Argentina peso drops against dollar after right-wingers win primaries

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
15 Aug 2023 00:04

With Milei scoring 30 percent of votes, the election's results were seen as a rejection of traditional political groupings that have failed to solve the country's crushing debt crisis.

In this photo taken on August 15, 2019 a cashier counts Argentine pesos bills at a supermarket in Buenos Aires (AFP)

Argentine's central bank devalued the peso by 20 percent on Monday after following the shocking win of far-right libertarian Javier Milei in Sunday's presidential primary elections.

Although the general elections are due to be held in October, the primaries have rocked the country to its core as Milei has proposed a controversial measure to dollarize the country's economy.

With Milei scoring 30 percent of votes, the election's results were seen as a rejection of traditional political groupings that have failed to solve the country's crushing debt crisis.

The peso on Monday traded at 365.50 to the dollar, up from 298.50 on Friday -- the largest devaluation of the 'official dollar rate' in a single day since December 2015.

As for the informal market's "blue dollar," the currency was trading at about 680 pesos.

The incumbent President Alberto Fernandez, who has become deeply unpopular due to a staggering year-on-year inflation rate of 115 percent, soaring poverty rates, and the plummeting value of the peso, will not seek reelection.

To address the economic challenges and dwindling foreign reserves, the government has implemented stringent currency controls and increased import taxes on businesses to stabilize the dollar.

Discontent with the present center-left administration, represented by Massa and his Union por la Patria party, as well as the right-wing opposition coalition Juntos por El Cambio (Together for Change), led by Bullrich, has created an opportunity for other candidates to gain ground.

Among them is the libertarian Milei, who holds far-right views on both the cultural and economic aspects, as he has promised to "blow up" the political status quo, shut down the central bank, dollarize the economy, and massively shrink the state. He also admires former US President Donald Trump and Brazil's ex-leader Jair Bolsonaro.

With a voting-eligible population of 35.4 million, the primary election on Sunday is considered a significant indicator of the potential winner of the general election, particularly if one candidate manages to distinguish themselves from the rest.

The trio of candidates will now advance to the first-round vote scheduled for October 22, followed by a possible runoff on November 19.