MADRID, Nov 24 (EUROPA PRESS) –
The Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (Cepal) has warned that the Latin American region is facing a “serious social crisis” and that the poverty rate will be 32.1% of the total population by 2022, a number even higher is registered before the pandemic in 2019.
During the presentation of the annual report “Social Panorama 2022”, the Executive Secretary of ECLAC, José Manuel Salazar-Xirinachs, pointed out that the economic situation was “extraordinarily tense” due to the succession of different crises, which had a negative impact on the social level, which was “urgent”. speak to. “The very real risk of a lost generation in Latin America must be avoided,” he said.
Referring to the numbers, Salazar stressed that an estimated 201 million people will be at risk of poverty in 2022, representing more than a third of Latin America’s population (32.1%). “It’s extremely worrying,” he said. In addition, the number of people at risk of extreme poverty rises to 13.1%, for a total of 82 million. According to Cepal, this data has not been seen for 25 years and represents “a setback” for the region.
These figures imply that compared to the situation before the pandemic, an additional 15 million people will live in poverty and that the number of people in extreme poverty will be 12 million more than in 2019.
In addition, as in previous years, ECLAC has stated that the poverty rate is higher in some population groups in the region: more than 45% of children and young people live in poverty, and the poverty rate of women aged 20 to 59 is higher in all countries higher than that of men. Similarly, poverty is significantly higher among the indigenous or Afro-descended population.
ECLAC has highlighted the slowdown in economic growth, the dynamism of the labor market and inflation as reasons for this increase in poverty. If she doesn’t act now, the body warned that in the long run there is a possibility of a “social scar effect” which is of great concern.
INVEST IN EDUCATION
During the presentation of the report, ECLAC urged Latin American countries to invest “decidedly” in education and turn this crisis into an opportunity to transform education systems.
In this regard, the Executive Secretary recalled that investment in education represents 4.1% of GDP in the region. “Although average public spending on education in Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries reached 4.9% of GDP in 2019, a figure slightly higher than that of the region (4% of GDP per year 2019), spending on education by level of education is 5.7 times the amount per student in Latin America and the Caribbean in primary education, 5.3 times in secondary education, and 6.1 times in tertiary education it in the publication.
For these reasons, Salazar has highlighted that it is time to push “transformative, inclusive and bold policies” toward an “empowered” welfare state. “A cross-sectoral public policy effort is needed that links educational provision to health, work and social protection, and allows mechanisms to be put in place to ensure some level of wealth and income in a period of volatility and uncertainty,” he reiterated.