Draft first regional report on the implementation of the Montevideo Consensus on Population and Development

Chapter III
Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC)
Poverty is multidimensional, and so were the factors in its decline between 2002 and 2014. On the basis
of the results analysed, ECLAC (2017c, p. 83) notes that poverty reduction has been associated with economic
growth but has also been a result of the social protection and labour market policies implemented in the
countries. In fact, in recent years a number of countries in the region have developed comprehensive poverty
reduction strategies aimed at linking cash transfers for families with children or older members with universal
access to social services and the labour and productive inclusion of young people and adults of working age
(ECLAC, 2017b, p. 85). There has also been a great increase in pension system membership and contributions,
which has lifted many families out of poverty and extreme poverty. For this reason, when the countries submit
their national Montevideo Consensus <strong>report</strong>s, they present their social protection programmes as important
mechanisms for reducing poverty and inequality.
Some of the most common types of social protection programmes in almost all the countries are conditional
transfer programmes, which have played an important role in reducing poverty in the region. These programmes
do not always have the same scope, coverage or impact, but they are always very important for the most
vulnerable population groups, especially at times of economic crisis, being sometimes the only mechanisms
preventing large sections of the population from falling into extreme poverty. Peru’s national <strong>report</strong>, for example,
points to a steady decline in levels of extreme poverty and total poverty between 2013 and 2016 thanks to the
social programmes implemented as part of the “Include to Grow” National Development and Social Inclusion
Strategy, which is the national policy for social inclusion and development (Government of Peru, 2018).
Social protection programmes in the areas of health, education, housing and basic infrastructure should
also be highlighted. The <strong>report</strong>s of countries where poverty has been reduced detail reforms made to health
and pension systems, in some cases involving non-contributory transfers, and to the education system with a
view to increasing not only the coverage but the quality of education. Uruguay, for example, has <strong>report</strong>ed an
improvement in poverty indicators and highlighted the implementation of non-contributory cash transfer instruments
(family allowances under the Equity Plan, the “Uruguay Social” card) that have extended the coverage of public
transfers to the most disadvantaged households. Chile mentions social support programmes that include the
“Chile Seguridades y Oportunidades” subsystem and its components, designed for families in situations of
extreme poverty and vulnerability. Furthermore, country <strong>report</strong>s (those of Chile, Costa Rica and Guatemala,
among others) highlight training and skills programmes for vulnerable young people, <strong>first</strong> job programmes and
programmes targeted at specific population groups. Bearing in mind the levels of inequality in the region and what
is still a large percentage of young people in the age structure, these programmes are essential for breaking the
generational cycle of poverty and dealing with population ageing, which is already occurring in some countries
and will carry on intensifying over the coming years, as discussed in section C of this chapter.
To monitor actions intended to break the cycles of exclusion and inequality referred to in priority measures
1, 2 and 7 of the Montevideo Consensus, use is made of income inequality figures prepared from the Gini
index 7 of household income (<strong>regional</strong> follow-up indicator A.5 of the Montevideo Consensus on Population
and Development) for Latin America and the Caribbean 8 (see figure III.3). Although poverty levels in some
countries (mainly in South America) rose over the most recent period, income inequality continued to decline
on aggregate in the region, from 0.476 in 2011/2012 to 0.471 in 2013/2014 and 0.467 in 2015/2016. 9 As in the
previous decade, however, the rate of decrease tended to tail off (ECLAC, 2017c).
7
The values of the Gini index range from 0 (no inequality) to 1 (maximum inequality).
8
The most recent Gini index values for the Caribbean countries all predate the Montevideo Consensus; nonetheless, the scale of inequality in the region makes it
important to record the figures available, and the countries are encouraged to acquire the capability to produce these data.
9
Aggregate figures for Latin America (figure III.3A), which does not include most Caribbean countries.
46