Argentina is once again experiencing one of the highest inflation rates in the world with a rate exceeding 100% in the three decades since the hyperinflation experienced in the 1990s.
According to Argentina's Central Statistics Agency (INDEC), annual inflation reached 108.8% in April 2023 after rising again from 104.3% in March, the highest record since 1991.
This happened as a result of the economic crisis in Argentina which has not fully recovered since 2018.
Their annual inflation has been above 50% most of the time since then and inflation has worsened due to the prolonged economic recession of the last three years.
According to the World Bank, since the 1950s, Argentina has experienced a prolonged recession compared to other countries.
Now, almost 40% of Argentina's population has been categorized as poor compared to 25% at the beginning of the crisis.
In 2018, the currency crisis that occurred caused the peso to lose half its value against the US dollar.
The IMF has offered a $57 billion loan to the business administration under former President Mauricio Macri, but that has failed to restabilize Argentina's economy.
In 2019, the election won by Alberto Fernandez led to a massive sale of government bonds which ultimately resulted in the government defaulting.
Inflation is increasing when Fernandez acts to print paper money to increase the cash supply and finance the payment of government programs during the pandemic due to default.
In 2023, economists see drought and inflation causing a recession with Argentina's GDP declining by 3%.
The triple-digit inflation has caused a contraction in wages for Argentines, further reducing their purchasing and spending power.
The drought caused exports of their main commodities such as soy, corn and wheat that previously helped growth, employment and income taxes for the country to suffer.
This can be seen happening again like inflation in the early 1980s which started to increase during the debt crisis.
At that time, Argentina also acted by printing paper money to deal with the recession after the crisis.
It made their annual inflation rate reach 300% between 1975 and 1990.
Also in the 1980s, the purchasing power of the middle class shrank by 30%.
In 1985, to curb hyperinflation, pesos were converted into australs where 1 austral equaled 1,000 pesos.
However, the inflation rate remained high reaching 20% after 1988.
The economic crisis since the 1990s seems to be continuing until now, causing Argentina to still not be completely free from economic recession compared to other countries.
