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Has China's economic success brought about Brazil's economic failure? Or should we look elsewhere for the causes behind the disaster into which the South American nation is currently sinking? There is a path out of the rentier trap, but it is narrow. Brazilian administrations have preferred not to pursue loans, convinced that raw materials prices would keep rising, and that even without making structural changes, it would be possible to enact policies designed to reduce the wage gap and mitigate poverty, with no concern for declining competitiveness, and a blind eye to the top 1%, which is becoming wealthier. An increasingly asymmetrical relationship with China has made room for crisis, but not growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Having considered differing definitions of poverty for developed and developing countries, poverty in Latin America is analyzed, especially rural poverty in Brazil. Once the region's economic situation during the 1980s and 1990s and the implications of this for poverty are considered, the objective is to develop a microeconomic analysis of poverty without abandoning the macroeconomic approach. This leads to a study of the various Conditional Cash Transfer Programs implemented in Argentina, Brazil and Mexico and a discussion of the impact of monetary transfers, social costs and fiscal policies in the evolution of poverty. Finally, we conclude that the efficacy of these policies depends on the specific needs of the rural and urban poor, because what is important is reducing economic and social inequalities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]