BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) – Argentine President Javier Milei’s dramatic austerity agenda has helped lower inflation, but the slowdown has come at the expense of consumption in a battered economy where more than half the country has fallen into poverty.
The libertarian president, nearly a year into power, has celebrated falling inflation as one of the key achievements of his administration, following one of the biggest overhauls in government spending in recent history.
Data from Argentina’s statistics agency INDEC later on Tuesday is expected to show month-on-month inflation falling to 3.0% in October, down from 4.2% in August and 3.5% in September, a report showed. poll of Reuters analysts.
The good news may be difficult to grasp for Argentinians who have had to tighten their belts to make it to the end of the month.
Government cuts to public service subsidies have pushed up spending, while public sector redundancies have risen and annual inflation – which remained well above three figures at 209% in September – has contributed to a deep decline in purchasing power.
“Sales have fallen sharply. Maybe people are coming to buy more small quantities every day, and you can see that,” said Maria Sunilda Correa, who works in a poultry store.
Consumers are buying less beef in the famously steak-loving country after Milei ended the previous government’s beef price freeze. According to a report by industry group Ciccra, beef consumption fell to the lowest level in thirteen years in the first six months of the year.
“The price of meat has not increased these months because very little is consumed. As consumption decreases, so do sales. And well, it’s a bit complicated,” said Gabriel Segovia, a 52-year-old butcher in Buenos Aires.
(Reporting by Horacio Soria; Writing by Lucila Sigal and Brendan O’Boyle; Editing by Christina Fincher)
