MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency
Alpargatas closes Chaco factory, lays off all workers, sells facilities
The clothing firm Alpargatas shut down its factory in the Argentine province of Chaco, it was reported Monday. The company made it clear it was not a temporary measure by laying off the entire staff and placing the facilities on sale. Further closures and subsequent dismissals nationwide look imminent. Read full article
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Disclaimer & comment rulesGood for MP for printing a snapshot of what's affecting the lives of Argentines under the government of Mauricio Macri.
Nov 06th, 2018 - 08:19 pm - Link - Report abuse -4However, the example of Alpargatas is just one case among thousands of closures, at a pace that goes up all the time and will only increase as the “zero deficit” IMF's program is implemented.
Until March 2017, over 3,200 companies with less than 100 workers went belly up under Macri’s watch, while over 100 companies employing 101 to 2,500 workers closed doors in the same period.
The wide opening to imports and the loss of people's purchase power are killing all sort of businesses, compounding the recession.
However, the government, his friendly media and some MP posters attempt to keep the focus on “how bad” the previous government (that ceased to exist almost three years ago) was.
Welcome to post-truth politics.
Reekio,
Nov 07th, 2018 - 06:09 pm - Link - Report abuse +3“Welcome to post-truth politics.”
As I have mentioned before, there are many aspects of the Argentine economy that are very bad, but some are improving. So, I acknowledge the bad bits but provide data to demonstrate the good bits too. Meanwhile, you ignore the good bits and only highlight the bad bits (and blame them all on Macri). What were you saying about post-truth?
Also, this is a Brazilian firm that is pulling out of Argentina. I thought you didn't like foreign companies operating in Argentina so shouldn't you be happy about this news or do you now accept that foreign investment in Argentina is a good thing?
”However, the government, his friendly media and some MP posters attempt to keep the focus on “how bad” the previous government (that ceased to exist almost three years ago) was.“
You invite such comparisons every time you use phrases like ”under the government of Mauricio Macri“ or ”under Macri’s watch”.
Zaphod valiantly comes forth and, while he concedes many aspects of the Argentine economy that are very bad, “some are improving.”
Nov 07th, 2018 - 09:03 pm - Link - Report abuse -3You've got to acknowledge his courage for still coming to the defense of the Macri government. Not many do these days anymore.
Unfortunately, nobody has seen the 'green shots' Zaphod seems so fond of. Industrial activity has fallen 11.5 per cent in September, and the levels are the worst of the last 10 years. The Argentine Industrial Union is alarmed and has told the government how dire the situation is.
For the general population, things are getting real tight under the double whammy of increasing prices and vanishing purchase power.
As a result, trust in the government is at an all-time low as shown by several opinion polls.
The IMF loan was given to Macri so that he could make foreign debt interest and principal payments - not a dollar for other things. The IMF requirement that the government runs zero deficit will only increase the current recessive conditions of the economy.
But as Zaphod says, there are some good things in the midst of it all. Banks are pocketing unprecedented gains. Government officials, who have their assets abroad, are participating in the “timba financiera” and making more money. The large mining corporations - mostly foreign - are making a kill in the absence of export taxes.
But hey, there is not much room in Paradise. Just for the few chosen ones.
Reekie,
Nov 09th, 2018 - 06:08 pm - Link - Report abuse 0“Industrial activity has fallen 11.5 per cent in September”
Again, you cherry-pick some data that supports your view but miss the wider picture.
1. Pretty much all economic activity is seasonal so comparing one month to another is meaningless;
2. When you look at the data for GDP from manufacturing you see the seasonal effect I mention in 1, but also the trend has been increasing for the last 2 years https://tradingeconomics.com/argentina/gdp-from-manufacturing; and
3. Industrial activity is just one component of the Argentine economy.
“For the general population, things are getting real tight under the double whammy of increasing prices and vanishing purchase power. As a result, trust in the government is at an all-time low as shown by several opinion polls.”
Yes, adapting to the harsh realities of economics can be painful. The UK did that in the 80s but emerged much stronger for it.
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