GNV News — October 9, 2024

In Argentina, a government report revealed that the poverty rate surged to over 50% just six months after the inauguration of the new president, Javier Milei. Due to Milei’s austerity measures and spending cuts, 3.4 million people have fallen into poverty, which is said to be the highest poverty rate in the past 20 years.

Since taking office in December 2023, Milei has taken steps to tackle Argentina’s chronic inflation by freezing pensions, cutting soup kitchens, reducing welfare projects, and scrapping public works. Even as annual inflation remains at 230%, many people living in Argentina have lost their jobs, and the number of people unable to obtain food and falling into malnutrition is rising. Despite people’s lives being squeezed to this extent, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Argentina’s largest creditor, has said that “it is brutal for the poor and the middle class, but the market-friendly economy has restored macroeconomic stability.”

Learn more about Latin America → “Challenges Facing Politics and Society in Latin America”

What to know when considering global poverty → “Roundup: Global Poverty”

President Milei’s inauguration (Photo: Casa Rosada / Wikimedia Commons [CC BY 2.5 AR])