Argentina’s poverty rate soared to almost 53% in the first half of the year, official data released on Thursday showed, the first hard evidence of the painful impact of libertarian President Javier Milei’s tough austerity measures.

Poverty was already on the rise in Argentina before the Milei government took office. As recently as 2017, only about a quarter of the population were affected. When Milei assumed the presidency, he promised shock therapy, devaluing the peso by 50% and cutting the number of government ministries by half.

The share of Argentines with a positive view of Milei dropped 7 percentage points between August and September to 40 per cent, according to pollster Poliarquía, although overall approval of his government fell only two points, to 53 per cent.

Argentina’s poverty rate surged to nearly 53% in the first half of 2024, driven by austerity measures introduced by President Milei.

Poverty in Argentina rose to over 52 percent of the population in the first six months of self-declared "anarcho-capitalist" Javier Milei's presidency,

According to data released on Thursday by the national statistics institute INDEC, Argentina's poverty rate increased from nearly 42% to nearly 53% in the first six months of President Javier Milei's economic shock therapy.

According to data released on Thursday by the national statistics institute INDEC, Argentina's poverty rate increased from nearly 42 percent to nearly 53 percent in the first six months of President Javier Milei's economic shock therapy.