Social cuts and recession Milei's radical course leads to even more poverty in Argentina

In Argentina, the ultra-liberal President Milei has cut state aid. Thousands of civil servants have been made redundant. The economy is also faltering. More and more people are struggling to make ends meet.

In the face of drastic cuts to social programs and a sluggish economy, poverty continues to rise in Argentina. 52.9 percent of the South American country's population lived below the poverty line in the first half of the year, according to the national statistics authority (Indec). In the second half of last year, the figure was 41.7 percent. The proportion of the population living in extreme poverty rose from 11.9 to 18.1 percent.

Argentina's ultra-liberal President Javier Milei has cut a number of social programs and subsidies since taking office at the end of last year. Numerous public sector employees have also been made redundant. At the same time, the once wealthy country is in the midst of a severe economic crisis. The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) expects economic output to fall by four percent this year - the worst figure of all the G20 countries of the leading and emerging economic powers.

dpa