Reference no: EM133449359

Questions:

1. Its interesting that the poverty rate has been declining in Latin America yet in every depiction of Latin America, its always about the unchanging economic state. Latin America is still seen as a poor continent regardless of the economic growth, and I think this is attributed to hispanic racism and classism from outside perspectives. Its also disappointing to see that 2/3s of Latin Americans can be referred as "non-poor" as an economic definition. What makes someone "non-poor" and not "wealthy"? In comparison to being wealthy, wouldnt they still be poor? This definition is troubling.

2. The way the author gave a scenario to provide insight on the situation allowed me to truly understand how some families do not have a choice and are put at a disadvantage due to their living situation. Many people view the urban lifestyle as an improvement to the countryside, however, this is a flawed way of thinking and more people should be educated on how urban expansion harms people in poverty.

3. This is an important point to consider and keep in mind while reading the rest of the text. Even though this chapter is examining poverty within all of Latin America, the authors make it clear that a country's poverty line should be used solely to measure poverty or progress within that specific country, not to measure it in comparison to another nation. While Latin American countries share a similar history and certain cultural elements, each country is still its own place and has its own economy, living conditions and infrastructure that influences where its poverty line is and how many people live above and below it.