The prediction made by President Javier Milei for 2023, that 'in 2025 salaries in dollars are going to fly,' came to nothing. Not only did this not happen, but according to a report from the Latin American Strategic Center of Geopolitics (Celag), the incomes of Argentine workers have plummeted. As reported by NA, the national government used workers' salaries 'as an anchor for adjustment and the slowdown of inflation.' Furthermore, according to data from Celag, updated to this November, Argentina's minimum wage is the lowest in the entire region. With only 225 dollars, Argentina is at the bottom of the table, below Bolivia (395 dollars) or Paraguay (411 dollars). According to information from Indec, registered workers also lost ground to inflation last September. While inflation that month reached 2.1%, salaries in the private registered sector grew by only 1.4%, and in the public sector, by 1.1%. Celag's statistics on general inequality are extremely complex, as two-thirds of the population have incomes below the average, and 77% of households have a per capita income below 800,000 pesos, which is 542 dollars. This article was first published in Mendoza Today. Source: Mendoza Today. The ranking is led by Costa Rica (729 dollars), Uruguay (593 dollars), and Chile (567 dollars). The collapse in purchasing power The decline is not only seen in regional comparison but also in internal purchasing power. According to a report from the Faculty of Economic Sciences at UBA, the Minimum, Vital, and Mobile Salary (SMVM) accumulated a loss of purchasing power that reached 34% between November 2023 and this September. The plunge began in December 2023 (-15%) and January 2024 (-17%). As a result, the real minimum wage 'in September 2025 reached a level lower than that of 2001, prior to the collapse of convertibility.' Salaries are not rebounding. The plunge has not affected the minimum wage.
