Argentina Economy Grows Less Than Expected as Imports Surge
Bloomberg4 days
Argentina's GDP Grows 5.8% in Q1
Above: Argentine Economy Minister Luis Caputo and Argentine President Javier Milei on April 14, 2025. Image copyright: Juan Mabromata/AFP via Getty Images
The Spin
Pro-government narrative
Javier Milei's economic reforms are delivering spectacular results, with Argentina even outpacing China's growth rate. This Q1 expansion proves that fiscal discipline and free-market policies work better than the populist disasters of previous administrations. Investment is booming at 31.8% growth, showing business confidence in the new direction.
Government-critical narrative
This GDP growth is actually below forecasts, and does little to help Argentina to tackle its serious structural problems — tens of thousands of formal jobs have been lost since Milei took office and austerity measures have frozen wages and devastated the public sector. If the economy pick-up fails to seep through to the job market, then only a few will benefit from it.
Metaculus Prediction
There's a 75% chance that Javier Milei will be reelected as president of Argentina before Jan. 1, 2028, according to the Metaculus prediction community.