Growth, poverty and social protection in Paraguay

Abstract

The social protection and social policies depends on the historical trajectories of institutions and the processes of "negotiation and articulation" between the State and the other actors, as well as the definition of social priorities and intervention mechanisms. The main responsible for attending the needs and demands of the population, is without a doubt, the State. In Paraguay, although there has always been a strong state and controller, which has marked presence in all areas, the actions and strategies have been mostly economic, which have not been adequately articulated with social policies, so it still exists an important social debt that, more than paying off, reproduces and generates serious losses in economic growth and social development. Although it is true, there are advances in social indicators, among which are the reduction of poverty, the increase in employment and productivity, as a result of the state effort, still a large percentage of the population lives excluded and exposed to poverty and vulnerability. Given this, the State, through the social protection, has the commitment and responsibility to provide attention and minimum conditions for access to social services and the exercise of their rights.

Keywords

• social protection
• low productivity
• informality
• poverty
• inequality
• gender focus
• rights and citizenship.