• Argentina.Macri apologizes and announces a crisis relief plan to win over the middle class
  • Economy: The Argentine peso in free fall: another 7.5% is devalued and the risk premium touches 10-year highs

The hard blow of the defeat in the primary elections on Sunday produced an amazing transformation in the Argentine president, Mauricio Macri, who after criticizing the "shortcuts" and the state-controlled economy throughout his political career, announced measures of a government leftist.

VAT disappears from basic consumer products , fuels will not increase, despite the wishes of oil companies, and mortgage loans will be disconnected from the evolution of inflation.

"My only priority is to take care of the Argentines and bring them relief. I made an exceptional decision that had never been taken in the country's history: we are going to eliminate VAT on the main foods that Argentine families buy ," Macri said in a message broadcast on social networks.

Among the products considered "basic" are "sunflower oil, corn and mixture; dried pasta; milk, yogurts; grass, matte tea; tea; wheat flour; polenta; batter; breadcrumbs; vegetables; fruit preserves and legumes, "reported the Government. The measure governs, in principle, until the end of the year.

That the Macri Administration appeals to price controls, freezes and tax exemption in the final stretch of its mandate has only one explanation: it desperately seeks to reduce the distance with the Peronist candidate, Alberto Fernández, who won by 47% to 32 in the primary, to force a second round of elections in October and win it in November.

This is what some in the Government call the "three and three": they need Fernández to lower three points, until 44, and the Executive to raise three, to 35. In those figures, the Constitution determines a second round. On the other hand, if someone exceeds 45%, they are declared an immediate winner.

Macri's announcements coincided with the first day in which the price of the dollar fell and the markets calmed down, although the tension continues: there are strong rumors of changes of ministers, and that of the Treasury, Nicolás Dujovne, is not seen since the last week.

After two failed public appearances on Sunday and Monday, in which he came to blame voters for the financial crack kirchnerismo of Monday, Macri resumed the initiative: he apologized to the Argentines, called Fernandez and reunited the Government to ensure that the electoral battle is not lost and he will fight to be reelected.

Fernandez, in turn, said the price of the dollar at 60 pesos (Friday had closed at 47) "is fine," thus giving a signal to the markets. The question goes through what the Central Bank will do, that to intervene in the market and offer dollars you should consult the IMF, a borrower of 57,000 million dollars and until now a decisive and decisive part in the economy of the country.

After what happened this week, with heterodox measures that do not contribute to reducing the fiscal deficit, but precisely the opposite, local analysts believe that the agreement with the IMF no longer fully governs and that it must be renegotiated by the new Government from the December 10, be Fernández or Macri.

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  • IMF
  • Mauricio Macri
  • Argentina Elections

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COMICIOS Argentina, polarized between Mauricio Macri and Cristina Kirchner

Primary: Macri's very hard defeat against Cristina Kirchner's candidate in the primary elections in Argentina