MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency
Argentina's economy lifting out of recession: activity rises in May for the first time in a year
Argentina’s economic activity rose for the first time in over a year in May, a rare boost for President Mauricio Macri as he looks to dig the South American country out of a crippling recession ahead of presidential elections later this year. Read full article
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Disclaimer & comment rulesAs Reekie might say “Another source of enjoyment for Argentines, coming right to them courtesy of president Mauricio Macri and his Joyful Revolution.”
Jul 26th, 2019 - 06:18 pm - Link - Report abuse +2Not surprisingly, last remaining cheerleader Zaphod is enthused by an article reprinted from Cambiemos' supporter newspaper La Nacion, citing the only month not in the red so far that is a result of an exceptional good harvest.
Jul 27th, 2019 - 05:05 pm - Link - Report abuse -3The story used quotes from 'Argentine's Treasury' and noted “the rise was due to strong growth from the farming sector, which...was up nearly 50% versus a year ago.”
Of course. Last year, Argentina experienced the worst drought of the last three decades!
However, “Argentine's Treasury” got carried out and cited improvements in sectors such as transport, industry, commerce and construction -- which simply is a lie, as shown by another line in the same story:
”Argentina’s economic activity (has) been contracting for over a year amid an economic crisis that has hit the peso currency and driven up inflation.“
The ”trade surplus of US$ 1.06 billion in June” occurred because the Argentines are so impacted by the economic crisis created by Macri and his gang, they are buying less and less, causing a drop in imports.
No wonder Bloomberg (not a Kirchnerist publication) noted: “Argentina...remains one of the most vulnerable currencies in emerging markets.”
https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2019-05-28/argentina-s-election-won-t-change-its-economic-options
Hey Reekie,
Jul 29th, 2019 - 05:51 pm - Link - Report abuse +1I was talking to someone who lives in Argentina over the weekend and he said that he thinks Macri will win the election.
Why? CFK does not have enough support to win more than 50% in the first round and Macri would then win the second round. He says that people recognize that the economy is a mess (but what's new?), and there is probably still some level of corruption but Macri has made a very visible improvement to infrastructure so at least they know that some money is being invested to benefit the economy. They don't want to return to the horror of CFK when everything was stolen! So, all the negative points you keep repeating are recognised BUT they still prefer this to turning the clock back to CFK. OK, just one person's opinion and it may not be representative but at least it is from someone who is living there.
We shall see...
Enrique, the reason why the Argentine Peso “remains one of the most vulnerable currencies” is in fact due to the horrendous corrupt economic management by the previous husband/witch administration.
Jul 29th, 2019 - 07:41 pm - Link - Report abuse +1Macri has made some mistakes, but he's CERTAINLY far less corrupt than CFK...
Chicureo,
Jul 30th, 2019 - 06:29 pm - Link - Report abuse 0Absolutely!
Reekie,
“Of course. Last year, Argentina experienced the worst drought of the last three decades!”
You are doing it again. Data analysis isn't your strong point is it.
So, by your logic, this year only seems good because last year there was a drought. Have you really thought this one through? How about Macri had created a system that allowed agriculture to be productive and profitable but this wasn't apparent last year because there was a drought?
In your world, Macri got lucky this year because the weather was good. Maybe Macri did all the right things and last year was unlucky because there was a drought? How could we tell the difference? Maybe we could look at some statistics? It looks like the GDP from agriculture has been (understandably) seasonal but remarkably consistent with 2018, 2012 and 2009 showing poorer results. Did they have droughts in these years too? Did that mean they “got lucky” in 2010 and 2013 too?
But, hang on! You said that 2018 was the “worst drought of the last three decades” and yet the numbers show that 2018 was comparable to 2013 and better than 2009 so maybe Macri deserves credit for doing so well under the “worst drought of the last three decades”?
https://tradingeconomics.com/argentina/gdp-from-agriculture
If 2019 turns out to be better than the average of the non-drought years 2013-17 then Macri deserves full credit for that and 2018 was just a blip. We shall see...
ZB
Aug 01st, 2019 - 05:41 am - Link - Report abuse 0Sure. Macri has “created a system that allowed agricultural and profitable...” Etc.
You can keep your pink-coloured glasses as much as you want.
Meanwhile, Argentina's foreign debt represents nearly 85 per cent of the GDP.
Economic activity has been slowing down. No sales, no purchases, nada.
That is why so far Macri's election campaign has avoided talking about the subject. They prefer to keep the boogieman, the “K” corruption alive, talk about their “fight against the narco-traffic and about how much roads and sewers they have built.
Coming to your rescue, Chicureo has the courage to still place blame on the Kirchnerist government -- after four years of Macri government.
Now, the argument may have had some validity for the first six months, but it's getting stale now.
However, there is quite some Argentines who still support the Macrism, particularly older citizens who believe the ”K” corruption argument in spite of the absolute lack of success in all the legal processes against Cristina Fernandez, an argument also swallowed (hook, line and sinker), by both ZB and Chicureo.
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