Poverty rate hits 20‑year high in Argentina under Milei's reforms
According to data released on Thursday by the national statistics institute INDEC, Argentina's poverty rate increased from nearly 42% to nearly 53% in the first six months of President Javier Milei's economic shock therapy.
This means that by the end of the first half of 2024, nearly 25 million Argentinians were living below the poverty line, and 3.4 million people fell below it this year. These are the worst numbers in 20 years.
According to the latest data, as much as 18.1% of society, or about 8.5 million people, were in extreme poverty, meaning they did not earn enough to meet basic food needs.
The figures that hurt the most are the poverty rates among children, noted the Infobae portal. According to INDEC data, as many as 66.1% of children in Argentina live below the poverty line, and 27% are starving because their families cannot afford food.
Presidential spokesperson Manuel Adorni blamed the previous leftist administration for this state of affairs.
The government inherited a catastrophic situation; it's the worst decline received by a government during the democratic era, and possibly one of the worst in history, he said.
Austerity program. Approval ratings dropping
Since taking office in December 2023, President Milei has been implementing an austerity program and "chainsaw-cutting" public spending to restore budget balance after years of crisis and control inflation, which reached nearly 300% year-on-year in April.
The shock therapy helped close the budget deficit but deepened the recession and worsened the financial situation of many families. Recent surveys show that Milei's approval ratings, which hovered around 50% at the beginning of his presidency, are starting to decline.
