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1. Half of Argentina, 18 M, now in poverty
From: Barry Stoller <bstoller at utopia2000.org>
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Message: 1
Date: Fri, 10 May 2002 17:35:09 - 0400
From: Barry Stoller <bstoller at utopia2000.org> Subject: Half of Argentina, 18 M, now in poverty
AFP. 10 May 2002. Half of Argentines now living in poverty: official.
BUENOS AIRES -- Half of Argentina's 36 million citizens now live in poverty, after nearly four years of recession took a turn for the worse last month, according to officials.
Director of Argentina's statistics service INDEC, Juan Carlos Del Bello, said the ratio of people now classed officially as poor is now at 18 million.
In just two months, the ranks of the poor have swollen by four million due to inflation, higher unemployment and frozen salaries, Del Bello said in a television interview.
"The dramatic increase in the number of poor people is due to the value of the basic shopping basket increasing by 35.2 percent since last December. Many of the new poor became so during April, because food prices last month rose by 17.7 percent," Del Bello said.
Of the lowest income families, food purchases account for 46 percent of spending. The hike in the price of basic food like flour, cooking oil and meat has led to a "dramatic" growth in poverty and abject poverty, he said.
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Barry Stoller http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ProletarianNews ProletarianNews will be suspended 11 and 12 May, returning online Monday morning (US Eastern time).