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Milei’s Austerity Plan Pushes Argentina Into Recession in First Quarter

  • GDP in 1Q fell 5.1% vs year ago; declined 2.6% vs 4Q 2023
  • After 4Q 2023 contraction, Argentina enters recession
Tourists and pedestrians on Plaza de Mayo in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on June 24.

Photographer: Sarah Pabst/Bloomberg

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Argentina entered a recession in the first quarter of the year as President Javier Milei’s brutal spending cuts sent consumption and activity plummeting.

Gross domestic product fell 2.6% compared to the fourth quarter of 2023, according to official government data published Monday. Activity contracted 5.1% from a year earlier, slightly less than the median estimate for a 5.3% decline among economists surveyed by Bloomberg. The negative print follows a 2.5% quarterly contraction in the three months through December.