With three-digit inflation, Argentines juggle to make ends meet

In a stressful fight against inflation of 113% annually, many Argentines They are forced to visit different stores daily in search of the best price for basic goods such as food to defend their dwindling purchasing power.

In the midst of a prolonged crisis that has thrown a good part of Argentines into poverty, the Government will announce on Wednesday afternoon the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for August, which would be 11.8%, according to the median of a Reuters poll, driven by an abrupt devaluation of the peso.

“What both my wife and I do is go around, look for prices, look for places where there are offers for quantity to, in this way, beat inflation or at least compete a little bit.“said Fernando Cabrera, 59, as he did the math with his calculator at a fruit and vegetable market in Tapiales, in the suburbs of Buenos Aires.

“It becomes difficult because what a product costs today, tomorrow or the day after costs a little more, it is always like being against the clock, searching and searching, buying what is cheaper in one place and going to another and buying something else.“added his wife Laura Celiz.

Argentina suffers from a chronic depreciation of the domestic peso, a shortage of foreign currency in the central bank and a fiscal deficit that is difficult to cut, while negotiating with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) the payment of a debt for US$ 44,000 million, in a country where four out of every 10 inhabitants live in poverty.

Inflation is one of the main concerns of Argentines, who will go to the polls to elect president on October 22 among three candidates: the ultra-liberal Javier Milei, who obtained the most votes in the August primaries; the current Minister of Economy, Sergio Massa, and the former conservative minister Patricia Bullrich.

“At what exchange rate are we evaluating this inflation? Some estimate that it could accelerate to 180%, which is why we are talking about record inflation levels.“said the economic analyst Damian Di Pace. “While the rest of the Latin American countries have 1-digit inflation, Argentina is already at 3″he added.

Not only are buyers juggling to make ends meet, but also business owners, who must pay higher prices for merchandise and do not know if they will be able to replace it after selling, in addition to suffering from product shortages due to the uncertainty due to the accelerated inflation.

Butcher Marcelo Capobianco, 53, fears having to close his business and is considering emigrating to another country, while displaying meat prices in dollars, the currency that many use as a refuge from the constant devaluation of the peso.

“It is dramatic because we do not know how we are going to pay the rent this month, how we are going to pay the electricity because people are angry and have every right because they cannot afford to buy a kilo of meat, so we are going to be affected.“said Capobianco in his butcher shop in Olivos, on the outskirts of Buenos Aires.

“We are already thinking about what we are going to do because, in reality, if this continues, I think we are going to have to lower our blinds”he added.

Source: Reuters