New Argentine government's economic policies face mounting questions.

AutorGaudin, Andres

After 100 days in office, a time frame political scientists often use to measure the early accomplishments of new leaders, Argentine President Maurico Macri is fulfilling his promise to do away with the socio-economic system he inherited and replace it with a completely new model.

So far, however, the new president has been unable to justify the abrupt change of course, which has cost him politically and put him squarely at odds with workers in both the public and private sectors. State employees have already held two work stoppages: one for 24 hours, the other for 48. And the country's three leading private-sector labor unions have decided to put aside their historic differences to hold a joint protest in April. Unemployment and inflation, in the meantime, are on the rise, prompting people to be more worried about job loss and salary depreciation than they are about crime, their top concern during the electoral campaign.

On March 14, just ahead of the new government's 100-day mark, the Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Cientificas y Tecnicas (National Scientific and Technical Research Council, CONICET) released a study suggesting that the poorest 10% of the population had lost a quarter of its purchasing power since Macri's arrival in power. CONICET is an autarchic body under the Ministry of Science and Technology, which is considered the leading institution in the promotion of science and technology in Argentina.

The report found that policies implemented by the new government, such as a 42% devaluation of the currency, the elimination of taxes on agricultural products, the elimination of all export taxes on mining products, the easing of export quotas for key consumer goods (such as beef), the end of energy consumption subsidies, and massive public sector layoffs that contributed to a sharp drop in domestic consumption, "drove inflation up and generated notable pressures on the quality of life of low-income workers while improving the already generous benefits received by the wealthier sectors of the population and principal economic players."

The CONICET report predicted, furthermore, that the interannual inflation rate, which stood at 32.9% at the end of February, would reach 55% by October. The alarming numbers were endorsed by the Macri administration, which, lacking its own statistics, has been using local government figures from the Ciudad Autonoma de Buenos Aires (CABA), the Argentine capital. The CABA numbers suggest that...

Para continuar leyendo

Solicita tu prueba

VLEX utiliza cookies de inicio de sesión para aportarte una mejor experiencia de navegación. Si haces click en 'Aceptar' o continúas navegando por esta web consideramos que aceptas nuestra política de cookies. ACEPTAR