News of poverty

'The stressed' – Argentina's ‘non-poor’ who can’t reach the end of the month under Milei

Yesterday 06:58 The INDEC national statistics bureau does not consider them poor, but millions of Argentina can’t make it to the end of the month; New study by UCA’s poverty watchdog shines light on those living under “economic stress”

by Agustina Bordigoni

WATER AND ARGENTINA

Where water runs dry, hope begins

29-06-2025 06:26 With over seven million compatriots without access to drinking water, the situation is becoming especially dramatic in the face of the extreme events arising from climate change. Nevertheless, persons and communities – especially the most vulnerable – are working together with NGOs to confront an increasingly hostile reality with creativity and communal effort.

by Fernanda Sández

SOCIETY

Child poverty on rise in northwest and northwest of Argentina

24-06-2025 14:18 Child poverty as measured by UCA watchdog dropped from 58.8% to 52.8% nationwide between second halves of 2023 and 2024. But the drop was uneven and, in some parts of Argentina’s north, the situation even worsened.

by Agustina Bordigoni

ECONOMIC INDICATORS

Monthly inflation drops to 1.5% – lowest level in five years

12-06-2025 16:05 Consumer prices rose just 1.5% in May, according to government data – the lowest monthly rate since May 2020; Inflation at 13.3% so far this year, 43.5% over the last 12 months.

POVERTY IN ARGENTINA

Quarter of rough sleepers in City have been on streets for less than year

04-06-2025 06:25 NGOs surveyed Commune 1 of Buenos Aires City and found over 1,400 adults sleeping rough. More than three-quarters were men, with many only resorting to homelessness in the last year.

by Agustina Bordigoni

TWO SIDES OF SAME COIN

Postcards of a crisis: youth unemployment and working into old age

06-05-2025 12:20 According to data from Argentina's Human Capital Ministry, 19.4% of young people aged 18 to 24 are unemployed. Meanwhile, greater numbers of older adults are continuing to work into their later years, or looking for work, out of necessity.

by Agustina Bordigoni

POVERTY ASSESSMENT

‘Not much to celebrate’ despite fall in poverty, says expert

01-04-2025 13:13 Leading poverty expert Agustín Salvia, of UCA’s prestigious social debt observatory, digs into the figures after INDEC reports dramatic fall in numbers of poor.

BLOOMBERG - ANALYSIS

Poverty falls sharply as prices cool under Milei

31-03-2025 17:02 About 38.1% of Argentines fell under the poverty line in the second half of last year, according to government data published Monday.

ECONOMIC INDICATORS

UCA observatory says poverty rate reached 41.6% last year

11-03-2025 13:39 New report from respected poverty watchdog, which measures figure on a "multidimensional" basis rather than purely cash, warns of challenges facing Argentina.

by Agustina Bordigoni

NEW IMF DEAL ON WAY?

IMF: ‘Constructive discussions’ ongoing with Argentina over new deal

06-02-2025 22:59 Markets move on rumours of new deal with the International Monetary Fund, which again praises “enormous progress” made by Milei administration.

SOCIETY

‘La Escuelita’: Where hope goes to school

18-01-2025 05:14 At Barrio Padre Mugica in Retiro, Buenos Aires, food training is serving as a tool of social transformation. Chef Germán Sitz (Niño Gordo) and mixologist Sebastián Atienza (Tres Monos) have created ‘La Escuelita,’ a space where youngsters in low-income neighbourhoods can learn the basics of ingredients, cooking, cocktails and wine.

ECONOMIC INDICATORS

Poverty affected 28.1% of portenos in Q3 2024

14-01-2025 14:40 Nearly 900,000 porteños were considered poor in the third quarter of 2024, according to City Hall statistics bureau.

SOCIETY

Expert reports say poverty rate has fallen to 36.8%

04-01-2025 15:11 Experts warn of structural poverty risks as two reports tracking indices say the number of Argentines considered poor fell significantly in the last quarter of 2024.

POVERTY IN ARGENTINA

Thousands attend Christmas charity dinner in Buenos Aires

25-12-2024 14:15 Over 3,000 homeless individuals attended a festive charity dinner in Buenos Aires amidst growing poverty affecting over half of Argentina's population, highlighting the urgent need for support as many struggle with homelessness and hunger.

