Argentina’s inflation accelerated to 2.1% in July, according to the National Institute of Statistics and Censuses (Indec), breaking the downward trend projected by the Executive and undermining official pledges made by President Javier Milei and Economy Minister Luis Caputo that inflation would approach “zero point something” by August.
With this increase, the CPI accumulates a 19.3% rise so far this year and a year-on-year variation of 33.8%, the statistics agency reported. A family of four required 1,564,716 pesos to avoid poverty in July 2026, representing a 2.2% increase over the previous month and 36.1% more than a year earlier, according to Indec.
RELATED: Argentina Scientists Rally at Obelisk Over Milei’s Budget Cuts
Milei had categorically assured during a December 2025 event: “By the middle of next year or August, inflation will be zero point something, for sure it will start with zero.” In March, Caputo added that if the country remained on that course, “inflation can comfortably start with zero in August.”
The Central Bank’s market expectations survey (REM)—compiled with input from 45 consultants and financial entities—estimates that the indicator will stagnate at 1.8% for August, revealing a gap between official projections and economic forecasts, the study indicates.
This discrepancy clashes with Milei’s 2023 book “The End of Inflation,” where he promised to eradicate the inflationary tax, and comes after the initial devaluation of his administration that doubled the official dollar’s value, amid a harsh fiscal adjustment and public-sector defunding. The La Libertad Avanza party slogan of “we lowered inflation” now confronts the continued deterioration of purchasing power in the daily lives of most Argentinians.
Milei repitió una y otra vez que a mitad de este año la inflación iba a desaparecer.
Intervinieron el INDEC, frenaron la actualización de la medición y ni así pudieron.
La inflación sigue ahí y el ajuste lo pagaron los trabajadores, los jubilados y las familias argentinas pic.twitter.com/vGj7E1tljT
— Nicolás Trotta (@trottanico) August 13, 2026
Reports from private consultants confirm that official policies have severely hit the domestic market through the freezing and collapse of real wages, along with the closure of more than 2,000 manufacturing companies.
Several sources have placed the figure of formal and registered jobs lost under Milei’s administration—spanning both public and private sectors—in the range of 220,000 to over 340,000.
Although the general CPI indicator attempts to present itself as a slowdown, fixed household expenses—including housing, basic services, health, and regulated tariffs—experienced increases above the general level, directly impacting the working class, whose real incomes remain in free fall.
In the most recent surveys, 76.8% of respondents considered the current situation a crisis, compared to 17.3% who stated otherwise. The perception of crisis also increased among those who voted for Milei, reaching 52.5%. Among those who speak of a crisis, 83.6% believe the worst is yet to come.
From teleSUR English via This RSS Feed.