Do you think you know poverty? - LATAM Edition.
Do you think you know poverty? We all have heard at one point or another the term poverty, but What does it mean? Have you ever concidered, for more than a second, the spectrum of what this topic really covers?
In Latin America, the poverty line is well drawn, a study in 2010 from the Banco mundial en Latino America y el Caribe concluded there is 1in every 5 persons living in some level of poverty. It pains me to express that not much has changed since then. Corruption and miss-handling of resources in LATAM countries have made it almost impossible for the organizations that look to help the world’s poor. Geopolitics also play a key role in making the resources available to find their way to the poor and hungry, offer a way out of their deteriorating living conditions, and give some hope of better days to come. And now, with newer challenges in the international scene, the fight against hunger and poverty became much more complex to solve.
In 2025, it has been estimated 70 million people live under the poverty line and another 81 million are in extreme poverty conditions. Brazil, Venezuela, and Mexico being the biggest contributors to this numbers. Criminal activity has risen amongst these sectors, same activity that has now caught the attention of international communities, slowing furthermore the aid distributed in some rural areas of Latin America deeply affected by poverty. As criminal activity becomes a principal driver that limits international organisms such as the WHO (World Health Organization) to disttibute help and resuorces in the hotspots of those countries, new deceases also threaten and disrupt the living conditions of the millions of people affected. All and all, the complex cycle of what poverty brings and the challenges it poses to those experiencing it is far from extinct; some experts say poverty has slowed briefly, yet same issues persist in Latin America and other regions of the world.
In the United States the term poverty is widely seen as someone who is living paycheck to paycheck or has a great amount of debt. Yet, most of these people who qualify within this description, live relatively well with all necessities met. A census conducted in a medium level neighborhood showed how much people lack to understand poverty. People were asked what they believed poverty was and if they knew anyone on their social circle that could potentially be experiencing poverty issues/difficulties. Their answer was surprisingly (or not so much, maybe) oblivious and non caring. Most said they believed that poverty is the result of the work put in during one’s earlier years and the preparation/education completed. Also complemented by saying they know the economies go hard at times, that is the reason we should be more prepared for “rainy days.” - What a harsh and shortsighted reality.
