The Latin American Report # 368

Beef doesn't go up in price, but few buy it

In Argentina, the eternal discussion about how distant macroeconomics is from the everyday experiences of ordinary people had a new chapter after the latest inflation data were released. “Wholesale inflation, which is the one that is anticipated, was traveling at 54% per month when we arrived. Today it travels at 2% per month. It travels less than the 'crawl' plus imported inflation, so technically [the emphasis is mine, @limonta] we are close to what would be zero monetary inflation”, said President Javier Milei last Tuesday.

The liberal leader, armed with a sometimes symbolic and sometimes real chainsaw, frequently forces certain economic interpretations, exaggerating Peronist defeats and maximizing his “victories”. I always say that Milei was given a contract by the Argentines to conduct a textbook liberal experiment that involved using them as (disposable) lab rats.

The furious head of the Pink House does not seem to care much about what and how much the ordinary Argentinean eats, how much the ticket costs, or if he/she makes ends meet. The contract signed by Milei is much easier, and it could end proving that, without printing money, privatizing on a piecework basis—that is: shrinking the State, although taking advantage of the power it grants to advance his interests—, and in general scrapping public services, he will defeat inflation.

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The problem is that, while the latter may be falling, so is consumption, in a country where 1 out of every 2 Argentines is poor. “The price of meat these months did not go up because there is very little consumption. As [it] goes down, so do sales,” says a butcher in Buenos Aires. A trade association notes that there has not been so little beef eaten since the beginning of the last decade. People do not buy long distance anymore but try to control expenses by buying what they need for one or two days. A lawyer says that, although inflation has been contained, people cannot touch that (technical) achievement from their homes.

Meanwhile, Milei appoints officials along the lines of the Trump/Musk relationship. The owner of Balcarce 50 is very focused on presenting himself as an ambassador of artificial intelligence—or any cutting-edge technology—and also as the staunchest representative of capitalism and freedom, or rather of certain vision of freedom, which also includes the “freedom” to starve and not make ends meet. And it is not a matter of attacking these scourges with welfare, but rather that, as leader of the nation, he should open the way for all “good Argentines” to find a dignified exit to the sea, although yes extending a lifeboat if there is a threat of drowning. But who knows if Tesla, Meta, Alphabet, Microsoft, and the next Republican administration have the answers the Buenos Aires butcher's customer needs.

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And this is all for our report today. I have referenced the sources dynamically in the text, and remember you can learn how and where to follow the LATAM trail news by reading my work here. Have a nice day.