Crisis In the first semester, poverty affected 36.5% of the population
A supermarket worker changing price tags in Buenos Aires. — Demian Alday Estevez/EFE/SIPA
The waltz of labels has not left to calm down in Argentina. The country has registered in October a 6.3% increase in prices at consumption, pushing inflation to a crawl. 76.6% in the first ten months of the year, one of the highest in the world.
The October index, communicated by Tuesday by the National Institute of Statistics (Indec), marks a slight increase compared to September (6.2%), and establishes the cumulative inflation over one year to 88%. Argentina, the third largest economy in Latin America, is in the grip of a crisis. chronic annual inflation at double digits for two decades. The sectors of communication, telephony and Internet in particular (+12.1 ), housing, water, gas and electricity (+7.5 %) fired up prices in October.
Price freeze for more than 1,700 basic necessities
In 2021, inflation had reached 50.9%. In its latest monthly report on market expectations at the end of October, the Central Bank predicted that the rise in the cost of living would reach 100% at the end of October. the end of 2022. In its 2023 budget, the center-left government of Alberto Fernandez is betting on inflation contained at a low level. 60% next year.
The government has just put in place a “Fair Prices” of gel of more than 1,700 products of first necessity; for four months, after agreement with a hundred large companies and distributors. But the plan didn’t come in. in force only a few days ago. Economy Minister Sergio Massa is also betting on relative inflationary control in the future. term, around 3 % monthly, the gradual replenishment of reserves, in particular via record exports expected for 2022, and a degree of budgetary discipline, to stabilize the Argentine economy.
The government has, to this day, the satisfaction of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), with which it has been reached an agreement in March for the refinancing of the Argentine debt of more than 44 billion dollars, legacy of a loan contracted in 2018. But, with a poverty which affected 36.5% of the population in the first half of the year, and multi-weekly demonstrations, the pressure is strong for regular social boosts in order to catch up with inflation.