Inflation, a certainty that does not stop, and a great manifestation of social movements

In the last seven days, the inflation data for April was released, which was higher than that of March and shows that the phenomenon of sustained price increases cannot be controlled, although the Government continues to test measures to do so.

In this context, organized groups of the popular sectors held a protest march on Thursday, May 18, to request more support from the State, while the chess of the electoral assembly of the main political forces in the face of this year’s presidential elections advances.

Former president and current vice president Cristina Fernández once again said that she will not be on the ruling party’s ticket, which is still on the way to resolving its candidacies.

Great march of social movements

In the City of Buenos Aires, this Thursday was the day of protests by social movements -in which low-income sectors participate, with precarious jobs or who are supported by state aid- gathered in the Piquetera Unit, to which they joined, among others, the Union of Workers of the Popular Economy, an organization that today is pro-government.

Although demonstrations by these sectors are common, the Piquetero Unit promised to carry out one of the largest mobilizations they have done in the last 15 or 20 years. Its members traveled from different parts of the country and spent the night of Wednesday, May 17, camped out in front of the Government House. On Thursday the protest took place in front of the Ministry of Social Development, responsible for social aid items.

They demonstrated against what they consider an adjustment plan linked to the agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the reduction of social plans and to request more food for soup kitchens. All in a context of high inflation, while 39.2% of the country’s inhabitants are below the poverty line, according to data from the second half of 2022.

Inflation, a certainty that does not stop

Anyone who lives in Argentina and consumes goods and services here sensed – not to say knew for sure – what was confirmed on Friday with official data: inflation continues to grow and in April it was 8.4%, surpassing that of March, which had been 7.7%, in a streak of sustained increases that began in December 2022, the end of that year in which it had fluctuated between 3.9 and 7.4% per month.

The data is from the country’s National Institute of Statistics and Censuses (INDEC), which also reported that in the last twelve months the price basket that it measures increased by 108.8%. In April, food, as in many of the last months, was among the items that rose the most: 10.1%. And it is a sector that impacts all the inhabitants of the country, but especially the poorest.

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The Ministry of Economy reacted on Friday with the notice that there would be a strong portfolio work over the weekend and that measures to combat inflation would be announced on those same days, something that happened on Sunday. The main one was the 6 percentage point rise in interest rates, to bring them to 97% per year, after increasing them 10 points in April and thus trying to absorb pesos and remove them from consumption and purchase of dollars (black or white). .

If consumption slows down, one of the potential effects is that the economy cools down, so to try to contain this blow, the Government reduced the cost of financing purchases with credit cards in 12 installments, announced that it will simplify imports of goods of capital and will implement a tax holiday for micro, small and medium-sized companies.

Cristina Fernández said no again, then who?

Meanwhile, sectors related to Vice President Cristina Fernández continued to insist with the song “Cristina presidenta, Cristina Presidenta”, to convince her to run as a candidate for the presidential elections this year. This time the plea was in the Congress of the Justicialista Party, in which she was not present, nor was President Alberto Fernández.

The vice president had already publicly assured, on at least three occasions, that she would not appear and when the meeting ended she said it again. Cristina Fernández published on her website and through her social networks a letter in which she said that she would not be a candidate, told the Justice to try to proscribe her -her and other Peronists- and to operate for the opposition of Juntos for the change. She also called for “the construction of a government program that will make Argentine men and women fall in love again and convince them that a better country is not only possible but also desirable.”

It is unusual for Cristina Fernández to give journalistic interviews. But she will do it this Thursday at the ‘C5N’ channel studios, where she will talk with Pablo Duggan. In her last public expressions, she touched on recurring themes, such as criticism of the agreement with the International Monetary Fund, the opposition and the insistence on the idea of ​​proscription.

It is possible that it addresses the same issues. What is not clear is that he will give an answer to the question that is pressing in the electorate that is related to him: who will be the ruling party’s candidate for the Presidency?

In 2019, when she announced the Alberto Fernández-Cristina Fernández formula, she did it with a video through her social networks. Will you name someone? Through what means? Or will the internal one be settled in the Simultaneous and Mandatory Open Primary (PASO) on August 13?

The persistent confirmation by the former head of state that she will not participate adds to the announcements by the current president and his predecessor and opponent Mauricio Macri that they will not be candidates either – they only needed to say it once. So neither the current president nor his two predecessors will appear.

Will start a generational change in the main Argentine political forces? Not necessarily, although there will be name changes. The two main contenders of Together for Change, Macri’s party, are his former Security Minister Patricia Bullrich and the head of the Government of the City of Buenos Aires, Horacio Rodríguez Larreta, not exactly two newcomers to politics.

The parties and coalitions have time to present lists of candidates for the PASO until June 24. Meanwhile, the name of Javier Milei, an extreme economic libertarian and a social conservative, who is concentrating the vote against traditional politics, continues to haunt the two main coalitions, especially among young men.

Some see it as an ominous wake-up call that could surprise reaching the second round, others believe that his figure is oversized.

Re-elections, what is and what is not

Milei’s party does not have a national army and the candidates who allied with him in the provinces have not made good elections. The opposite is happening with the Frente de Todos, which has been successful in re-electing governors where it has tried. He won in La Rioja and Salta (northwest), La Pampa (center), and Tierra del Fuego (Patagonia).

Due to a decision of the Supreme Court that generated controversy, the elections for governor of the provinces of San Juan (west) and Tucumán (northwest), scheduled for last Sunday, May 14, were postponed, with the argument that the candidates for governor or lieutenant governor could not present themselves due to the limits to re-election established by their Constitutions.

In both cases, those questioned are pro-government supporters. Those of Tucumán will finally be held on June 11, after the current governor, Juan Manzur, who was running as a candidate for lieutenant governor, was removed from the ballot.

Argentine “El Loco” lands in Uruguay

Finally, a piece of news shared between Uruguay and Argentina: the former’s men’s national soccer team announced that its technical director is Marcelo “El Loco” Bielsa, which cements the fame of the last world champion as an exporter of DTs.

And since we’re talking about football, the U20 Men’s World Cup begins on May 20, to which the Albiceleste had not qualified, but which they are part of after FIFA took away the organization from Indonesia and Argentina became the host. The team led by Javier Mascherano debuted on the 20th in Santiago del Estero against Uzbekistan.