Argentina reached 57% poor and 15% indigent in January.

The highest numbers in 20 years. These indices have been on an upward trend for more than a decade in the country, but have soared in the last two months, driven by the explosion in prices following initial measures by President Javier Milei.

The projections are from the Social Debt Observatory of the UCA (Argentine Catholic University) and are usually slightly above the official Indec numbers, the equivalent of the IBGE, which will only release its poverty figures for the second half of 2023 at the end of March.

 “After more than two decades of an inflationary regime of impoverishment and expansion of social programs, to which is added a new economic program of orthodox adjustment, poverty continues to grow despite public assistance”, highlights the study.

Poverty in percentage, see.

The percentage of poor people represents 27 million people in the country. According to the historical series, the last time Argentina reached such bad levels was in 2004, when it reached 55%, during the administration of Peronist Néstor Kirchner and three years after one of its worst economic and social crises.

The main cause of this increase is the inflationary rush that Argentines have been experiencing every day and in all sectors, especially since December, when Milei assumed the Presidency, strongly devalued the local currency, reduced subsidies and eliminated freezes imposed by his predecessor Alberto Fernández.

The ultraliberal’s intention is to correct the distortion of values ​​on the shelves and stop the printing of money, which generates more inflation.

He wants to reduce state spending and interference, eliminate the fiscal deficit and rebalance public accounts, admitting that in the first few months this will require “sacrifices” from the population.

On Friday (16), the government celebrated its first financial surplus in January.

“It is the first time since August 2012 that the national government spends less than it collects and that the payment of interest on the debt does not leave the accounts in the red”, stated the management in a note.

On the streets, however, the immediate effect of the measures was instability in prices, with markdowns that vary greatly depending on the product, and a brake on consumption.