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ECONOMIST Thu, 01 Dec 2011 16:06:02 GMT
POVERTY may be rising in Europe and the United States, places that thought they had conquered it, but in Latin America it continues to fall. In its annual estimate released this week, the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) reckons that 30.4% of the region’s population is living below national poverty lines. This not only maintains a steady fall (from a peak of 48.4% in 1990), but is the lowest figure since more or less reliable statistics began to be collected in the 1970s—and probably ever (see chart).True, population growth means that in absolute terms the numbers in poverty have not fallen as far: 174m in 2011, down from 225m in 2002 but up from 136m in 1980. But ECLAC also confirms another positive trend detected by other researchers: although Latin American remains the world’s most unequal place, income inequality in the region has begun to decline, too. Of the 18 countries for which there are data, only in the Dominican Republic...
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GUARDIAN Mon, 07 Nov 2011 09:20:39 GMT
Ruling Sandinista party declares victory as former revolutionary Daniel Ortega takes massive early lead
One-time Sandinista revolutionary Daniel Ortega took a big early lead in presidential elections on Sunday, amid reports of protests and international observers being blocked from voting stations.
Ortega, the incumbent and favourite, had 66% of the votes compared to 25% for his nearest challenger, Fabio Gadea. Conservative Arnoldo Alemán, a former president, was a distant third with 7%.
The result came with roughly 7% of the votes counted, but the electoral council president, Roberto Rivas, said a quick count representative of the entire vote gave Ortega a large advantage as well. The methodology of the quick count was not immediately available, however.
The ruling Sandinista party declared victory and caravans of thousands of supporters flooded the streets shouting: "Daniel! Daniel!"
International observers reported problems with access to voting stations and with one........
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| Full List of Central America articles |