MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency
Catholic Church criticizes Macri's policies and says 1.4 million more have fallen into poverty
A new report released by the Argentine Catholic University (UCA) points to a somewhat bleak outlook on Argentina’s current socioeconomic situation, with the revelation that 1.4 million people fell into poverty between December 2015 and April 2016. The report also provides a qualitative commentary criticizing President Mauricio Macri’s social policies. Read full article
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Disclaimer & comment rulesThe Catholic CHURCH or the Catholic UNIVERSITY? Make your minds up!
Aug 13th, 2016 - 09:44 am - Link - Report abuse 0Are they in the employ of La Campora?
Aug 13th, 2016 - 11:01 am - Link - Report abuse 0@1 Exactly. But the point is they were already living in poverty but Kicillof didn't want to 'label' them. Or rather, he didn't want to acknowledge their existence as it rather spoiled the illusion that life was better with CFK picking the pockets of the poor with her Rolex encased wrist.
Aug 13th, 2016 - 11:05 am - Link - Report abuse 01.4 million ñoquis and no-count Camporistas removed from the rolls so quickly? That is cause for some sort of celebration. Maybe a Nobel Prize in Economics.
Aug 13th, 2016 - 02:50 pm - Link - Report abuse 0---
“According to the study, the general increase in the price of public utilities....”
Since public utilities are somewhere between essentially free and the lowest in the region, then somebody is blowing smoke.
These figures were believable under CFK and are believable under Macri. The difference is that Macri is laying a foundation for the future where CFK keep stealing from the future to prop up the then present.
Aug 13th, 2016 - 04:00 pm - Link - Report abuse 0Macri could perhaps do more to help those his policies have affected worse, but he shouldn't stop them. Short sharp pain is better than long drawn out pain.
Mr. Skip,
Aug 14th, 2016 - 04:02 pm - Link - Report abuse 0It is only speculation now, but hypothetically, had Ms Evita K stayed in power, with the steady descent of the economy, how many more people would have slipped into poverty by now?
@6 That is an interesting topic. There was convincing evidence that in the last years of the CFK reign, in spite of her government's unwillingness to publish related data, there was a clear trend toward higher poverty levels. Of course, CFK could only lie about such matters.
Aug 14th, 2016 - 07:38 pm - Link - Report abuse 0“Hay más de 10 millones de argentinos pobres y aumentó la desigualdad - Entre 2004 y 2012 se deterioró el acceso a un empleo formal y a vivienda, salud y educación dignas; la marginalidad, origen de la inseguridad”
http://www.lanacion.com.ar/1650754-hay-mas-de-10-millones-de-argentinos-pobres-y-aumento-la-desigualdad
One of the figures in this 2013 note has been updated elsewhere:
“...el 37% de los jóvenes no termina la secundaria” (the number for the end of the CFK regime indicated more than half of the Argentine adolescents didn't complete secondary school). Perhaps someone could explain the connection between limited education and the likelihood of becoming unemployed in a competitive market.
After promising to work towards “zero poverty” in Argentina, the Macri administration has increased poverty in its first eight months of government.
Aug 15th, 2016 - 01:27 am - Link - Report abuse 0However, the willingness to justify poverty under Macri is noticeable.
The poor who exist now, they note, are either a result of the previous CFK government, or are simply blamed for their misfortune as Marti does. Skip lectures the poor saying their “short sharp” pain is better than a supposedly “long drawn out pain.”
Perhaps Skip could explain us the economic theory that says that poverty can be reduced--or ended--by increasing it first.
Mr. Massot,
Aug 15th, 2016 - 03:18 am - Link - Report abuse 0Just a couple of years ago, the RC Church workers amongst the poor were already reporting 27% of Argentines lived in poverty, about 11m people.
How did they get there?
Yeah, nothing to do with Macri.
#9 Kanye
Aug 15th, 2016 - 04:23 pm - Link - Report abuse 0You are absolutely right. There was poverty under the Kirchners' governments and it was their failure not to do better.
Then current president Mauricio Macri promised during his election campaign to reduce poverty among other things.
He even promised to steer Argentina towards “zero poverty.” There was an election, and a number of Argentines trusted Macri's promises making him president.
Now, after eight months, Macri's measures have increased previously existing poverty.
Do you see something wrong in the picture?
I would say yes, and if Macri has nothing to do with it, then who is?
The “heavy inheritance” argument can only last for so long, and is wearing off with each passing day. At some point, the Macri administration will have to assume responsibility for what it does.
And if Macri believes he can keep governing and simultaneously blaming CFK for all the wrong moves he makes, he will soon realize his mistake.
History's garbage can has still room for that kind of people.
