Families, poverty and social inequality in Latin America: a comparative view

This text analyzes the repercussions of different demographic and economic scenarios on families' well-being. The authors chose a set of countries, which, at the beginning of the 21st century, show significant differences in the degree of progress of the demographic transition and levels of socio-demographic development. On the base of special tabulations of the household surveys compiled by CEPAL, the authors compared Argentina and Uruguay, which are at more advanced stages of the first demographic transition; Brazil and Mexico, currently at a less advanced stage and Honduras and Nicaragua, which are at an earlier stage of this transition. A comparison of the family and socioeconomic features of the set of countries chosen reveals different social scenarios enabling the authors to show how the intersection between socio-demographic and socio-economic dimensions has a different effect on the organization of the family sphere and forms of coexistence.