Who are society’s most vulnerable in Latin America ?
There are, of course, different groups of people, but an important one is the one that includes those who, over the last 10-15 years of rapid growth, have not been able to overcome poverty. Market forces and economic development have boosted millions of people out of poverty in most Latin American countries, but those who have not been so fortunate are very vulnerable.
People lack education, access to markets, and state services – they are also under the control of state competitors, such as gangs, cartels and paramilitaries, and are forced to work in informal sectors, far from the main urban centres. In Colombia, for example, a 2010 ELCA survey found that 80% of those in the lowest quartile were still in the lowest quartile in 2016. Only 17% moved up into the third quartile. So it’s this population who are the most vulnerable today.
