Global Issues — Poverty, Inequality, and Human Rights

Sharing the Planet is not only about nature; it is also about justice. This lesson addresses los problemas globales (global issues): la pobreza (poverty), la desigualdad (inequality), and los derechos humanos (human rights). The grammar spotlight falls on the impersonal and passive se, a construction that pervades formal and journalistic Spanish.

Load your vocabulary with precision. Key nouns are la pobreza (poverty), la riqueza (wealth), la brecha (the gap, e.g., la brecha entre ricos y pobres, the gap between rich and poor), la injusticia (injustice), la discriminación (discrimination), el hambre (hunger — note it takes el though it is feminine), la exclusión social (social exclusion), and la ayuda humanitaria (humanitarian aid). Verbs include discriminar (to discriminate), explotar (to