Argentina’s Macri Still Standing After Poor Month of Statistics
- Macri containing social unrest despite poor indicators
- Poll shows majority of people still optimistic about future
Argentina’s economy shrank 3.5 percent in the second quarter, industrial production plunged 5.9 percent in August and a report showed one in three living below the poverty line. Still, most remarkable of all last month was the fact President Mauricio Macri managed to keep a lid on social discord in a country where protests and strikes often seem to be a way of life.
Macri is staving off unrest by negotiating with the country’s powerful labor unions and keeping his opponents divided, said Mark P. Jones, a professor of political science at Rice University’s Baker Institute in Houston. After meeting cabinet members Thursday, union leaders agreed to sit down with the government and businessmen to discuss their demands, calling off -- for now-- what would be the first national strike since Macri took office 10 months ago.