Poverty and indigence
Regarding poverty in general, the report shows that there was a very small drop. From 44.7% in 2020, it now stands at 43.8%, just 0.9 below.
According to the UCA research, in the report “Employment crisis, income poverty and structural social deprivation 2010-2021”, that 43.8% arises from the sum of two categories.
On the one hand, a 35% poverty, a sector whose income covers the Basic Food Basket (CBA) according to the Indec, but they are unable to cover other expenses such as housing, health, education, among other things.
On the other, a 8.8% indigence, as a reference to the sector of the population most relegated in socioeconomic terms. This last data is the most alarming, since it is about people who cannot satisfy basic needs of housing, food, health and education.
Taking the period 2020-2021, with the effects of the strict quarantine, it was verified that there was a slight drop in extreme poverty, from 9.8% to 8.8%. For its part, poverty went from 34.9 to 35 points in the last year.
But if the level of homelessness registered in 2019, which reached 8.4%, is compared with the updated data for 2021, the UCA report shows that homelessness increased in Argentina and exceeded the registered mark two years ago.
According to the UCA, this percentage of indigence remains “compensated” thanks to the coverage of social programs (such as AUH, subsidies, Alimentar Card, food bags, among other benefits), which allow the impact of the economic crisis to be partially absorbed .
The survey showed that in 2021, if that segment of the population had not had the help of the State, the indigence percentage would reach 18.8%, that is, ten points more. They thus highlight the importance of the benefits for the containment of the most neglected sectors.
Deterioration of the middle classes in poverty
On the other hand, the UCA report concluded that there was a fall of the middle class towards poverty. This dynamic was enhanced by the adverse economic situation that of the pandemic.
The rebound in 2021, which shows an improvement compared to 2020, is still not enough to recover what was lost from pre-pandemic levels. The improvement in income was substantially affected by inflation, thus the increases were absorbed by the increase in the cost of living.
A key point to understand the deterioration of the middle class is the ability to save. The UCA survey, from 2011 to 2021, showed that ten years ago 13.9% could do so according to their income. Today that figure dropped to 8.4%, so that fewer salaried workers are not able to do so.
Another point that the work highlighted is the trajectory of poverty, taking the 2019-2021 period as a reference. There, 36.6% were never in poverty, according to their income level. While 29.6% could not get out of that situation, which they have been facing for years and shows the structural problem of income distribution and the generation of genuine employment as a way out for reactivation and development in Argentina.
Source From: Ambito
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