- Poverty limits learning opportunities, integrating useful tools for the future. Children living in poverty access lower quality schools, in addition to having less access to health and prevention services, exposing them to exploitation or child labor.
- The culture of inequality and “aporophobia”, which is the rejection of poverty and poor people, increases the accumulated exclusions that affect the life projects of millions of girls, boys and adolescents.
Poverty in Latin America and the Caribbean has a clear intergenerational bias: the incidence of poverty for the group of children and adolescents up to 14 years of age is 19 percentage points higher than that of the group of people between 35 and 44 years of age, and 31 percentage points more with respect to people of 65 years or more.[i]
To reflect on the impacts of economic inequality in the lives of children and adolescents in Latin America and the Caribbean, the initiative Weaving Childhood Nets conducted a Webinar, with the participation of Juan Martín Pérez García, Coordinator of the #TejiendoRedesInfancia initiative, Rodolfo Mendoza of Equidad in Peru and Orlando Scoppetta, Researcher in Colombia.
The culture of inequality and "aporophobia", which is the rejection of poverty and poor people, increases the accumulated exclusions that affect the life projects of millions of girls, boys and adolescents, said Juan Martín Pérez. In addition to pointing out that in Latin America 8 out of 10 indigenous children face external poverty, just because they are indigenous.
Rodolfo Mendoza, specified that the Covid-19 pandemic has made visible the situation of monetary poverty and inequality experienced by children and vulnerable groups, who are discriminated against based on ethnicity or geographical condition.
For the researcher Orlando Scoppetta, it is necessary to modify the belief that poverty is inevitable, since it represents a difficulty for the effective realization of human rights and gives rise to the limitation of human capacities and effects on the hope of development, well-being and quality of life. life.
There is a record of social narratives, about toxic positivism, which refer to poverty as a result of the lack of effort or work of mothers and fathers to generate the conditions and sufficient income to place children on equal terms, Juan Martín Pérez mentioned.
In order to face the obligations of the State in the face of the situation of poverty experienced by childhoods in the region, Rodolfo Mendoza suggested that from civil society and academia it is possible to propose alternatives or public policies. "The role of the state must change to a more active one that develops more egalitarian and well-being strategies that reduce inequality gaps", He said.
From the opinion of Orlando Scoppetta, there are four fundamental elements that must be analyzed to understand the impact of poverty on the lives of children. It is necessary to carry out an analysis of the historical and cultural context, of the accelerated technological transformation that puts the most vulnerable in a condition of inequality, the structural inequality present in various areas and the role of the State as a guarantor of rights.
Political speeches do not necessarily result in public policies, therefore, it is essential that citizens move from the role of spectators to participants, reported Juan Martín Pérez.
Regarding the situation of poverty in Peru, Rodolfo Mendoza pointed out that more than 50% of workers are engaged in informal employment, which means that they bring few economic resources to their family and that sometimes they are insufficient to pay for access to basic services such as education and health, which causes girls and boys at an early age to join activities of child labor to contribute to the family economy.
For Juan Martín Pérez, Latin America is the region with the most disparities affecting children. “We have advanced in the formulation of legislation on the rights of children, but despite everything the disparities remain strong, such as economic and social ones. Girls and boys living in poverty who have few opportunities to make a quantum leap in their lives and that their next generations can get out of poverty "he mused.
The specialists agreed that poverty limits learning opportunities, the integration of useful tools for the future. Children living in poverty access lower quality schools, in addition to having less access to health and prevention services, exposing them to exploitation or child labor.
In order to face the economic inequality that girls and boys face in Latin America, civil society can promote better experiences on public spending in our states, where the citizen is the axis, as an alternative to inequality, said Orlando Scoppetta.
Finally, Juan Martín recalled that the State should promote ethical spending police, where the allocation of resources also improves the living conditions of children.
If you wish to have more information on the subject, How does economic inequality affect children and adolescents in Latin America and the Caribbean?, Please request an interview with Juan Martín Pérez, Regional Coordinator of the Initiative Weaving Childhood Networks for Latin America and Caribbean.
The broadcast of this program is available here:
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Ollin.TV is an Internet television channel created as part of Weaving Childhood Nets in Latin America and the Caribbean an initiative co-financed by the European Union, which seeks to contribute to the strengthening and consolidation of a platform for the defense of children and adolescents in 20 countries of Latin America and the Caribbean.
The content of this publication is the sole responsibility of Children's Rights Mexico AC / Weaving Childhood Networks and in no case should it consider that it reflects the views of the European Union.
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[i] UNICEF https://www.unicef.org/lac/pobreza-infantil