Argentina’s Poverty Rate Rises to 52.9%

In Argentina, the official poverty rate rose to 52.9% in the first half of 2024, the first six months of the Milei government.

According to a report by the Argentine Statistical Institute (INDEC), “the percentage of families living below the poverty line has reached 42.5%. 52.9% of people live in such families. In this group, 13.6% of families are below the poverty line, which includes 18.1% of people.”

This is a major blow for an economist president. In any case, before releasing the data, government spokesman Manuel Adorni explained: “We don’t deny reality, but we face it,” emphasizing that the legacy Milei received was “catastrophic, one of the worst in history. We managed to avoid hyperinflation, which would have brought the poverty index to 95%.”

The International Monetary Fund, to which Argentina owes 43 billion dollars, is in any case supporting the “shock therapy” that Milei has tried to implement with mixed success in these first months of government.

“We are in the process of rebuilding, and there are several issues that do not correspond to reality: from the exchange rate to regulated prices and transportation, no one has said it’s an easy process or that businesses or wages won’t be affected by it,” Adorni concluded.