pobres

Pobres is the plural form of the Spanish adjective and noun pobre. As an adjective, it describes people or things that lack sufficient resources or wealth, for example, familias pobres. As a noun, los pobres refers to people who live in poverty or who are economically disadvantaged.

Etymology and usage: pobre comes from Latin pauper and has cognates in other Romance languages, such as portuguese pobre and french pauvre. In everyday speech, "los pobres" can carry a neutral or sympathetic tone depending on context, but many scholars and policy discussions prefer neutral terminology such as personas en situación de pobreza or personas vulnerables to reduce stigma.

Socioeconomic concept: Poverty is a multidimensional condition that goes beyond income alone. It encompasses limited access to food, housing, healthcare, education, and opportunities, as well as vulnerability to economic or environmental shocks. Poverty is measured in various ways, including income-based thresholds, relative poverty standards, and multidimensional poverty indices (MPI), which combine several indicators to assess lived deprivation.

Policy and discourse: Reducing poverty involves social protection, wages and employment programs, access to quality education and healthcare, affordable housing, and targeted assistance for the vulnerable. International development, government policy, and civil society often address poverty through programs aimed at expanding capabilities, improving resilience, and promoting inclusive growth.

Geographic and temporal variation: Poverty levels vary widely by country and over time. Global patterns show substantial progress in reducing extreme poverty in recent decades, but disparities persist, necessitating continued attention to economic opportunity, social safety nets, and equitable development.