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.

Poverty in Argentina reached its highest level since the aftermath of the 2001 financial crisis in the first half of the year, as President Javier Milei unleashed a shock therapy program to put an already reeling economy back on its feet.

Argentina's poverty rate rocketed to 52.9% in the first half of 2024, the government's INDEC statistics agency said on Thursday, surging from 40.1% a year earlier.

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.

Argentina’s poverty rate soared to nearly 53% in the first half of 2024, according to official data released on Thursday, marking a sharp increase from the 41.7% reported at the end of 2023. This rise,

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.

Staunch libertarian Javier Milei has implemented a range of austerity measures since taking office. His government blamed previous administrations for the dire economic situation.