| | |  Americas & Beyond 
50% of New LatAm Poverty in Mexico
 The News
go to original
April 26, 2010
| | Mexico contributed a significant portion to the increase in Latin American poverty, the World Bank says | |
Washington - Half of all Latin Americans who fell into poverty in 2009 were Mexican, according to World Bank data and the Mexican government. "Mexico contributed a significant portion" to the increase in Latin American poverty, the World Bank says.
One of the most worrisome costs of the economic crisis is the increase in poverty, said the chief economist for Latin America and the Caribbean, Augusto de la Torre. He was speaking at the World Bank and International Monetary Fund's spring meeting. The number of poor in the region increased between nine and 10 million people as a result of the economic crisis, he added.
These numbers are in line with what the Mexican government has said. On Sept. 22, 2009, then Social Development Secretary Ernesto.
Cordero told the Chamber of Deputies that the crisis had impoverished 5 million Mexicans. According to the National Council to Evaluate Social Development Policy, the agency in charge of assessing poverty in Mexico, 47.4 percent of the country?s 105.3 million people were living in poverty at the end of 2008. World Bank information published on Tuesday said that wealth inequality had grown over the past four years; a tenth of the population had 41.3 percent of the country?s wealth, up from 35.4 percent. De la Torre, however, said that poverty would soon return to precrisis levels, based on regional experiences during the past eight years.
"Let's remember that 60 million Latin Americans emerged from poverty between 2002 and 2008. It is a major achievement. Nine or 10 million returned to poverty in 2009, but by late 2010 a large part of these people will probably have emerged from poverty again," de la Torre said.
Unlike nations such as Brazil, Peru, Colombia, Bolivia and Uruguay, Mexico's economy this year is believed to be insufficient to return to pre-crisis levels.
|
|
| |
Vallarta Weddings
Tell a Friend
Site Map
Print this Page
Email Us