic 09-08-2023 10:43 Argentina’s economic crisis spares no-one in Greater Buenos Aires. The youngest are the hardest hit. Across the Conurbano, demands are high, but local campaigners say the problems run deeper than soaring prices. by Ludmila Di Grande
ECONOMIC INDICATORS Private estimates say Argentina’s poverty rate has risen to 43% 09-07-2023 08:00 Around 12.5 million people in Argentina are now poor, according to new calculations from UCA and Di Tella universities; High inflation in first six months of year and inability of wages to keep pace with wage hikes means further one million people have slipped below the poverty line.