Mr. Massot;
Aug 15th, 2016 - 07:20 pm - Link - Report abuse 011m poor and growing, under 10 years of Evita K - not only did they fail to “do better” - they contributed to the poverty rate.
“Another independent measurement of poverty carried out by the Catholic University of Argentina estimates poverty levels at 28.7 percent of the population.” - 2015
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-11-04/here-s-the-real-legacy-of-the-kirchners-in-argentina
You are doing your best to change the story Macri makes 'economic policy reforms to attract investment in Argentina'
to
'Macri fails to bring prosperity in 8 months as promised.'
A ludicrous idea at best.
Here is another promise for you, “...in January, Fernandez was able to claim she would be leaving a country ”free of debt.“”
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-11-04/here-s-the-real-legacy-of-the-kirchners-in-argentina
How about the very visible evidence in the streets of BA,
“In 2013, the NGO Techo identified 1,834 of these informal settlements across Argentina, saying they were home to 500,000 families. In Buenos Aires alone, the number of people living in villas miserias grew by about 50% between 2001 and 2010.”
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-11-04/here-s-the-real-legacy-of-the-kirchners-in-argentina
@8 Reekie
Aug 15th, 2016 - 09:12 pm - Link - Report abuse 0By your :
“After promising to work towards “zero poverty” in Argentina, the Macri administration has increased poverty in its first eight months of government.
However, the willingness to justify poverty under Macri is noticeable.”
It would seem that you believe Argentina's problem with poverty appeared the day Macri took office....and of course, that the 12 previous years had nothing to do with it.
Then, in your # 10, you reply to Kanye, “You are absolutely right. There was poverty under the Kirchners' governments and it was their failure not to do better.”....
Make up your mind - who was the cause of today's poverty ? The K's or Macri ??
#11 Kanye
Aug 15th, 2016 - 09:59 pm - Link - Report abuse 0You keep trying to divert attention to Macri's record these days. I would be moved by such persistence if I did not find your attempts clearly dishonest.
Come on Kanye. What are you expecting to accomplish by posting links to old news--from mid-2015 nothing less--when the media are publishing daily stories about Macri's clumsiness dealing with a single item, still unresolved--the infamous Tarifazo affair?
Let's see what Clarín reported Aug. 9 about a meeting of the Unión Industrial Argentina:
“The fall of industrial activity in June was 8,5 per cent; as many as 27.000 of the best employment positions were destroyed, and overtime hours were reduced by 8 per cent.”
http://www.ieco.clarin.com/economia/Catarsis-UIA-actividad-ingreso-importados_0_1628837319.html
You conveniently disregard the fact that the current government has been eight months in place by now, and excuses based on “how bad the previous government was” are growing dimmer by the day.
Besides the large actors of the agro-export sector and bigshot financiers, few are benefiting from the measures taken so far by Macri and his team of CEOs.
Doing so, Macri is discouraging investors, because “nobody invests in a country whose economy is shrinking,” as José Ignacio De Mendiguren, former head of the Union Industrial Argentina said.
http://www.ieco.clarin.com/economia/Catarsis-UIA-actividad-ingreso-importados_0_1628837319.html
Again, nobody would expect a government to “bring prosperity in eight months,” even if Macri did promise improvement for the second semester.
But nobody had expected conditions would worsen so much.
Mr. Massot,
Aug 16th, 2016 - 12:13 am - Link - Report abuse 0“Again, nobody would expect a government to “bring prosperity in eight months,”
Exactly, yet you contradict your very words by stating that Macri has ”failed” because he did not do so.
You have no personal integrity.
You know better, but you parrot the Evita K propaganda, regardless.
You need to convince the People that he has failed, before he has a chance to show tangible success.
Do you want to return to the Evita K policies of failure, or do you want an improvement in the lives of average Argentinians.
The reality is, you are a cold ideologue.
Ideology over people, right Mr. Massot?
#14 Kanye
Aug 16th, 2016 - 01:33 am - Link - Report abuse 0”You need to convince the People that (Macri) has failed, before he has a chance to show tangible success.”
Wouldn't be nice if my word would be so powerful.
On the other hand, wouldn't be nice if you acknowledged that the reason president Macri is falling out of grace with the Argentine public opinion (not with me--that is irrelevant) is not because he has failed to improve the situation he found on December 10.
He's falling from grace because he is making a bad situation noticeably worse.
That is the problem and I know you know it--even if you pretend to lack intelligence to get the point I've been trying to explain you several times now.
So who's the one lacking integrity here?
Who's the cold ideologue feeding people the trickle-down myth?
I've learned that discussing economics with Argentines is a pointless exercise, rather like teaching TIG welding to over-age halibut. In fact, if you took all the economists in Argentina and laid them end-to-end, they would still not reach a useful conclusion.
