News of poverty

Almost half of porteños live in poverty or precariously

25-06-2021 22:48 City Hall data shows rise in poverty. City Hall figures includes all families earning below 97,000 pesos, not even covering the Canasta Total. Upper and middle classes have fallen by eight points over the last 15 months, even among formally employed many have slipped below poverty line.

UN warns of worst 'cascade of human rights setbacks in our lifetimes'

21-06-2021 11:16 UN human rights chief Michelle Bachelet decries worst global deterioration of rights seen in decades, highlighting situations in China, Russia and Ethiopia, among others.

Child labour has soared during pandemic, says new poll

29-05-2021 11:07 Child labour in Argentina now reaches a 10th of all children in the 5-15 years age group and 30 percent of adolescents aged between 16 and 17.

by Clara Fernández Escudero

President talks poverty and pandemic with Pope at Vatican

15-05-2021 11:41 Alberto Fernández’s inner circle hail “excellent” meeting with Pope Francis. Argentina’s debt woes were also on the agenda.

Progressive climate policy can reduce extreme poverty, says study

27-04-2021 13:07 Researchers at the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) have found that ambitious climate policies could reduce extreme poverty in developing countries if governments opted for robust taxes on emitters that were then fairly distributed to help the poor.

UN: 2021 LatAm growth won't offset pandemic economic decline

22-04-2021 12:23 The UN's Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) has projected that economic growth in Latin America and the Caribbean in 2021 will not offset 2020 losses caused by the coronavirus pandemic, nor will it roll back increases in poverty and inequality.

Back to square one

10-04-2021 08:11 For poorer countries, among them Argentina, salvation is still a long way off.

by James Neilson

Covid-19 second wave arrives with exhausted economy, citizenry

10-04-2021 07:26 Government introduces new restrictions after surge in infections, hoping to tread thin line between economic pain and healthcare gain.

On ‘the fear’ and philosopher kings

03-04-2021 08:17 When polarisation and emotional entrenchment reaches the level of a football rivalry, the democratic system begins to fail.

by Agustino Fontevecchia

Niall Ferguson: ‘It's silly for the left to claim that austerity is conservative’

03-04-2021 07:49 Scottish historian, professor and brilliant polemicist Niall Ferguson on the coronavirus pandemic, the global economic outlook and the causes of Argentina’s economic failure.

by Jorge Fontevecchia

A year of living dangerously

20-03-2021 08:40 Thursday’s nationwide broadcast was widely criticised and mocked, but in his guarded and indirect manner President Fernández was telling it like it is regarding a central problem which too many ignore.

What we learned this week: March 13 to 20

20-03-2021 08:34 A selection of some of the headlines that caught our eye over the last seven days in Argenina

by Michael Soltys

Inflation data casts shadow over government’s target

13-03-2021 09:07 Price increases slowed slightly in February from previous month, but Alberto Fernández administration’s 2021 target of 29% already looks out of reach.

More of the same?

13-03-2021 05:48 The kick-off of the October electoral campaign promises to be brutal for future expectations. Government and opposition will duke it out once again, using all of the usual dirty tricks.

by Agustino Fontevecchia

Radicalised

06-03-2021 08:11 It is troubling to see how both President Alberto Fernández and certain leaders in the opposition have given up their “post-grieta” posture all too quickly, proving their political and ideological fragility.

by Agustino Fontevecchia

UN: Pandemic pushed LatAm extreme poverty to 20-year high

04-03-2021 13:41 Number of poor people in the region rose by 22 million in 2020 to 209 million. ECLAC calls for "new welfare state."

Wealth tax: inequality solution for Latin America?

19-02-2021 12:52 The income chasm between the rich and poor in Latin America has led to efforts to tax the wealthy – though the reception has been uneven across various countries.

Dilemmas and defining factors

13-02-2021 10:36 Two entirely different news items at opposite ends of the past week might well be the shape of defining factors in this year’s elections.

Oxfam hails Argentina’s ‘wealth tax’ as law takes effect

30-01-2021 08:21 Charity calls on other nation states to raise taxes on their richest citizens, citing government’s new law as an example.

What we learned this week: January 23 to 30

30-01-2021 08:10 Stories that caught our eye over the last seven days in Argentina