In eight countries, inequality fell more during the second subperiod than the first. The Plurinational State of Bolivia and Uruguay posted the largest reductions, of more than 3% per year. On the other hand, inequality increased in Costa Rica, Fbnama and Paraguay in the second subperiod, although only Costa Rica recorded an overall increase for the entire period. The mid-1990s marked the beginning of debate in the region on the juvenilization of poverty, an increasingly relevant concept given that children and adolescents are overrepresented among the poor, compared with other age groups. Those worst affected are usually caught in situations where insufficient household income combines with deprivation of the right to survival, shelter, education, health and nutrition, among others. In other words, they are denied the assets and opportunities to which all human beings are entitled.