Argentina hits triple-digit inflation and pursues dollarization debate

Argentina's long-running pattern of large fiscal deficits financed by central-bank money printing pushed annual inflation above 140% by mid-2023 and past 200% by the end of the year, among the highest rates in the world outside a handful of collapsed economies. The peso traded at a steep discount to the dollar on parallel markets compared with the official rate, and poverty affected roughly 40% of the population. In November 2023 voters elected libertarian economist Javier Milei, who had campaigned on abolishing the central bank and dollarizing the economy; after taking office he instead pursued aggressive fiscal austerity and a large currency devaluation, and by mid-2024 monthly inflation had slowed considerably from its late-2023 peak, though annual inflation remained very high by global standards.