Aug 16th, 2016 - 03:44 am - Link - Report abuse 0One of the most difficult concepts in economics to teach to both mature fish and chronically immature Argentines is that of time lags. There is enormous inertia associated with bad economics, and in the case of Peronism, with a pervasive cultural corruption component that desperately resists correction, the associated ills will last for decades, even if all the jails were filled today with the worst of them.
All this rot about Argentina “returning to the real world” is just silliness. Argentina couldn't find the real world with both hands. And the myth of Foreign Investment riding up on a white Peugeot to save their silly arses -- that's exactly what it is: more myth. The Kirchners lied at every opportunity and convincingly taught the world not to trust Argentina. Then they lied some more. And Argentina will live with that legacy, and its failed economy, for a very, very long time to come.
Mr Llazo,
Aug 16th, 2016 - 04:36 am - Link - Report abuse 0You're right, it'll take a long time to overcome the inertia of a stagnant economy with no Reserves for incentives or investment.
All Macri can do is try to create a favourable business climate for investment.
Macri was elected with a majority and a mandate to adopt responsible economic policies.
No more currency clamp, lower tariffs, more stable currency, lower debt, the civil service purged of the Noquis, and an end to Mercosur protectionism is possible.
The antithesis of Evita K.
The economy did not work and was only getting worse under Evita.
Macri is getting the house in order, as required.
Now, the unqualified boob, Mr. Massot, has given us the benefit of expert opinion that 6 mos. of reform is a “failure”.
He wants to return to the proven failure of CFK, lest Macri succeed.
Ideology before People, right Mr. Massot?
#17 Kanye
Aug 16th, 2016 - 05:14 am - Link - Report abuse 0“...has given us the benefit of expert opinion...”
Not at all, Kanye.
As I said in another post, nothing would make me happier than a success presidency improving Argentines' lives--whoever that happens to be that president.
Unfortunately, Macri has succeeded in achieving negative economic effects in record time--and this is not, mind you, speculations from economists as defined by Marti at #16.
These are the numbers that come every month from several organizations measuring economic performance in various domains.
Most of those indicators have been on the red for several months now, making at least one analyst say the country is on its path to another 2001.
The situation is beginning to attract criticism even from allies of Cambiemos.
But let's not get ahead of ourselves.
Tomorrow will bring a new batch of stories--and who knows? Perhaps the news will be good!
As we say, hope is the last thing one loses.
Mr. Massot,
Aug 16th, 2016 - 02:51 pm - Link - Report abuse 0“...indicators have been on the red for several months now, making at least one analyst say the country is on its path to another 2001”
No, Mr. Massot;
Indicators have been in the red for 10 YEARS.
And yes, they had even defaulted last year, on a rush to disaster.
”.....making at least one analyst say the country is on its path to another 2001.....”
Aug 16th, 2016 - 04:06 pm - Link - Report abuse 0Actually there would be at least two analysts saying that, since I've been predicting another 2001-2002 default for more than a year. Still very likely within 4-6 years. Stay tuned.
But then, for Argentina, a major default is always just around the corner, no matter which incompetent is running the country.
#19 Kanye
Aug 16th, 2016 - 06:43 pm - Link - Report abuse 0Yes, I know. “The heavy inheritance” does not allow Argentina, after eight months of Macri government, to show much of an improvement.
Kanye, however, has assured us that Macri is doing the right thing, and a recent opinion poll shows many Argentines still believe so.
“In spite of the social climate deterioration and a reduction of Macri approval rates, support for the Government remains high. As many as 59 per cent of responders believe this Government knows how to solve the problems and 55 per cent believe the country will improve in the near future,” said Poliarquia director, Alejandro Catterberg as quoted by El Universal on Aug. 14.
http://www.eluniversal.com/noticias/internacional/caen-imagen-macri-aprobacion-gobierno-argentina_431699
This significant show of trust still gives the government ample room to implement measures to improve the economy--but not a blank cheque.
Approval for the Macri administration fell to 56 per cent in August from 60 per cent in July--the lowest level since assuming the government Dec. 10.
“Approval...was affected by persistent high inflation, conflict for strong public service tariffs, economic recession and the population's fear of losing their jobs,” reported El Universal in the same article.
So still a mixed bag, with room for argument from both opponents and supporters and for the argument that Argentina remains governable, which places responsibility for improvement on the current team.
We'll see what Macri does to justify the trust of Argentines.
“We'll see what Macri does to justify the trust of Argentines.”
Aug 16th, 2016 - 07:32 pm - Link - Report abuse 0Sounds fair, enough.
