Record drought pushes Argentina back into recession

[peppertree]

Argentina's Statistics Bureau (INDEC) reported that economic activity in the country fell again in May - albeit at a much slower rate than in April, posting a monthly drop of only 0.1%.

But compared to May 2022, activity was 5.5% lower - pushing GDP to its lowest level in 16 months, and representing the sharpest year-on-year fall in 31 months.

It was the second consecutive monthly drop for Argentina's economy, the third-largest in Latin America and 23rd in the world, after monthly GDP fell 1.8% in April (and 4.4% from April 2022).

In both monthly readings, agriculture accounted for virtually the entire downturn - with annual GDP slipping 0.4% in April and rising 0.3% in May but for that sector.

A record drought - the worst since 1929 - pushed agricultural output down 37% in April and 43.8% in May, costing the severely indebted country's coffers an estimated $20 billion in foreign exchange.

The nation's GDP, however, remains 5% above December 2019 levels, when current President Alberto Fernández took office on the heels of a foreign debt bubble crash known as the "Macrisis" - a reference to his right-wing predecessor, Mauricio Macri.

Fernández's Economy Minister, Sergio Massa, is currently in Washington negotiating repayment terms with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) over a record, $45 billion bailout granted to Macri during his failed re-election campaign - reportedly at the insistence of then-President Donald Trump.

At: https://www-baenegocios-com.translate.goog/economia/El-impacto-de-la-sequia-continuo-en-mayo-y-el-PBI-siguio-en-baja-20230718-0049.html?_x_tr_sl=es&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en-US&_x_tr_pto=wapp

A harvester collects soy in eastern Argentina's fertile Pampas region.

A record drought - the worst since 1929 - has cost the country's coffers an estimated $20 billion in foreign exchange so far this year, bringing a strong 2021-22 recovery to a halt and jeopardizing the country's ability to service its $190 billion public foreign debt.

Argentina's public foreign debt doubled under right-wing President Mauricio Macri in 2015-19 - an estimated 80% of which went to finance asset dollarizing and offshoring by both local elites and foreign speculators.

[Judi Lynn]

1. For every step forward made on behalf of life immediately gets erased by enormous leaps backwards.

Clearly there's a struggle going on, and even global warming is directly related to greed, cruelty, hatred.

Very large stakes.

Greed and ambition have been active throughout, while peaceful people and people of conscience have been maintaining life without causing hardship for others. We are going to find out the power of active evil against actual awakening, untested intelligence, wisdom, strength, I'll betcha.

Clearly, the idiots have been getting away with real murder far too long.

Hoping the voters of Argentina are ready for the challenge ahead with the next election, and that the powerful fascist element in Argentina will fail at stealing control back again, as they did in the last dictatorship.

Such bad news with this drought. It just can't be allowed to win!