Argentina's president lauds fall in poverty rate as figures disputed

Argentina's President Javier Milei on Tuesday praised a recent study which reported a dramatic drop in poverty in the country during his first year in office but which is disputed by watchdogs.

The National Institute of Statistics and Census (INDEC) reported Monday that the poverty rate in Argentina fell to 38.1% in the second half of 2024 after soaring to 53% in the first six months of that year. Additionally, homelessness fell from 18% to 8.2%, according to the study.

The results were lauded by Milei as a direct result of the economic reforms he implemented when taking office in December 2023. He attributed the heightened poverty rate to his predecessor and political rivals, former President Alberto Fernandez, Cristina Kirchner and Sergio Massa.

"I understand that the bluntness of the data hurts the 'econo-chants,' the envelope journalists, and above all, the politicians who see the success of a liberal program with an unprecedented fiscal adjustment that went against the establishment," he wrote on his X account.

While the self-proclaimed libertarian was quick to take the study to social media and praise the results, other statistics and welfare watchdogs have argued that it does not capture the full picture of Argentina's poverty situation.

The Argentine Social Debt Observatory warned that real incomes, employment and consumption have not increased at the same pace as the results celebrated by Milei. Instead, the UCA reported that without tighter control over employment and productivity, poverty could rise beyond its initial limits.

"The real challenge remains the generation of non-precarious employment and the strengthening of the productive economy. Without a recovery in purchasing power and real wages, poverty rates could stabilize at concerning levels," it wrote on X.