Charity in Latin America: Tradition and Modernity

Abstract

The article deals with the historical traditions of charity in Latin America and their relationship with the main organizational forms of modern charity (religious, corporate, private, international). The author examines the main goals of modern Latin American charitable initiatives and the possibilities of the influence of charitable organizations on social changes in the region, and also analyzes the links between the sphere of charity, government institutions and civil societies in Latin American countries. The analysis carried out allows us to conclude that at the present stage, the scale of Latin American charity has grown, despite the difficulties and regional specifics, and the range of social problems it solves has also expanded. However, most of the philanthropic activity remains dispersed and relatively ineffective when it comes to sustainable development and activities aimed at qualitative social change. The existing positive examples in the field of charity cannot yet become widespread practices due to the lack of widespread support for charitable initiatives aimed at reducing social gaps, difficulties in interacting with the public sector and difficulties in coordinating ways to solve social problems in the Latin American region.