In a country known across Latin America for its economic growth and financial integration, 

inequality remains Mexico's Achilles' heel. UNICEF estimates that more than 20 million children and adolescents live in poverty in Mexico with more than five million living in extreme poverty. Most of the children on the streets point to family disintegration and physical abuse as the drivers for their homelessness, but poverty seems to be at the root of most of their stories. 

In pure economic terms, income poverty is when a family's income does not reach a threshold set by the federal government that differs between countries.

 poverty has become an international concern, however, there is no international consensus on guidelines for measuring poverty.