Inflation Is Wiping Out Latin America’s Middle Class

Governments globally are coming under immense pressure to cushion the blow of surging food and fuel prices. Across Latin America, a burgeoning middle-class is seeing its prospects eroded. The response risks igniting a tinderbox.

From Mexico to Brazil, persistent high inflation is widening the gap between rich and poor — in what is already the world’s most unequal region. It’s stoking political upheaval that could be a foretaste of what lies ahead as policy makers the world over struggle to meet demands to increase social spending.