Milei’s Austerity Is Devastating Argentina
Foreign PolicyMar 08
Report: Argentina's Middle Class Shrinks
The Facts
The Pontifical Catholic University of Argentina's Social Debt Observatory has claimed that the middle class has declined in the country, as the poverty rate increased to nearly 60%, from 49%, allegedly during the period since Pres. Javier Milei took office.
The latest data from the National Institute of Statistics and Census put the poverty level at 40.1% in the first six months of 2023. In the third quarter of last year, the Social Observatory survey recorded the rate at 44.7%.
The Spin
Pro-establishment narrative
As the far-right Milei has devalued the peso and cut subsidies for essential services, the average Argentine citizen is paying the price for his fiscal adjustment program. Poverty has reached an all-time high in the country, the purchasing power of wage workers has fallen by roughly 14%, and there's a recession on the horizon.
Establishment-critical narrative
Inflation has fallen in Argentina month after month since the libertarian economist-turned-president took office and implemented his shock therapy to revive his country's economy, which has long suffered from hyperinflation and rising poverty. Milei's government has posted the first monthly budget surpluses in years and is making remarkable inroads toward fixing the Argentinian economy.
Nerd narrative
There's a 15% chance that Argentina will fully dollarize its economy before 2028, according to the Metaculus prediction community.