THE Latin American and Caribbean region, where a large part of the population lives in poverty, illustrates the paradox of the aging phenomenon that is of concern to experts because in the great majority of countries it is not accompanied by a better quality of life.

Perhaps within a few decades it is very likely that we will reach 120 years of age if we take into account how the global aging of the population is advancing in Latin America and the Caribbean.

In 2000, only one in every 12 persons in the region was more than 60 years of age. By 2005, it is estimated that this figure is going to increase to one in every seven, meaning that the older population in this part of the world will grow by 138%, from 42 million to 100 million. Within 20 years, in every Latin American country, at least 10% of the over-60’s population will be included within the group of 80-plus-year olds; and by 2005 that group will represent 8% of the population in several countries. The centenarians will become a representative sector within the population pyramid.

At the beginning of the 20th century life expectancy in the region was around 30 to 40 years of age and in spite of the poverty and lack of education that is the lot of millions of people, scientific progress predicts that the limits of human life can be extended to 120 years or more.

However in a great majority of countries, the social context does not seem to progress at the same rate. "What is bad is not that the population is aging, but that societies are not taking note of the phenomenon," says the Pan-American Health Organization (PAHO).

Avoiding premature death and aging is a public heath achievement, but it seems as though we are condemning the people who manage to live that long because we do not provide resources or attention so that they can live their last years in dignity.

Cuba is one of the countries where attention to the elderly and vulnerable remains an official priority. Nobody is left defenseless due to the free public health service or direct economic aid and the social security benefits received by more than one million retired persons, a task currently involving social workers. Although in comparison with the rest of the world the region continues to be young, Latin America is aging rapidly. In Chile, Costa Rica, Mexico and Venezuela, the percentage of the elderly has doubled from 2000 to 2005. The rapid emigration of young workers to the United States is accelerating this trend.

For some countries the future has already caught up with them. The nation with the most elderly population in the Western hemisphere is not Canada or the United States, but Uruguay, where more than 17% of the population is over 60 years of age.

In a couple of decades, more than half of the hemisphere’s elderly will live south of the Río Bravo, affirms the PAHO.

Experts state that this dramatic transition will cause developing nations to have serious problems in taking care of their elderly and sick population, an arduous task even for rich countries.

But unlike the United States, Europe and Japan, which are trying to maintain their health insurance companies, their retirement systems and medical attention, many poor nations will not have the basic social infrastructures for their elderly, warns the newspaper La Jornada.

In 2000, almost one third of 511 million people from Latin America and the Caribbean are less than 15 years of age, but life expectancy is almost 71 years of age. Meanwhile in Latin America birthrates have diminished, the average having fallen from six children per female during the mid-70’s to 2.5 currently.

The majority of Latin American countries are aging much more rapidly. This race against time is of concern to experts, who state that the major part of the developing world has to move against the clock to strengthen the economy and to be able to manage the colossal social spending needs of the retired population. Without programs and an infrastructure to take care of this growing sector, a demographic crisis among the aging population is looming in Latin America.