Background
- Introduction
- Challenges to Progress
- Oxfam in CAMEXCA
CHALLENGES TO PROGRESS
Sixty-five million people—more than half of the population of the six Central American countries where Oxfam works—live in poverty. More than 30 million live on less than $1 a day. A variety of factors contribute to the poverty that is so prevalent in this area.
The people of El Salvador, Nicaragua, and Guatemala are all rebuilding from war. Despite hard work to strengthen democratic institutions, corruption and oppression stifle development, and there are few viable opportunities for citizen participation. A few elite businesses control the media, leaving the poor with no voice and a skewed presentation of the news.
In Mexico and Central America, indigenous people and women are often denied the political and legal rights granted to other citizens. They have limited access to government services, economic opportunity, legal representation, clean water, healthcare, and education.
Large sectors of the Central American and Mexican population are farmers, but they lack the credit and financial services necessary to start or expand their businesses. Even for those who are able to successfully start small enterprises, physical constraints (transportation) and regulatory constraints (sanitary requirements for foreign buyers) limit their earnings.
The US embargo on Cuba continues to limit its opportunities and the opportunities of the rest of the region, which could benefit from trade with the island nation.
Perhaps the most critical challenge facing the region is the global coffee crisis which has devastated farming communities. Prices have dropped so low, growers can’t cover their costs, and many don’t have the option of switching to another crop. At least 500,000 people who have lost their jobs in Central America due to the downturn in coffee prices.