Ageing and living conditiones of older persons in Argentina: An analysis from a rights perspective

Abstract

This chapter describes the characteristics of the country's demographic ageing and analyses the living conditions of older persons, focusing on their heterogeneity, inequality and social asymmetries from a rights perspective. Taking into account that point l of the general principles applicable to the Inter-American Convention on the Protection of the Human Rights of Older Persons is precisely "The differential approach for the effective enjoyment of the rights of older persons".It is understood that the ageing process is not identical for all the people who go through it; differences arise according to the social sector to which they belong, their level of education, their degree of functional autonomy, their gender, the workloads they have had to bear in the course of their lives or the cultural style of the environmental and social context in which they have spent their lives. In that context, socioeconomic and demographic characteristics are analyzed: personal, family and social participation variables of older people.It is observed that the lack of equity in people's possibilities and opportunities depends to a large extent on attributes specific to a certain social sector. In this respect, the impact of certain indicators on the quality of life of the different groups of older people, such as self-perception of health (the higher the social position, the better the self-perception of good health, and vice versa) or the need for care (the lower the social position, the greater the need for care, and vice versa), is verified.It concludes with proposals for an inclusive social policy for older people that could be applicable in similar social contexts in other countries.