This Thursday, Indec confirmed that September inflation was 12.7%. In the last twelve months, inflation reached 138.3%, while during the year it accumulated an increase of 103.2%. This jump in prices marks a second consecutive month with a double-digit variation, in August it had been 12.4%, a record in three decades. This acceleration, which could indicate the entry into a high inflation regime, was driven by the 22% devaluation applied by the candidate minister. At the request of the IMF, Massa’s measures continue to sink popular incomes.
#DatoINDEC
Consumer prices (#IPC) increased 12.7% in September 2023 compared to August and 138.3% year-on-year. They accumulated an increase of 103.2% in the first nine months of the year https://t.co/GTVFgmYq1J pic.twitter.com/xof6yqYE3W— INDEC Argentina (@INDECArgentina) October 12, 2023
The official data are released a few days before the general elections and in the middle of currency runs. This week the blue dollar exceeded $1000, triggering exchange volatility. The great political and economic uncertainty, added to speculative maneuvers, overheated parallel quotes well in advance, and their transfer to prices cannot now be ruled out.
The Indec report showed that in September the division with the greatest increase was Clothing and footwear with 15.7%, driven by the change of season. Secondly, there was the division Recreation and culture with 15.1%, driven by high rates in cable and TV services. The Food and non-alcoholic beverages increased by 14.3%, and were the item with the highest incidence in all regions of the country. The largest increases occurred in: Meats and derivatives, Bread and cereals and Fruits. In the first 9 months of the year they accumulate an increase of 117.5%a worrying fact.
With poverty greater than 40%, the inflationary blow punishes the popular sectors who allocate most of their income to the consumption of these basic goods. Massa’s measures, such as the post-PASO devaluation, triggered inflation, further impoverishing working people. In the middle of the exchange rate run, Milei and Melconian’s statements are incendiary, they defend the interests of concentrated economic power.
Faced with this attack on the popular pocket, there is another way out
The consequences of inflation fall on the working class, whose purchasing power plummeted and they lost more than 23% compared to 2015. Given the advance of the economic and social crisis, more and more poor workers are working overtime or They work multiple jobs to try to make ends meet. Informal workers were and are the most affected, since they do not have joint ventures, they lose by a landslide. Massa’s devaluation to comply with the IMF blew up salaries, pensions and social allowances, skyrocketing prices.
However, inflation impacts differently between social classes, increasing inequality. Not everyone loses, benefiting from the government’s measures, large companies have been earning millions in this country.
This is the case of food. The great concentration allows mega groups such as Arcor and Molinos Río de la Plata to have “market” power to raise prices seeking not only to hedge against inflation, but also to increase profits. Between 2022 and the present, its profit margin was around 10-15%, according to a report from Centro Cifra.
#Inflation There is another way out: monthly update so that salaries and pensions do not lose to inflation; We must ignore the inflation agreement with the IMF, it is odious debt; nationalize foreign trade to prevent flight; effective price control x workers.
— Myriam Bregman (@myriambregman) October 12, 2023
The candidates of the bosses’ parties promise to remain tied to the demands of the IMF, which will only deepen the national decline. Given the catastrophe that threatens, it is necessary to urgently fight for another way out. The defense of salary is of the first order. Emergency measures are needed such as an increase to recover what was lost for retirees, employed people and social programs. That no one earns less than what a basic basket costs, currently at $284,687, on the way to achieving a minimum wage equal to the family basket that Indec workers calculated at $436,602.
The Unity Left Front proposes a series of measures so that once again it is not the workers and the people who pay the costs of this crisis. Starting with the sovereign ignorance of the debt and the break with the IMF. Nationalization of the banking system to stop the flight of dollars and speculative maneuvers. Along with the nationalization of foreign trade. Within the framework of thinking about a society organized according to social needs, to turn history around.
Source: www.laizquierdadiario.com
