countless Venezuelans are leaving Argentina. They had come with the illusion of a promised land that would outlast the hardships of their home country. The first slap to reality was in 2019 with the right-wing government. Mauricio Macri. But it was the Peronist present that prompted the need to repatriate some of the 173,000 migrants from Venezuela. As with Argentines, they have to save in dollars. They see a law regularly enforced in this country: devaluation, crisis, and the specter of a social explosion. A new 2001.
The situation got worse for the president Albert Fernandez. this winds of devaluation threaten to turn into hurricanes that pierce the pockets of the majority in a country more than 40% poor. In July alone, the difference between the official dollar and the dollar listed in black exceeded 140%.
So far this month, supposedly ‘dollar blue, North American tickets sold outside public and private banks, as is known, increased by 58 pesos. And this increase is automatically transferred to the prices of everything consumed. this inflation yearly It can climb 100%. Argentina This year ranks seventh among the countries with the highest inflation in the first half of this year, with Lebanon (211%), Sudan (199%), Venezuela (70%), Syria (139%), Zimbabwe (131%) and Turkey ( 78%).
Governments pass and circumstances repeat themselves. Every incoming president thinks he can tame the problem, but fails. Six years ago, when Macri took office, with a ticket 1,000 pesos they were bought 69.5 liters of milk. By the time his tenure came to an end, this amount was sufficient. 21.3 liters. Currently, only eight liters are available for purchase.
Requirements and emergencies
this increased cost of living approached Peronist social organizations and leftgenerally hostile. Both, first of all,”lesser ones“It concerns those who have suffered the most from a crisis that has dragged on for years. Macri just got worse Pandemic and shows no signs of calming down.
These movements that bring the poor together, “universal basic wage”already recommended by the vice president Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner. It will be about providing millions of people with an income of around 13,000 pesos (about 52 euros), the equivalent of one basic food basket per adult.
The President is not in a position to comply with this request. At this point, Fernández tries to save the deal with the United States. International Monetary Fund (IMF) This allowed for the refinancing of the $44,000 million Macri received in 2018, which repeatedly evaporated in capital flights. The IMF demanded a strong adjustment of public accounts, reduced subsidies for energy and public transport, and a more effective fight against inflation. We congratulate the arrival of Silvina Batakis, who succeeds IMF chief Martín Guzmán, as Minister of Economy weeks ago, Kristalina Georgievreminded him to take control. “bitter measures”.
double pressure
batakers he feels a double pressure: the markets and the IMF on the one hand, and the possible pressure of social protest on the other. Close to the president, they say, the minister should be supported at all costs. His departure as a result of a major financial storm disaster. But at the same time peronism a intersection old.
The absence of public policies favoring the poorest had a fatal effect on the last parliamentary election. Fernandez coalition lost four million votes. This beating has done nothing but sharpen their differences and predict an almost certain setback in the 2023 elections.
Future Cristina Kirchner
Together for change, the macrista alliance rejected a deal with the Government and warned that Argentina was going through a crisis. “unprecedented” situation and it will “get worse” because while the government does not have a “plan” of protection, the vice president “institutions and impunity guarantee“.
Fernandez de Kirchner He harshly criticized the Supreme Court for having “written and, at this point, even signed” a sentence against him, alleging a diversion of funds from public works initiated during the previous government, and as part of a case based on questionable testing.
The president came to the defense. He said the vice president’s words “objectively” demonstrated the “spiritual fitness” of members of the Supreme Court. A conviction and election ban would have left Fernández de Kirchner out of the electoral race in 2023, as was the case with Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva in Brazil in 2018. Jair Bolsonaro. No analyst today thinks that Cristina could have such an electoral impact next year, as her supporters say, unless the crisis has yet reached its most damaging point, as the opposition predicted.