MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency
Argentina’s Economic Crisis: Who to blame?
Argentines remember the role the IMF played in the last depression. They also remember the improvement in their lives under Kirchnerism. The following was published by The New York Times. Read full article
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Disclaimer & comment rules“The 12 years the Kirchners held office resulted in large increases in living standards for a vast majority of Argentines.”
Aug 21st, 2019 - 06:49 pm - Link - Report abuse 0“By comparison, poverty has increased significantly, income per person has fallen, and unemployment has increased during Mr. Macri’s term...Short-term interest rates have shot up to 75% today from 32%; inflation has soared to 54% from 18%...public debt has grown to more than 86% of G.D.P. from 53%.”
There: in two paragraphs, the full story made short. The Macri government was on a mission to dramatically reduce the portion of the national income received by the lower classes, to concentrate it in a few wealthy ones, corporations, associates and friends. A condition of success for the project was to drive Peronism to extinction or to significantly reduce its capacity.
An obscene combination of unbridled greed and insensitivity, however, shocked the population, which showed its little tolerance to increasing poverty, inflation and unemployment through their Aug. 11 vote.
Thus ends Argentina's first attempt to oligarchic restoration through democratic means, as opposed to a military coup as done in the past.
Won't be missed.
This story fails to point out that, especially in later K years, the improvements in standards were funded by printing money so they were not sustainable and the CFK government hid the resulting high inflation and depreciating peso by providing false statistics. Also, they weren't paying debts or fines for some of their illegal actions. CFK left the country in technical default. If everything was so great, why did Macri win the election?
Aug 23rd, 2019 - 05:40 pm - Link - Report abuse 0The price had to be paid by Macri's government. As I predicted, when Macri gained power the official peso devalued to close to the blue rate which was evidently the true market rate. Also, the cost of energy was subsidised to an unrealistically low level so when Macri started to charge closer to a commercial, more sustainable, rate (but still less expensive than neighbouring countries) it was a shock to the system. I think Macri's problem was that he often did the right thing in the wrong way - more gradual changes may have been better. He also didn't explain why he was making changes in an attempt to get the population on side so was exposed by the oppositions propaganda.
Will FF be able to turn the economy around like the Ks did? If so, will it be done in a sustainable, non-corrupt manner? We'd hope so, but hope is not a good strategy. Alberto may say he rules out another default, but that will depend on his government's credibility with investors and they've had their fingers burnt by his VP which explains the market reaction so it could be difficult for him to deliver on that one. We shall see...
Why blame?
Aug 27th, 2019 - 09:42 am - Link - Report abuse 0The crisis being permanent, the Agries seem to be enjoying it!
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