MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency
Argentina's economic activity up 1.1% year to year in January
Argentina's economy grew 0.1% in the third quarter and 0.5% in the fourth quarter, emerging from a sharp recession in the first half. 
After taking office in December 2015, Macri began a revamp of Indec, which was accused of manipulating data under previous populist Cristina Fernandez. Argentina's economic activity grew in January year to year. Economic activity was 1.1% percent higher in January than twelve months before, the first year-on-year growth since last March, according to the latest release from the revamped stats office, Indec.
The economy contracted 0.5% from December, however, which showed the recovery was still fragile after the economy grew month-on-month in November and December.
Center-right President Mauricio Macri's administration is hoping an economic recovery ahead of midterm elections in October can boost flagging approval ratings. Macri has also said he wants to be evaluated based on his progress in reducing the ranks of the poor toward his stated goal of “zero poverty.”
Argentina's economy grew 0.1% in the third quarter and 0.5% in the fourth quarter, emerging from a sharp recession in the first half. The economy was flat in December compared with December 2015, an upward revision from Indec's prior estimate for a 0.1% contraction.
After taking office in December 2015, Macri began a revamp of Indec, which was accused of manipulating data under previous populist President Cristina Fernandez.
Macri has implemented market-friendly policies designed to cut the fiscal deficit and attract foreign investment. Some of those policies, including a reduction in subsidies for electricity and gas, contributed to inflation of more than 40% last year.
The economy fell 2.3% in 2016 overall. Foreign investment has been slow to arrive, but the Macri government has boosted infrastructure spending this year in a bid to jump-start the economy toward its goal of 3.5% growth in 2017. Economists see it slightly lower at 3%.
Top Comments
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Read all commentsEnrique
Mar 30th, 2017 - 03:41 am +2Macri has not “failed” after just 18 mos.
He is only part way through his mandate for reform.
There is no “attack” on the poor.
Your ideological model and Class War is dated and obsolete.
Fade away, you are irrelevant.
Poor, poor Kamerad/Komrade Rique. He's been a failure for so long, all he can do is project on others. It would be sad, if it weren't so hilarious! On a lighter note, Indec appears to indicate that poverty is starting to go down, not up.
Mar 30th, 2017 - 12:44 pm +1http://www.thebubble.com/indec-poverty-rate-dropped-to-30-3-percent-in-the-second-semester-of-2016/
Sure it is incremental, but as we keep telling him, economic changes occur slowly, a fact which makes his attempts seem even more risible... :)
“Argentina's economic activity grew in January year to year...according to the latest release from the revamped stats office, Indec.”
Mar 29th, 2017 - 05:47 pm -2Pay attention to the word “revamped.” While there is wide consensus that the previous government manipulated the statistics, so far the numbers released by the revamped Indec have been taken as articles of faith.
This consideration arises from the fact that the absolute majority of the numbers in the Argentine economy are in the red. Therefore, Indec's positive numbers are to be taken with caution while looking at the real economic impacts on low incomes at this point.
”Macri has also said he wants to be evaluated based on his progress in reducing the ranks of the poor toward his stated goal of 'zero poverty.'”
Now, on this topic, Macri has not merely failed; on the contrary, his measures are directly attacking those with lower incomes and engrossing the ranks of the poor since the day he took office.
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