Libertad According to a report by the Progreso Foundation, after Alberto Fernández's assumptions in December 2019, Argentina has accumulated a total inflation of 123%, a level that has not been recorded by the administration in the first 26 months since 1991, therefore, despite the promises of the president, the punishment of price increases and the devaluation of the currency continues to affect the Argentine people. The war against inflation begins in Argentina on Friday.”
According to the consultancy, the largest increase by category can be seen in “Clothing and footwear”, a rise of 179%, almost 60 points higher than the general index.
It also observed an increase above average in the food sector, which has risen by 132% and is the item with the highest incidence in the consumer price index (CPI) measured by the National Institute of Statistics and Census (Indec). The Foundation emphasizes that “this phenomenon also occurs within the framework of the application of export duties and the closure of exports.”
This analysis shows the price increase in the first 26 months of the administration, so inflation is not taken into account in all presidential efforts. We must not forget that in the third year of the government of Cambiemos there was inflation of 47.6% according to the Indec, which at that time was the highest figure in the last 27 years.
On the other hand, the Mediterranean Foundation stressed that inflation rises one step by step with each new government administration in the context of the stagnation that the Argentine economy has suffered over the past decade.
During the second term of former President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, the price increase was 2.2% per month on average, reaching 29.5% per annum, and the cumulative figure for the first 26 months was 75.2%.
Regarding the management of former President Mauricio Macri, the Mediterranean Foundation explained that monthly inflation reached 2.4%, annual inflation amounted to 32.8%, and the accumulation in the first 26 months amounted to 85%.
He added that until now, during the term of President Alberto Fernández, monthly inflation averaged 3.1%, annual inflation was 44.9%, and the total for the first 26 months was 123%.
Eugenio Marí, chief economist of the Libertad y Progreso Foundation, referred to the statement of the head of state regarding inflation and pointed out one of the reasons for the price increase in this regard. “If you want to keep your word, you must declare war on the fiscal deficit on Thursday. Last year, the support of the Treasury to finance the deficit by the Central Bank amounted to 3.7% of GDP, which is equivalent to 2 trillion pesos.”
“The government continues to bet on export controls and a ban on food price containment, which is far from a real battle against inflation,” said the economist.
Marí thought that these measures had already been implemented in the past and “they have always contributed to destroying exports, losing the market and lowering the level of employment registered. In addition, since production is not encouraged, at the end of the day there is less wealth and product supply, which increases poverty.”
Diego Piccardo, economist of the Foundation, stressed that the items that regulated the price in the composition were significantly behind others. “This is clearly seen in utility prices that have practically frozen since the government took office and are now beginning to thaw. In this way, when macroeconomic imbalances continue and regulatory prices begin to adjust, this year's inflation is expected to rise above 50.9% in 2021.”
According to the Indec, inflation accelerated again in February, reaching 4.7%, accumulating a fluctuation of 52.3% over the past 12 months. Tuesday. The first two months of the year began this way with a high inflation index, since the CPI reached 3.9% in January. This began to question the validity of the official outlook agreed by the government and the IMF.
In this context, at the end of January 2022, market analysts expected retail inflation for the central bank to ease each month. The year was 55% year-on-year, which is about 2 percentage points higher than the previous survey.
The data comes from a Market Expectation Survey (REM) conducted by monetary authorities among consultants, banks, universities and other institutions that predict key indicators of the economy.
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