Although the country is an important agricultural and industrial power, with the strongest economy in Latin America, poverty is widespread in Brazil. Despite recent improvements in income distribution, the issues of income inequality and social exclusion remain at the root of rural poverty. Brazil is a middle-income country and is rich in natural resources, but poverty levels and human development indicators in poor rural areas are comparable to those in the poorest countries of Latin America. In the country as a whole, about 35 percent of the population lives in poverty, on less than two dollars a day. But in Brazil’s rural areas poverty affects about 51 percent of the population.
Since approximately 19 percent of the total population, or about 36 million people, live in rural areas, this means that Brazil has about 18 million poor rural people, the largest number in the Western Hemisphere. And Brazil’s North-East region has the single largest concentration of rural poverty in Latin America.
The poorest and most vulnerable groups among Brazil's rural poor people are women, young people and indigenous peoples. And child labor is still common among poor households in Brazil.
Lack of access to formal education and skills training is another major cause of rural poverty. In recent years the government has invested large amounts in resources to broaden the scope of technical assistance services and facilitate access to them, especially for poor rural people.
http://www.ruralpovertyportal.org/web/guest/country/home/tags/brazil#
It seems to me that Brazil is caught in somewhat of a vicous cycle. To emerge from poverty, education is essential. However, to build schools, funding is needed.
ReplyDeleteVery informative post, i hope Brazil and the rest of the countries overpass poverty. Like Colombia.
ReplyDelete