News of austerity

Milei vetoes law despite huge march in support of state universities

03-10-2024 01:09 President Javier Milei has made good on threats to veto proposed increases to university funding, with the measure made official early Thursday after a day of major student-led protests.

Marcha federal universitaria

Milei faces fresh protest in Argentina over cuts to universities

02-10-2024 22:31 Public university staff and students take to streets to protest against Milei’s forthcoming veto of a bill that would raise salaries to compensate for sky-high inflation.

POLITICS & ECONOMY

President targets rivals as he confirms he will veto university law

02-10-2024 20:22 President responds to mass demonstration in favour of state universities by confirming he will veto new law; Head of state ramps up rhetoric, namechecking rivals and accusing them of forming “new populist left front.”

CULTURE & POLITICS

City Hall boots Telerman out from Teatro Colón top role

28-08-2024 23:06 Among the motives, strong differences between the ex-City mayor Telerman and Culture Minister Gabriela Ricardes; Mayor Jorge Macri’s request for austerity.

by Claudio Corsalini

POLITICS & ECONOMY

Milei dials back shock therapy to keep Argentina’s inflation in check

12-07-2024 12:44 President Javier Milei is tapping the brakes on his shock therapy programme in a bid to hold on to popular support amid Argentina’s bleak economic reality.

ECONOMIC INDICATORS

Milei’s austerity plan pushed Argentina into recession in first quarter

24-06-2024 17:42 Gross domestic product fell 2.6% compared to the fourth quarter of 2023, according to official government data published Monday. Activity contracted 5.1% from a year earlier.

INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND

IMF urges increased assistance for Argentina’s poorest

06-06-2024 15:37 Fund’s chief spokeswoman Julie Kozack warns that Milei’s economic adjustment “should not fall disproportionately on working families.”

UTILITIES & SUBSIDIES

Milei begins to slash energy subsidies for low-income sectors

06-06-2024 11:59 Low-income homes will see the energy cost of their utility bills double on average in June, while middle-class families could see prices rise 155%.

POLITICAL INTERVENTION?

Pope Francis warns against imposing debt burden on ordinary people

05-06-2024 16:46 Argentine pontiff, speaking before an audience that included former economy minister Martín Guzmán, says “no government can demand its people suffer deprivations incompatible with human dignity.”

BLOOMBERG – FEATURE

Rich investors cheer Milei as Argentines bear brunt of austerity

24-05-2024 14:48 Amid Wall Street and investor optimism, critics are questioning how long Javier Milei's spending cuts can be sustained without permanently damaging the economy or fraying the social fabric.

ECONOMIC INDICATORS

Economic activity plunging amid austerity, confirms INDEC

23-05-2024 00:30 Bureau’s monthly estimate of economic activity records 8.4% drop for March; Industry and construction collapse, 5.3% slump in first quarter of 2024.

POLITICS & LABOUR

Nation grinds to halt on second general strike of Milei Presidency

09-05-2024 12:37 Nationwide general strike called by CGT umbrella union grouping against President Milei’s “brutal adjustment programme” paralyses land and, sea, and air transportation services and forces many businesses to close shutters.

Former president speaks out

Fernández de Kirchner accuses Milei of subjecting Argentines to ‘pointless sacrifice’

28-04-2024 09:25 Cristina Fernández de Kirchner returns to political scene, slamming the "anarcho-colonialism" of Javier Milei's political project and accusing the President of submitting Argentines to a "pointless sacrifice."

POLITICS – ANALYSIS

Attitudinal shifts and the risks of upheaval

06-04-2024 06:24 Milei’s “negative rhetoric,” sustained by his synthetic power, is useful in setting the agenda, but it doesn’t put food on the table.

by Agustino Fontevecchia

POLITICS – ANALYSIS

The calm before the storm?

30-03-2024 06:07 The depth and severity of the recession that the plan put together by Economy Minister Luis ‘Toto’ Caputo will bring is beginning to reveal its impact.

by Agustino Fontevecchia

Bloomberg

Buyer of Clorox’s Argentine assets bets on consumer spending rebound

27-03-2024 20:19 Executives at Apex Capital, the buyer of Clorox Co assets in Argentina, expects consumption to recover in coming months.

ECONOMIC WOES

Suffering middle class continues to shrink under Milei

20-03-2024 13:44 Argentina's middle class is vanishing: amid fierce austerity, more and more people cannot afford schooling or medicine, even those holding down two jobs.

ECONOMIC CRISIS

IMF says Milei's austerity measures should not hurt the poor

25-02-2024 13:42 IMF deputy managing director Gita Gopinath says in an interview that Argentina's austerity measures must be calibrated to ensure "the burden does not fall entirely on the poorest groups."

POLITICS & ECONOMY

Chainsaw Plan Round 2: Government looks to deepen austerity

14-01-2024 10:19 Economy Minister Luis Caputo assures that there has been no fiscal shock so far in Argentina and that there is still room for further tightening. If President Javier Milei’s ‘Omnibus law’ does not pass through Congress, cutbacks will continue for state personnel, with cuts in overtime, the freezing of salaries, and the non-renewal of expiring contracts.

by Juan Pablo Kavanagh

ANTI-AUSTERITY PROTEST

Anti-austerity protesters rally in first test of new anti-picket protocol

20-12-2023 20:10 Left-wing groups stage demonstration in Buenos Aires on anniversary of 2001 protests; Bullrich claims success as first public protest against Milei administration passes off peacefully.

POLITICS

Milei says ‘ending inflation’ is ‘top priority’ in social media post

15-12-2023 18:32 Argentina's president makes first comments since inaugural speech in Instagram video; Presidential spokesperson says libertarian leader has ordered the sale of two YPF planes, an Embraer Praetor licence LV-KGJ and a LearJet, in bid to cut costs.

BLOOMBERG – ANALYSIS

‘There is no money’: Argentina begins economic shock remedy

13-12-2023 11:41 Measures include 54% peso devaluation, additional 2% a month; Plan seen as step in the right direction, perhaps insufficient by traders.

MARKETS

Argentina bonds rise to two-year high after Milei debuts shock plan

13-12-2023 11:30 Bonds climb to the highest in two years after President Milei’s government unveils first batch of shock-therapy economic measures.

EMERGENCY MEASURES

The 10 ‘emergency economic measures’ announced by Caputo

12-12-2023 21:42 Economy Minister Luis Caputo announced the devaluation of the peso by over 50 percent to the dollar, as Javier Milei's new government seeks to tackle the country's deep economic woes.

NEW GOVERNMENT

Government to roll out first crisis measures in evening broadcast

12-12-2023 09:53 Economy Minister Luis Caputo will deliver a recorded speech at 5pm Tuesday, in which he will outline emergency measures from President Javier Milei’s new government.

NEIGHBOURLY INTERVENTION

Lula says IMF is choking Argentina’s economy with debt

13-04-2023 12:52 Brazil’s president claims International Monetary Fund is choking Argentina’s economy as it struggles to comply with its US$44-billion programme.

WHAT LIES AHEAD IN 2023

Economy 2023: inflation and austerity in an election year

11-01-2023 23:28 The new year will be in a state of permanent tension, as Argentina grapples with spending cuts contained in the agreement with the International Monetary Fund and the political needs of a president in an election year.