In November, a Buenos Aires family of 4 members (married couple and 2 sons aged 9 and 6) had to raise an income for $79,298 for not being homeless. This is 3.8% from October’s measurement and 103.6% from $38,945 in November 2021.
While the poverty line has risen to $144,840, without considering the cost of the rent. It is 4.5% higher than last October’s measurement and 95.6% higher than November 2021 values, according to data from the Directorate of Statistics and Censuses of the city of Buenos Aires.
With the cost of renting an apartment in a middle-class neighborhood, the basket of poverty It would have gone up to $200,000, very far from the wage levels of most undocumented workers and also of a large part of the registered employees.
The minor increase in the poverty line explains why both the price of meat and vegetables had slight increases or decreased in November in relation to the month of October. .
However, the biggest boosts in the food category came from Bread and Cereals (6.2%), Milk, Dairy Products and Eggs (4.7%) and Fruit (14.1%). On the other hand, the decreases in the prices of vegetables, tubers and legumes (-4.1%) helped to relieve pressure on the general index.
It is estimated that in December these variations may vary due to the greater demand linked to the holidays and the lower supply due to the drought which is affecting a large part of the foodstuffs that make up the basket of poverty.
Both the destitution basket and the poverty basket therefore register year-on-year increases higher than the average inflation in Buenos Aires. The consumer price index of the city of Buenos Aires accumulates, as of November, an interannual variation of 89.9% against a 103.6% increase in the prices of basic foods.
As a result, rising prices hit low-income families hardest, who devote 100% of their meager income to food.
Meanwhile, the official report finds that a 4-member household with an income between $144,840 and $222,481 is either vulnerable or part of a fragile middle-class sector. On the other hand, the 4-member household would need to have an income of more than $222,481 to be considered middle class. These values assume that families own their own homes. Otherwise you would have to add the rent.
Source: Clarin
