Prosperous Uruguay faces escalating homelessness crisis
Prosperous Uruguay faces escalating homelessness crisis

Compared to its Latin American neighbors, Uruguay is a prosperous country with high income and low poverty rates.

But in the capital, Montevideo, a rapid increase in homelessness is denting this image.

Uruguay's Ministry of Social Development attributes the rise to increase drug use and the country's prison system, with its high rates of incarceration and inmate release.