Marco and plot..spoilers

I was a little confused by this too but even though people live in poverty, there still must be people who by old family (Marco) or through fear/violence (Gerson) have bigger places to live. Not everyone is equal on the Inland; there's classism even there.

I think the Alvarez family was probably wealthy by inland standards- but still, nothing compared to the offshore. Whether the caretaker was being paid or not, I imagine she was there out of loyalty to the family and felt a personal responsibility to raise Marco.

I think some people inland are “better” off than others. Look at those candidates that opted to take that cube of coins. They felt they’d won the lottery. There would obviously have been others through the years that chose to take the money and quit the process. I wonder how much money that was supposed to be. When you have nothing or very little it would seem like a million dollars.

Then there are criminals and gangs that take what they want little as it may be but allowing them to have a more "better" life than some others. That little boy that Joana accidently killed probably had more than most children due to his father being some Gang leader. He likely had as posh a lifestyle as one could there.

In Marco’s case, he had a nice home and food but his caretaker was also sacrificing so he could have more food. Not that they had a ton, to begin with since if they did they could have had equal portions. That caretaker has probably been taking care of his family for decades. No doubt will be the one to raise Marco’s son, and if she is still living his grandson too and so on until she passes. Heck, she would probably find a replacement for herself. I do not think she is paid. Her payment is a “nice” home to live in and the pride (or at least thought) that all the Alvarez’s have made it to the offshore. Heck she might have even had some sort of job on the side