THE REALITY OF SOCIAL PROBLEMS IN LATIN AMERICA. (UNIT 15)

The countries that make up Latin America are marked by inequality, unemployment, exclusion, and poverty, and this has caused the loss of confidence in the government. This reality is a consequence of inefficient policies which aims so as to embrace globalization, but that don’t take into account the economic and cultural indicators of the social problems mentioned above.

Further, it should be mentioned that the income received from these decisions is not significant either. In the best case, it causes a disproportionate growth among the regions of each country. This is the trend of recent years; that has confirmed a pretty unfortunate scenario in Latin America.

In this way, the loss of legitimacy that public institutions go through is the result of following foreign guidelines, which have not been shown so as to have the same results. However, there are exceptions such as Costa Rica and Uruguay, where approval rates on the performance of their democratic system exceed those perceived in the European Union. This is an example of governments that have managed to implement advanced social protection systems in order to obtain better benefits.

In order to discuss this problem, it is necessary to analyze its conceptual framework, based on all the information at hand about its variables, causes, and implications. This means that purely quantitative research must be complemented by studying the cultural and sociological aspects of each country.

On the other hand, it is alarming that the few achievements made come into conflict with all kinds of obstacles that arise from the same government while limiting the progress and development of a nation. Some of them are related to corruption cases, where private interests come before the needs of the community. This gets worse, when seeking to maintain a privileged situation, leaders create institutions that supposedly aim to help citizens.

Another social problem that characterizes many countries in Latin America is the Organized Crime. In this way, some families that seek to get ahead in an honest way have no way of facing the threats they receive, being forced to make payments in order to ensure their safety. When trying to get help from the police force that corresponds to their area, they meet with law enforcement officers who actually work together with these mafias.

In conclusion, it only remains to say that social problems are the result of political systems that are plagued by corruption or that are incapable of proposing effective reforms. Thus, they end up making and distributing misery, which seriously affects people with fewer resources and perpetuates inequality. People must understand their situation in order to identify these signs. If most of the people of middle and lower class understood this situation, this would not be a subject of debate so that it can be analyzed.

Continue Reading...

CHRONIC POVERTY IN LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN (UNIT 14)

The economic crisis that some European countries went through at the end of the last decade was the result of serious problems in the financial, real estate, and production areas. In Spain, for example, it was a situation comparable to the years after the Second World War, with a very high number of unemployed and a government that was not in a position to combat these problems. However, a recent report by the World Bank shows that several countries in Latin America and the Caribbean are still immersed in an alarming reality, with a high level of poverty in rural areas.

The last report of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) describes an increase in poverty and extreme poverty in the region since 2014. Until that date, poverty had decreased gradually since 2002. Nevertheless, that trend has changed in recent years. 186 million people are living in poverty in the region. ECLAC points out that this figure represents 30.7% of the population, an increase of 1% compared to the previous year.

As demonstrated in the report of ECLAC, the causes of poverty at the individual level are related to the aptitudes and opportunities that each individual has to guarantee their basic needs. With this in mind, governments should promote the implementation of decent jobs with adequate remuneration, so that people affected by poverty can cover aspects such as food, shelter, education, and health.

As can be seen in this post, there are many statistics and data on this problem, but in reality, it is not statistics that will solve the problem. Furthermore, studies conducted by UNICEF suggest that more than a third of the population in Africa dies because of hunger. Situation that seems very far from our region, but if poverty continues increasing, it would be something that could happen.

As a summary, it is important that in Latin America and the Caribbean efforts and resources be devoted to combating inequality, beyond interpreting numbers on poverty levels and concentrating on the public debate about it. Economic growth must be accompanied by policies focused on social justice where all people can access basic needs and have the opportunity to move forward.

Continue Reading...

DELINQUENCY IN EL SALVADOR (UNIT 13)

Delinquency in our country has increased in recent years. Many people attribute this fact to the lack of protection and security provided to victims. The high homicide rates accompanied by high levels of incidence of other violent crimes (domestic violence, theft, extortion, etc.), affect the daily life and quality of life of people, and it has a negative impact on human development and the consolidation of democratic governance in the country.

The growth of illicit groups is one of the most worrisome issues, and it has been causing greater fear in the population. Some people have changed their address due to death threats they have received from gangs. Others have given up their jobs for the same reason. Security in the country has weakened proportionally to the growth of gangs.

Many sociologists and experts in the matter assure that everything is part of an organized political network that seeks the control of the population through the fear. However, no one has been able to prove it, but the truth is that delinquency has affected many Salvadoran families. Further, children and young people have been the most affected by this situation. Heads of state have tried many ways to fight violence in our country. Some have obtained better results than others, but none has managed to eliminate this problem completely.

Not everything is the responsibility of governments, we as citizens can also help to establish the society. Discrimination, marginalization, and lack of support from family members has caused that many young people leave their schools to join the gangs. Therefore, it is the duty of parents to ensure that their children, nephews, and close friends have a good mental and emotional health that allows them to enjoy their adolescence away from the problems.

To effectively face the delinquency, we must form responsible parents, we must also build a new society that edifies better families, and through them to citizens whose principle is the permanent practice of moral values, love of neighbor, and the vocation of good in order to achieve faith, temperance, and solidity that we need in order to solve the evils that overwhelm us and stagnant us as a society.

In conclusion, we can say that delinquency in El Salvador is an issue that affects us all equally, and it is everyone's duty to contribute in order to improving our reality. There have been many victims of violence and too many injured. To have a better country, we must be united and be supportive. We have already faced more difficult situations in the past and for this reason we must believe that we are able to achieve it once again.

Continue Reading...