BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — Argentina’s poverty rate rose from 41.7% to 52.9% in the first six months of the crisis. Javier Milei’ Under the country’s presidency, the statistics office said Thursday, a rise reflects the pain of the country’s most intense austerity program in recent history.
The government notes that another 5.2 million people had done so so far ended up in poverty During Milei’s short term in office, this represents a setback for the far-right economist, as well as foreign investors and the… International Monetary Fund — to which Argentina owes $43 billion — applaud his fiscal shock therapy.
Bracing for negative news hours before the poverty report’s release, Milei’s spokesman tried to deflect the blow during a lengthy press conference.
“The government has inherited a disastrous situation,” Manuel Adorni told reporters, denouncing decades of rampant spending under Milei’s rule. left-wing Peronist predecessors. “They left us standing on the brink of a country where virtually all of its inhabitants are poor.”
Inflation, now increases annually to more than 230% – one of the worst in the world – played a key role in pushing the six-month poverty rate to its highest level since the 2003 financial crisis.
Unlike previous governments that kept consumer spending high at the expense of a huge budget deficit that shamed the country as it defaulted on its debts, Milei dismantled price controls and cut energy subsidies. and transportation And devalued the peso by 54% in December after taking office. Austerity measures and deregulation have led to a brutal reduction in purchasing power and worsened the economy economy deep in recession.
