Argentina's middle class grew by 7.7 million people in the first quarter of the year

INDEC's Permanent Household Survey (EPH) has revealed that Argentina's middle class has experienced a noticeable expansion in the past year, from 23 per cent of the population to a solid 39 per cent in the first quarter of 2025. This means that about 7.7 million people have managed to improve their economic situation and get out of the vulnerability threshold, marking one of the fastest recoveries since the covid-19 pandemic and the strong devaluation after 2019.

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Shocking development: people get richer when the government stops trying to "help" them.

‘Not much to celebrate’ despite fall in poverty, says expert​

“Behind the improvements in poverty statistics there is not much to celebrate,” said Salvia, whose department won acclaim for consistently tracking poverty throughout the 2000s, when government data became unreliable.

"If we compare the third quarter between the two years, we are almost even, with 38.2 percent in the third quarter of 2024 versus 39.2 percent in the third quarter of 2023,” he said.

“Nothing significantly changed if we consider the level of employment and the real value of wages and salaries. On average, they are very similar to the situation in the third quarter of 2023," said Salvia, whose observatory tracks poverty on a multi-dimensional basis, rather than just a monetary value, as INDEC does.

aociswundumho said:

Shocking development: people get richer when the government stops trying to "help" them.

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"The most terrifying words in the English language are 'I'm from the government and I'm here to help'." - Ronald Reagan

"A wise and frugal government, which shall restrain men from injuring one another, shall leave them otherwise free to regulate their own pursuits of industry and improvement, and shall not take from the mouth of labor the bread it has earned." - Thomas Jefferson

aociswundumho said:

La clase media argentina crece en 7,7 millones de personas

El informe ha sido elaborado por la consultora LCG y atribuye este crecimiento social al reordenamiento macroeconómico impulsado por Milei

gaceta.es

Shocking development: people get richer when the government stops trying to "help" them.

Click to expand...

You mean the rich get richer. Argentina poverty rate is 38% and whether this growth is sustainable is in serious question. Unbridled capitalism has historically ended in ruin.

Can It Last?​

While Milei's sharp fiscal and monetary tightening has won praise for restoring stability, economists warn that his recovery rests on a fragile foundation. "Investment and industrial production remain alarmingly low, and this model doesn't seem sustainable without more external debt," Agostinelli told Newsweek. "Countries that make lasting progress have development planning. In Argentina, Milei is leaving everything to the market, which makes sustainable success almost impossible."
Still, some economists urge caution. "Argentina's economy is not yet stabilized. The adjustment at the beginning of Milei's term caused a sharp drop in wages, pensions, infrastructure, and provincial budgets," economist Guido Agostinelli told Newsweek. "Inflation has slowed, but it came at the cost of transferring resources from the middle class to the wealthiest and increasing inequality."

Agostinelli pointed out that inflation peaked at 25.5 percent in December and has since slowed month over month, but warned the decline is deceiving. "We're seeing less inflation partly because demand collapsed, not because costs fell," he said to Newsweek. "Since there's no strong demand, prices don't rise as much despite higher input costs."

He also added: "The peso remains artificially strong, supported by IMF lending and more debt. But net reserves are still negative, and the lack of foreign currency may force another currency adjustment after the elections."

He also noted: "The artificially strong peso benefits a small segment of society that can travel or buy cheap imports, but history shows that these situations usually end in devaluation, job losses and more inequality."

Martín Redrado, former head of Argentina's central bank, cautioned that the country risks taking the wrong lessons from taming its inflation without addressing deeper structural challenges.

"We've settled for defeating inflation, but we shouldn't be complacent," Redrado told Los Andes. He pointed to the lack of a comprehensive tax overhaul and persistent barriers to corporate capital flows as signs the recovery is not yet secure.

External factors also pose serious risks. Global conditions — particularly the policies of Milei's ally, U.S. President Donald Trump — have weakened Argentina's key export markets. Trump's trade war has driven down prices for oil and agricultural commodities, reducing Argentina's export earnings and complicating Milei's effort to build reserves and attract investment.

https://www.newsweek.com/argentinas-javier-milei-keeps-proving-his-critics-wrong-2095695

I have relatives who live in Argentina.
It's been almost fifty years since I have been there but I talk to them a few times a year and I spoke to them four months ago and they were not thrilled
with Milei at all, and they are not lefty.

Anybody who speaks "Argentina" and "financial stability" in the same sentence is a blithering idiot.

aociswundumho said:

La clase media argentina crece en 7,7 millones de personas

El informe ha sido elaborado por la consultora LCG y atribuye este crecimiento social al reordenamiento macroeconómico impulsado por Milei

gaceta.es

Shocking development: people get richer when the government stops trying to "help" them.

Click to expand...

I'm always impressed by the fondness in which libertarians hold authoritarians.