Inflation in Argentina hit 108.8% in 12 months in April, the highest in three decades, the National Institute of Statistics Index reported Friday.
In the monthly comparison, inflation in April was 8.4% in what is Latin America’s third-largest economy.
Argentina has one of the highest inflation rates in the world. In 2022, it reached 94.8%, the highest annual figure in the country since 1991, when it surpassed 171%, the Reuters agency recalls.
The government has set an inflation target of 60% for 2023, but a recent report from the Central Bank on market expectations predicted a figure of 126.4% for this year.
In addition to battling inflation, Argentina is also facing a sharp devaluation of its currency, just months away from a general election. The peso was trading at 238.5 against the dollar at Friday’s official rate, but at 474 on the parallel black market.
The country’s economic problems were also exacerbated by the impact of a severe drought on agricultural sectors, the largest source of exports.
The International Monetary Fund predicts a growth of 0.2% for the South American country in 2023.
“They have made us a land of beggars. We are desperate because after working all our lives, we have to fight just to get a tomato or a pepper,” Carlos Andrada, a 60-year-old self-employed person, told the Reuterslooking for discounts at a market in the suburbs of Argentina’s capital, Buenos Aires.
“Last time I entered the market I paid 300 pesos/kilo of peppers, now it is 300 pesos for half a kilo. These are the governments we have and we, the citizens, need to think about why we are the ones who they give our vote,” complained Olivia Maria Belbruno, a 70-year-old retiree.
Another moving testimony is that of Salvador Paterno, 64 years old. “I’ve stopped eating out once a month, we haven’t vacationed anywhere in four years, we’ve had to sell the car because we couldn’t afford insurance, licenses and garage fees. We use very little air conditioning and heating. Everyone is reducing these habits to survive, if you can,” he lamented.
Source: DN