@15 Reekie
Aug 17th, 2016 - 08:16 pm - Link - Report abuse 0So it's your opinion that ”He's (Macri) falling from grace because he is making a bad situation noticeably worse.“
At least indirectly, or inadvertently, you have admitted that before Macri came along, the situation was already bad. Caused by whom ?
You should reallymake an effort to understand what Marti Llazo said in his # 16 :
”There is enormous inertia associated with bad economics......” .
It sums up the consequences of 12 years of Kirchnerism, very accurately. Same thing is happening in Brazil : Temer will have a very difficult job to turn around the accumulated negative effects of 14 years of 'lulo-petismo' on the economy.......it takes more than a couple of days to halt the negative inertia.
#23 Jack Bauer
Aug 17th, 2016 - 09:35 pm - Link - Report abuse 0Let's be clear: One thing is to admit the failures of a government in achieving common good goals.
Another, very different, is to start to see the failures of a government that seeks to redistribute the domestic to benefit a narrow strip of society--in detriment of the majority of the population.
For the government itself and those who, for different reasons, would like to see it achieve its goals, keeping the public opinion focused on the shortcomings of the previous government is a smart tactic, however I remind you that it can work only for so long.
@24 Reekie
Aug 18th, 2016 - 10:31 pm - Link - Report abuse 0Let's be clear.....did CFK ever admit her government policies were a failre ? Of course she didn't, but enough Argentines saw through her lies , to want to get rid of her. If she was such a sucess, why didn't her candidate win the elections ?failing ?
As to your foregone conclusion that Macri's government has failed, because it “seeks to redistribute the domestic to benefit a narrow strip of society--in detriment of the majority of the population”, is exactly waht Macri's oppnents were saying the day after he was elected.......what chance have they given him ? 8 months to fix a mess that was constructed over 3 governments and 12 years , is hardly being fair.
On the other hand, the so-called 'smart tactic' you refer to is being used in reverse by CFK - she is the one who is doing all she can to keep the public opinion focused on the current government's shortcomings in order to forget hers.... 'however, I remind you that it can work only for so long.'
I wonder how long it will take, before Nisman's colleagues uncover enough dirt or lean hard enough on her minions to get some ass-savin' finger pointing in her direction.
Aug 19th, 2016 - 01:07 am - Link - Report abuse 0#25 Jack Bauer
Aug 20th, 2016 - 05:26 am - Link - Report abuse 0”...what chance have they given (Macri)? 8 months to fix a mess that was constructed over 3 governments...“
They don't have to do a thing. Macri himself gets into deep manure, all by himself.
Five months ago he said, 'we'll increase the utility bills and the hell with public hearings--you the unwashed just dress warm.”
Now he's been told by Argentina's Supreme Court he is back at square one on the biggest battle yet for the new government.
Cristina, meanwhile, is going to talk to the people and she is not even criticizing the government.
She knows Macri is going to dig himself real deep without her help.
Very democratic of her.
Aug 20th, 2016 - 02:07 pm - Link - Report abuse 0@27 Reekie: “ .... 'we'll increase the utility bills and the hell with public hearings-...”
Aug 20th, 2016 - 02:15 pm - Link - Report abuse 0This was also the practice of the Kirchner government, avoiding the mandatory public hearings on utilities rate changes. And the courts suspended some of those changes by the CFK government for the same reason. So the Macri government avoidance of pro forma public hearings is no different than the Kirchner government practice.
Mr. Massot,
Aug 20th, 2016 - 04:19 pm - Link - Report abuse 0“So still a mixed bag, with room for argument from both opponents and supporters and for the argument that Argentina remains governable, which places responsibility for improvement on the current team.
We'll see what Macri does to justify the trust of Argentines”
And yet, Mr. Massot, the indoctrinated pawn and obsolete Socialist, still joins the ousted K's in vocally trying to undermine the elected government in their efforts to rescue the economy from an imminent collapse.
@27 Reekie
Aug 20th, 2016 - 07:37 pm - Link - Report abuse 0“They don't have to do a thing. Macri himself gets into deep manure, all by himself.”
Well if Macri is in deep manure, I supposed he jumped into it consciously on the day he was elected. CFK set the stage and now Macri has to deal with it. As I have already said, it takes time to scoop up so much poop.
“Cristina, meanwhile, is going to talk to the people and she is not even criticizing the government. ”
IF Macri does not need CF's help to dig himself in deeper - in your expert assessment - then why is she “going to talk to the people” ? What is she going to talk about, or tell them ? If it's not about Argentina's current situation (and to blame Macri), then what ? perhaps admit how she is enjoying the millions of Argy tax dollars, leaving the Argies in the shit, or if you prefer, “manure” ??
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