Poverty in Central America: political agenda, social demands and national projects

Abstract

The development opportunities of the Central American region have been conditioned by various events of a natural, social, cultural, and political nature, a region in which its population harbors deficit social indicators in relation to poverty and social inequalities. While it is true that the fight against poverty is formally a priority on government agendas, it is relevant to analyze whether these political initiatives have become public policies and ultimately if they have an impact on the improvement of the living conditions of people in a sustainable way. During the last 15 years, the countries of this region have experienced a reduction in poverty, however, high rates of their populations remain mired in it, a more timely discussion is broken down from this overview, the role that governments have played in its programmatic agendas, and to what extent the traditional exercise of power constitutes an obstacle to face this problem. So, addressing poverty not as a strictly econometric problem, but as a phenomenon linked to the conception and exercise of political power is what guides the reflexive interest of this essay.