Rethinking poverty

My recent introduction to Latin America via some great documentaries got me thinking about how on earth are these countries poor? They are naturally blessed and have plenty of food and land and yet considered poor. This brings us to the question who is deciding poverty and how. Higher education, technology, material goods may be deciding factors. But if these people are eating plenty of organic sea food and meat, have non polluted air, and freedom of expression even in how they dress, they are no way poor in my opinion. In fact these countries must try to hold on to these virtues as much as possible.