Argentina, one of the world’s highest inflation rate countries, is facing a severe poverty crisis with nearly four out of every ten people falling below the poverty line. According to official figures released by Argentina’s national statistics agency, INDEC, the poverty rate increased by three percentage points to 39.2% in the second half of 2022, with child poverty reaching 54.2%.
The poor economic situation has been largely attributed to high inflation rates, which hit 94.8% last year, making it more difficult for people to make ends meet. The cost of food has particularly skyrocketed, hitting lower middle class families the hardest. Even if inflation were to disappear today, it may be too late to recover the struggling economy and reduce the poverty level, said Eduardo Donza, a researcher at the Social Debt Observatory at Catholic University of Argentina.
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The Argentine government has implemented welfare programs to alleviate the situation. The percentage of Argentina’s population considered destitute decreased slightly to 8.1%, but without welfare programs, the destitution rate would be around 18%.
Despite the government’s efforts to ease the economic crisis, the situation has been compounded by a drought that has put even more pressure on the economy and raised costs even further. In February, the annual rate of inflation rose above 100%, exacerbating the already fragile economic situation.
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The poverty crisis has had a profound impact on communities across Argentina, none more so than in poor neighborhoods where the effects are instantly felt. For example, in the Fraga district of Buenos Aires, Graciela Gamarra, who runs a soup kitchen, has seen more people arriving to ask for food since the pandemic hit, as most have precarious jobs, making it difficult to know how much they will make each month. Rosa Guerrera, 76, was one of the people who attended the soup kitchen, saying that without it, she wouldn’t know what to do. Other Argentines share the same view, believing that politicians promise a lot but never follow through with their promises.
The situation continues to worsen, and it will be a key issue in the upcoming presidential campaigns ahead of the October elections. The opposition, in particular, has criticized the government heavily, with María Eugenia Vidal, former Buenos Aires governor, saying that more than 18 million Argentines are poor, and the situation is even worse in 2023. As for President Alberto Fernández, he has not yet said whether he will seek re-election.
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In conclusion, the poverty crisis in Argentina is at an all-time high due to high inflation rates compounded by a devastating drought. While the government has implemented welfare programs to try to alleviate the situation, it may not be enough to pull the economy and the country’s people out of poverty. As the presidential campaigns approach, it will be interesting to see what policies the different political parties will present to deal with the current economic challenges.
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