Social Policy
Chile's poverty rate falls to 17.3% according to Casen 2024
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The Chilean government presented the Casen 2024 survey results, showing income poverty dropping to 17.3%, equivalent to nearly 600,000 fewer people than in 2022, under a more stringent methodology. However, the poorest households increasingly rely on state subsidies, which now make up 69% of their income. Extreme poverty stands at 6.9%, while multidimensional poverty falls to 17.7%.
The CDU economic council has proposed tax cuts and reductions in social benefits in its "Agenda for Workers," including removing dental coverage from health insurance. The plans face sharp criticism from politicians and associations, who label them unsocial and harmful to creating a two-tier medical system. Even within the CDU, there is discontent.
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Colombia's National Public Contracting Agency, Colombia Compra Eficiente, has released a draft decree to boost the involvement of people with disabilities in state procurement processes. Pushed by President Gustavo Petro, it aims to implement a 2013 law long overdue. Director Cristóbal Padilla stressed it as a duty to uphold fundamental rights.
In a Le Monde op-ed, economist Rémi Jeannin and historian Arnaud Pautet warn against the misleading narrative of France's 'social debt' promoted by BPI director Nicolas Dufourcq. They argue that isolating the social portion of the public deficit makes little sense, as it is artificially created by the state. Their critique targets Dufourcq's book claiming 2,000 billion euros of debt stem from unfunded social benefits over forty years.
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At the closing of the Departments' Assizes in Albi on November 14, 2025, Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu outlined a 'decentralization act' and announced a bill to create a unique social allocation in December. This reform aims to merge several social benefits to achieve management savings. He also pledged to double the departments' safeguard fund to 600 million euros.
A new study led by La Trobe University reveals the widespread damage caused by men's heavy drinking to women and children around the world. The research, drawing from 78 academic papers, highlights risks like violence and economic strain, especially in areas with high gender inequality. Experts urge gender-responsive alcohol policies to protect vulnerable families.
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Social Democrats' Katrin Stjernfeldt Jammeh warns that the government's new benefits reform hits poor child families hardest and risks increasing poverty. The reform, presented in September, aims to boost incentives for work but faces sharp criticism in a debate on SVT's Agenda. Social services minister Anna Tenje defends the changes as necessary to break cycles of exclusion.