Inflation in Argentina crossed the 100 mark last February. This means that the prices of products in Argentina have doubled over the past year. Such a situation has not occurred in Argentina for over three decades and already today many of the country’s citizens suffer from severe poverty.
What caused inflation to rise?
One of the main reasons for the increase in the Argentine price index is the price of beef, one of the most prominent symbols of the Latin country, by 35%. The price of sugary drinks jumped by 10% and in the field of food and restaurants the prices went up by 7% each.
(shutterstock/Matias Baglietto: photo) Alberto Fernandez, President of Argentina
Another factor for the abnormal price increase is the severe weather experienced by the country, the unusual heat wave that hit it and the drought that damaged the crops and animals. Last September, the Argentine people went out to protest the severe economic crisis that afflicts the country, but it seems that the situation has only gotten worse since then and the government has not taken any significant step to address the situation.
In the country they launched a new 2,000 peso bill to deal with inflation but this did not bring about a serious change and now it seems that many Argentines have fallen below the poverty line.
The instability of the Argentine government is also part of the reason that no significant steps have been taken and last summer, within four weeks, three ministers of finance in the country changed one after the other. At the moment it seems that the crisis is far from over and according to reports, there are disagreements between President Alberto Fernandez and his deputy Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner regarding the way it should be handled and it is evident that even at the highest levels of government there is no agreement on the methods of action that will bring the crisis to an end.
Constant price increase trend
The Argentinian price index has maintained an increase in the index on a monthly basis for a long time and prices are rising by high percentages, so it turns out that in the previous month of March the price index stood at 55% and in this month of March the assumption is that it will stand at a three-digit number higher than that of February.
As of this moment, the price index report for the month of March has not yet been published, but the expectation is that in March too there will be an increase in the index or at least the maintenance of the existing situation.