New subsidy. More than 70% of Peru’s poor live in urban areas: in the case of extreme poverty, it rose from 1% in 2019 to 3.2% in 2023. 45% of this population is in cities.
The government of President Dina Boluarte announced a bi-monthly cash transfer for households living in extreme poverty in urban areas starting in 2025.
During her address to the nation, the head of state stated that the transfer will be “progressive” and “temporary,” after monetary poverty in Peru rose to 29% last year.
“We have decided to implement a temporary and progressive intervention that will provide a bi-monthly monetary transfer to urban households in extreme poverty to contribute to their food basket,” he announced.
The Ministries of Economy and Finance (MEF) and Development and Social Inclusion (Midis) will be responsible for targeting the new subsidy, as well as designing the strategy for its delivery.
In numbers, the population living in extreme poverty in 2023 was 1,922,000 people (5.7%), that is, 249,000 more people than in 2022 (1,673,000 people), between urban and rural areas.
Furthermore, more than 70% of Peru’s poor live in urban areas: in the case of extreme poverty, it rose from 1% in 2019 to 3.2% in 2023. 45% of the extremely poor are in cities.
The monetary transfer promised by Boluarte in his message is aimed at compensating the basic food basket of the extremely poor (S/251 per inhabitant). According to INEI, between 2023 and 2021 real spending on food fell by more than 8% in real terms in urban areas.
Source: Larepublica
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