Prices skyrocket, stun Argentines
Prices skyrocket, stun Argentines
It’s ‘scary,’ grocery shopper says after currency devaluation
By PETER PRENGAMAN THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Posted: December 19, 2015 at 2:47 a.m.
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VICTOR R. CAIVANO
Credit: AP
Two men, one holding a sign that reads “devaluation = madness” in Spanish, speak Thursday during a protest
against President Mauricio Macri’s economic measures in front of the Congress in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
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BUENOS AIRES, Argentina -- Argentines expressed shock at soaring prices on Friday and a major union called for protests to demand salary increases in the initial fallout from a major devaluation of the South American nation's currency.
The price increases came after the new administration of President Mauricio Macri on Thursday lifted restrictions on the buying of U.S. dollars. That led to a 30 percent devaluation of the Argentine peso in comparison with the dollar, which was immediately felt across the country.
Supermarket shoppers said Friday that they will have to buy less of some products such as bread and even cut out some things like beef, practically sacrilegious in a country known for its choice meats.
Gisela Guana, 26, a maid, said that earlier this week she could buy bread for 42 cents a pound but now its 55 cents a pound. "What's happening is scary," said Guana, who earns $535 a month. "Workers are the ones who are going to pay" for the devaluation.
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Argentines receive ‘Macri-economic’ shock treatment
Sun, Dec 20, 2015 - Page 13
AFP, BUENOS AIRES
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A chalk outline with the words “your salary” in Spanish is drawn in front
of the Argentine Congress during a protest against Argentine President
Mauricio Macri’s economic measures in Buenos Aires on Thursday.
Photo: AP
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After only one week in the top job, Argentine President Mauricio Macri has passed drastic economic reforms, drawing praise from foreign investors but angry protests from citizens afraid for their salaries.
The so-called “Macri-economic” shock treatment in Latin America’s third-biggest economy saw the Argentine peso plunge by a third after he scrapped his leftist predecessor’s dollar exchange controls.
That was an even sharper fall than during Argentina’s financial crisis in 2002, when it had to be bailed out by the IMF.
A sharp adjustment is needed to make the country competitive, Macri said, but economists and his political opponents argue that it will hurt Argentines’ purchasing power in the medium term.
More:
http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/biz/archives/2015/12/20/2003635189
