In the past few years, the debate around inequality has resurged strongly at a global level. Although many have acknowledged that extreme inequality has deep implications for human rights, there is controversy surrounding how the search for greater equality should be inserted into the human rights agenda.
In Latin American countries, there has been a long-standing debate around inequality fueled by deep and persistent social and economic disparities. Latin America continues to be the most unequal region on the planet, and high concentrations of income and wealth among a few families is a distinctive trait. As ECLAC has stressed, this characteristic has deep historical roots due to a pattern of development that has perpetuated socioeconomic disparities based on racial and ethnic origins, gender and social class.
This debate has sparked recent initiatives seeking to align fiscal policy with human rights principles. These initiatives have prioritized, up until now, confronting policies that cut public spending (health, social programs, education), more than policies around taxation.
