Indicators
Poverty Soars Past 50% in Argentina as Milei Austerity Hits Hard
- Nearly 53% couldn’t make ends meet in first half of year
- Spokesman blames ‘crude reality’ on past populist policies
Commuters at a subway station in Buenos Aires.
Photographer: Anita Pouchard Serra/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
Poverty in Argentina reached its highest level since the aftermath of the 2001 financial crisis in the first half of the year, as President Javier Milei unleashed a shock therapy program to put an already reeling economy back on its feet.
About 52.9% of Argentines were mired below the poverty line in the first half of the year, up from 41.7% in the second half of 2023, according to government data published Thursday. It’s the result of an aggressive cost-cutting exercise meant to tame inflation that the government warns would have continued spiraling higher in its absence.