Nearly six in 10 Argentines believe their economic situation is worsening, with almost half saying they are feeling the impact personally, according to a survey by political consultant Jorge Giacobbe’s consultancy firm.
Some 48.9 percent of respondents said last month that the deterioration was affecting them directly, while another 9.5 percent said they recognised the worsening economic situation but had yet to feel its impact in their daily lives.
Combined, the two groups accounted for 58.9 percent of those surveyed – up from 54 percent in a previous poll conducted between late May and early July.
The survey also found that 5.3 percent believed the economy had stagnated, bringing the proportion of respondents who saw no improvement to about 64 percent.
By contrast, 28.5 percent said the economy was improving and that they were feeling the benefits, while 7.3 percent believed it was improving but said they had not yet felt any difference. The combined positive assessment stood at 35.8 percent.
The findings come as Milei's government continues to defend its programme of austerity and spending cuts, arguing that fiscal discipline is necessary to stabilise an economy long plagued by high inflation and chronic deficits.
But almost half of those surveyed took a sharply negative view of the government's economic strategy. Some 47.8 percent described the programme as "mistaken", saying it was causing "meaningless suffering" for Argentines.
Another 22.4 percent said people needed to "hang on" in the hope that conditions would improve in the future.
A further 16.8 percent said the austerity measures were "not that bad" and that "we are doing fine", while 3.6 percent said the programme made sense but questioned how much hardship Argentine society could withstand.
Some 8.7 percent said they did not understand La Libertad Avanza's economic programme and doubted that it would produce positive results.
Only 0.7 percent of respondents were undecided.
– TIMES/NA
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