Argentina's Macrisis: Income poverty rises to 40.8%, highest in 15 years
The Catholic University of Argentina's Social Debt Observatory, which publishes a twice-annual survey of living conditions in the country, found that 40.8% of Argentines were living below the poverty line in the third quarter.
This was a sharp increase from the 33.6% recorded a year earlier, and the highest reading since 2005. Extreme poverty - those earning less than 40% of the poverty line - rose from 6.1% to 8.9%, the highest since 2006.
Poverty affected 32.1% of households. Those hardest hit were people in households led by unregistered workers (66.4%) and blue-collar workers (51.8%); some 59.5% of children are now poor.
Income poverty has risen steadily, from 28.2%, since the April 2018 collapse of a carry-trade debt bubble known locally as the "financial bicycle" plunged the country into its deepest recession since the 2001-02 convertibility crisis.
The 'bicycle' collapse forced President Mauricio Macri to turn to the IMF for an unprecedented $57 billion bailout; but of the $45 billion lent, an estimated $36 billion were ultimately used to finance capital flight.
Despite record harvests GDP has since fallen 7.4%, with unemployment rising to 10.6% - the highest since 2006. Those with jobs have seen real wages erode 19% as inflation more than doubled to over 50%.
The crisis has also affected Argentina's sizable middle class: So far this year, real retail sales are down 12.3% and new auto sales are down 43.4%.
Income poverty in those with middle-class occupations jumped from 4.9% last year, to 14.2% currently.
At: https://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&tab=wT&sl=auto&tl=en&u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.baenegocios.com%2Feconomia-finanzas%2FUCA-la-pobreza-salto-al-408-y-alcanzo-el-nivel-mas-alto-de-la-decada-20191205-0015.html
Families sift through clothing at a barter market in Villa Carlos Paz, in central Argentina.
These improvised markets, known as trueques, had not been widely seen in around 15 years - but have made a comeback this year after President Mauricio Macri's "financial bicycle" debt bubble collapsed in 2018.
The resulting "Macrisis" led to his defeat in October - making Macri the first Argentine president to lose re-election.
