Overview

• On July 20, Mexico’s Catholic Church publicly raised alarms over sustained natality decline across Latin America based on the new REDIFAM report.
• The report warns that only Paraguay and Bolivia maintain fertility above the replacement rate, while Mexico, Chile, Argentina and Colombia now fall below it.
• It highlights a drop in households with children alongside growth in single-person and non-marital unions, reflecting deeper cultural shifts.
• Invoking Pope Francis’s Amoris Laetitia, church leaders urged comprehensive public policies to support parents with healthcare access, work–life balance and dignified housing.
• The church cautioned that failure to reverse these trends will accelerate population aging and strain health, pension and care systems.