Ecobreves – ARGENTINA: Indigence on the Rise

By IPS Correspondents and - - Reprint | | Print |

BUENOS AIRES, Nov 3 2002 (IPS) - Argentina's social tragedy is deepening, evidenced by the fact that extreme poverty now affects nine million people, more than a quarter of the population of 35.2 million, according to a new study by the Economy Ministry. The Argentine government defines as indigent a four-person family whose income is below 90 dollars, the monthly cost of the “basic food basket”, the minimum considered necessary to cover nutritional needs.

In Buenos Aires and surrounding areas, home to more than 12 million Argentines, the critically indigent — those who live on less than 63 dollars a month — make up 73 percent of the extremely poor population.