EACH SHOP MORE EXPENSIVE
For now, every trip to the supermarket is a reminder of the
country's inflationary crisis, the worst since 1991, which was
the end of a period of hyperinflation. Retiree Juan Tartara said
prices spiked with each weekly visit to the store.
"Sometimes food increases 10% or 15%," he said. "In one
year, beef went from around 1,000 pesos ($4.66) or 1,200 pesos
to 2,800 pesos."
Inflation will likely be one of the deciding issue for
voters in the October elections, where libertarian economist
Javier Milei has been gaining traction in the polls with his
promises to break the status quo.
President Alberto Fernandez's approval rating has decreased
as inflation soars, and currently hovers just above 20%. He has
not yet confirmed if he will seek re-election for a second term.
Paola Lavezzari, also in publishing, said inflation was
forcing her to tighten the purse strings and buy cheaper
products.
"The first thing you lose is the quality of the product.
Because what you used to consume of a better quality, today is
unaffordable," she said.
"Things were always maybe 10 pesos more, but now it's 100
pesos more. ... When you make the monthly shopping trip, it's so
much. The difference is huge."
($1 = 214.6700 Argentine pesos)
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Battling inflation in Argentina Battling inflation in Argentina (Interactive) Argentina: 100% inflation Argentina: 100% inflation (Interactive) ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^>
(Reporting by Horacio Soria and Juan Bustamante; Writing by
Anna-Catherine Brigida; Editing by Sandra Maler and Aurora
Ellis)
(Adds graphics, milestone for monthly inflation, comments from
presidential spokeswoman)
By Horacio Soria and Juan Carlos Bustamante
BUENOS AIRES, April 14 (Reuters) - Argentina's annual
inflation rate soared to 104.3% in March, the official
statistics agency said on Friday, one of the highest rates in
the world, straining people's wallets and stoking a
cost-of-living crisis that has pushed up poverty.
The inflation reading for the month came in at 7.7%, well
above analyst forecasts of 7.1%, marking the fastest monthly
rise since 2002 and piling pressure on the government which is
contending with angry voters ahead of elections in October.
"I try to think that someday we're going to be better off.
But the inflation we're living with today in Argentina is
terrible. It feels like never before," said Claudia Hernansaez,
a publishing company employee.
"In my case, I have zero capacity to save."
The soaring prices have hammered salaries and spending
power, pushed up poverty to near 40%, and dented the popularity
of the governing Peronist coalition as general elections near.
The country, a major global grains exporter, is also
grappling with one of its worst droughts in history, that has
hammered soy, corn and wheat crops, knocking billions off the
economy from lost exports and fanning domestic prices.
"The number we see today represents the worst moment of
the impact of the war on international prices and the worst
drought in history in our country," presidential spokeswoman
Gabriela Cerruti wrote on Twitter.
"We know, it hurts us, it occupies us, how this affects
daily life and every family," she added, saying the government
hoped a downward trend in inflation would be "reflected soon."
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