The Covid-19 pandemic has pushed millions of Mexicans into poverty, according to official data released Thursday, August 5.
These new poor live in regions where tourism, the main source of income, has been at half-mast since the onset of the health crisis.
The number of people living in poverty increased by 3.8 million between 2018 and 2020, reaching 55.7 million - 43.9% of the population, according to the National Council for the Evaluation of Social Development Policy.
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The number of people living in extreme poverty increased by 2.1 million to 10.8 million, or 8.5 percent of the population, the council said. The greatest increase was observed in the state of Quintana Roo, in the south-east of the country, where there are many Caribbean resorts. The percentage of the population living in poverty rose from 30.2% in 2018 to 47.5% in 2020, due to the desertion of tourists. "
The health emergency due to Covid-19 has worsened the challenges of social development policy in all areas, mainly in terms of income, health, education and nutrition for the Mexican population
," said the council. .
The Mexican economy contracted 8.5% in 2020, one of the worst recessions in its history. The country of 126 million people has an official death toll of more than 242,000 deaths from the coronavirus - the fourth highest in the world - and is now facing a third wave of contamination. Mexico has again crossed the threshold of 20,000 daily Covid-19 contaminations these days. The country has 2.9 million people infected, while the number of deaths stands at 242,547, including 611 in the last 24 hours.