G20 SUMMIT IN BRAZIL

‘Gesture of goodwill’ – Milei gives way to Lula on anti-hunger alliance

18-11-2024 17:36 Argentina’s government finally signs up to Lula’s global anti-hunger initiative, launched at the G20 summit in Rio. Is Milei’s gesture of goodwill to his Brazilian counterpart a first step towards rebuilding relations?

POVERTY IN ARGENTINA

Extreme poverty soars to affect six million, study shows

12-11-2024 14:19 Destitution rates have grown much faster than poverty in recent years in Argentina. According to a study by the University of Buenos Aires based on government data, more than six million people were not meeting daily nutritional needs in the first quarter of the year.

by Agustina Bordigoni

POVERTY IN ARGENTINA

Soup kitchens struggle with growing queues as poverty rises

19-10-2024 06:18 Amid a deep economic crisis, food purchases have slumped 18.6% this year in Argentina. Meanwhile, demand at community soup kitchens is soaring, especially in some of the most impoverished and remote areas of the country.

by Agustina Bordigoni

ECONOMIC INDICATORS

70% of workers in Argentina were earning under 550,000 pesos a month in June

08-10-2024 11:17 Seven out of every 10 households were earning less than a million pesos a month in June, according to INDEC data.

BEYOND THE HEADLINES

Poverty lies under the mattress

05-10-2024 06:06 Idle capital amounting to over half of Gross Domestic Product surely goes a long way towards explaining why over half the population is poor.

by Michael Soltys

ECONOMIC INDICATORS

Nearly one million people are poor or destitute in Buenos Aires

04-10-2024 11:07 City Hall statistics bureau reveals that there are 159,000 more poor people than one year ago.

POVERTY

'Heartbreaking': Priest in nation's poorest city bemoans destitution

30-09-2024 17:03 Father Pablo Ferreira, a priest in the poor city of Resistencia, Chaco Province, is a direct witness to the growing numbers of Argentina’s poor. “Seeing poverty data is one thing, but seeing the faces of destitution and poverty is heart-breaking,” he explains.

Child poverty in Argentina

Child benefits, food stamps, social policies ‘cannot be a stopgap’

28-09-2024 06:58 In the first half of 2024, child poverty reached 71 percent with over 1.5 million kids newly impoverished, according to a report from the ACIJ NGO. Despite cuts in the budget dedicated to children in diverse programmes, the AUH (Asignación Universal por Hijo) payment is reaching the highest number of people since 2021.

by Sabrina Chemen

POLITICS & ECONOMY

Government dismisses responsibility for jump in poverty rate

27-09-2024 19:44 Government officials point finger at “20 years of populism and destruction” after INDEC reveals poverty rate rose to 52.9 percent in the first half of the year.

ECONOMY – ANALYSIS

Poverty soars past 50% in Argentina as Milei austerity hits hard

26-09-2024 17:12 About 52.9% of Argentines were mired below the poverty line in the first half of the year, up from 41.7% in the second half of 2023.

POVERTY IN ARGENTINA

Private estimates: Three million new poor created so far this year

24-09-2024 16:19 Private estimates, published ahead of the INDEC national statistics bureau's latest update, suggest that some three million people have slipped below the poverty line since the turn of the year.

by Gonzalo Martínez

ECONOMIC INDICATORS

55% of Argentina’s population below poverty line, says UCA body

05-09-2024 08:53 Extreme poverty affected 17.5% of people in first half of 2024, reports private observatory from the Catholic University of Argentina (UCA).

POVERTY IN ARGENTINA

Child poverty soared to 63% in Argentina in 2023, says UCA report

16-08-2024 06:41 Study by UCA’s Social Debt Observatory covering period 2010-2023 also reveals that 16.2% of children and teenagers currently live below the destitution line. Child poverty rate now at highest level since 2010.

ECONOMIC INDICATORS

Inflation slowed to 4% in July, lowest monthly rate of Milei era

14-08-2024 17:02 Latest figure from INDEC national statistics bureau indicates consumer prices are continuing to slow, but annual rate remains at staggering 263.4%.

ECONOMY – ANALYSIS

Inflation slows to lowest level since 2022 under Milei

14-08-2024 16:47 Consumer prices rose 4% in July from a month earlier, while annual inflation slowed to 263.4%, according to government data.

ECONOMIC INDICATORS

UNICEF: 1.5 million children miss a meal each day in Argentina

14-08-2024 14:50 According to the UN children’s agency, 4.5 million adults in Argentina struggle to cannot come up with all meals either as a consequence of economic difficulties.

