Economist Marina Dal Poggetto pointed out on Wednesday that in the current economic program, "the adjustment variable is the salary of the middle class" and emphasized that "the government prioritizes the exchange rate anchor and disinflation over the interest rate and the level of activity." "The previous government suppressed tariffs so that people would pay for expensive goods. They could set prices and quantities with cheap pesos and protection. Now, with high tariffs, if the prices of goods do not fall (like appliances, which fell 45% in the CPI or textiles by 20%), the adjustment variable ends up being the salary of the middle class, which is no longer enough to cover prepaid health plans or schools," stressed the director of Eco Go. In an interview with Radio Rivadavia, followed by the Argentine News Agency, she said that "activity in November was at the same levels as the previous year. Relative prices were absurd: a closed economy with a wide gap, ridiculously high goods prices and ridiculously low tariffs. Given that the strong tariff adjustment was mainly made in 2024, there should be almost no difference between one index and another; the final number will likely be in that 2.4% zone." "Now they have imported competition and a strong increase in costs due to tariffs and indexed services. The December figure was very high and left a significant drag for January; we are in the 2.4% zone after December's 2.8%," the economist considered. In the same vein, she recalled that "it must be taken into account that in January the INDEC index methodology changes, with new weights and a consumption structure based on 2017. This is leading to news of factory closures and layoffs," she added to her analysis. Regarding inflation, she revealed that the consultancy observed that "in the first three weeks, the pace is in the half-point weekly zone." "It is still high, but lower than the previous pace."
