The UCA reports a decrease in poverty, yet claims it may be underestimated compared to official statistics by Indec, highlighting persistent deprivations especially among households with children.
The Universidad Católica Argentina (UCA) has released a report revealing a decline in poverty and indigence rates, particularly in light of recent economic challenges characterized by devaluation and skyrocketing inflation in 2024. Despite this reported improvement in income indicators, UCA's Observatorio de la Deuda Social cautions against overestimating the recovery, suggesting that if official basket measures had been accurately adjusted, current poverty levels could actually be higher than reported. In their latest analysis, poverty measured by income has dropped to 36.2%, yet the report emphasizes that this figure does not fully capture the ongoing economic challenges faced by many Argentinians.
The findings outlined in UCA's report, titled "Estabilización, mejoras sociales y desigualdades persistentes," signal a need for critical attention to social inequalities that continue to plague the nation. While the data suggests an optimistic trend regarding overall poverty rates, the persistence of deprivation within households—especially those with children—raises important questions about the effectiveness of current social safety nets and economic policies. The report calls into question the adequacy of income recovery and highlights the necessity for more nuanced measures that reflect the true state of poverty in Argentina.
Overall, the UCA's analysis paints a complex picture of the socioeconomic landscape in Argentina, where improvements are juxtaposed with underlying vulnerabilities. Policymakers are urged to consider these findings to ensure that economic recovery strategies not only reduce poverty as measured by income but also address the deeper systemic issues that contribute to persistent inequality and hardship, particularly among the most vulnerable segments of the population.