POVERTY

One in five Argentines live in extreme poverty, reports UCA observatory

05-08-2024 13:28 Argentina's poverty rate reached 54.9% and destitution 20.3% nationwide during the first quarter of 2024, according to a new report by the Universidad Católica Argentina.

POVERTY

Rising poverty to impact life expectancy, child mortality rates

02-08-2024 17:23 With poverty and extreme poverty on the rise, specialists warn that worsening economic conditions and spending cuts could lead to an increase in child mortality rates and slump in life expectancy.

by Agustina Bordigoni

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.

News of poverty

'The stressed' – Argentina's ‘non-poor’ who can’t reach the end of the month under Milei

Where water runs dry, hope begins

Child poverty on rise in northwest and northwest of Argentina

Monthly inflation drops to 1.5% – lowest level in five years

Quarter of rough sleepers in City have been on streets for less than year

Postcards of a crisis: youth unemployment and working into old age

‘Not much to celebrate’ despite fall in poverty, says expert

Poverty falls sharply as prices cool under Milei

UCA observatory says poverty rate reached 41.6% last year

IMF: ‘Constructive discussions’ ongoing with Argentina over new deal

‘La Escuelita’: Where hope goes to school

Poverty affected 28.1% of portenos in Q3 2024

Expert reports say poverty rate has fallen to 36.8%

Thousands attend Christmas charity dinner in Buenos Aires

‘Gesture of goodwill’ – Milei gives way to Lula on anti-hunger alliance

Extreme poverty soars to affect six million, study shows

Soup kitchens struggle with growing queues as poverty rises

70% of workers in Argentina were earning under 550,000 pesos a month in June

Poverty lies under the mattress

Nearly one million people are poor or destitute in Buenos Aires

'Heartbreaking': Priest in nation's poorest city bemoans destitution

Child benefits, food stamps, social policies ‘cannot be a stopgap’

Government dismisses responsibility for jump in poverty rate

Poverty soars past 50% in Argentina as Milei austerity hits hard

Private estimates: Three million new poor created so far this year

55% of Argentina’s population below poverty line, says UCA body

Child poverty soared to 63% in Argentina in 2023, says UCA report

Inflation slowed to 4% in July, lowest monthly rate of Milei era

Inflation slows to lowest level since 2022 under Milei

UNICEF: 1.5 million children miss a meal each day in Argentina

One in five Argentines live in extreme poverty, reports UCA observatory

Rising poverty to impact life expectancy, child mortality rates

Exclusion and poverty are increasingly common in Argentina

Milei’s shock therapy ignites ‘brutal’ income inequality

Crisis creating 300 more homeless each month in Buenos Aires City

Social indicators cast doubt over Milei's 'catastrophe' averted claim

When Loan is a national debt

Poverty has no limit in Argentina

IMF urges increased assistance for Argentina’s poorest

Pope Francis warns against imposing debt burden on ordinary people

Poverty climbed to 55.5% in first quarter, according to UCA

NGOs seek state support for five million living in villas

Single digit should not mean single issue

Poverty rate was 48.9% in April, says Universidad Di Tella study

Police raid dozens of soup kitchens

Poverty, marginalisation, cocaine: Gangs find lucrative combo

Poverty reached 41.7% in second half of 2023

Milei seeks US$15 billion for removal of currency controls

Six out of every 10 schoolchildren in Argentina are poor, says UCA

UNICEF: 7 out of 10 children live in poverty in Argentina

Argentina must turn over 51% stake in YPF, US judge rules

Argentina's economy grew more than expected after Milei lifted controls

Milei makes waves by taking his dog Conan to interview

INDEC statistics body reveals how many dollars Argentines have stashed away

Milei’s actor friend runs state agency with multi-million-dollar budget

La NASA confirmó que la gigantesca presa de Las Tres Gargantas en China ralentizó la rotación de la Tierra

Denuncian a la jueza Arroyo Salgado ante el Consejo de la Magistratura "por mal desempeño en el ejercicio de sus funciones"

Milei canceló el tradicional desfile del 9 de Julio: el motivo detrás de su polémica decisión

El Ejecutivo busca decidir qué investigaciones del Conicet seguirán activas y cuáles "no lo valen"

Avanza la modernización militar: Argentina firmó acuerdo por blindados Stryker en Washington