Macri Admits Generating Unrealistic Expectations

After a “spiritual retreat” to an Argentine oceanfront resort with his 22-member cabinet last week, Mauricio Macri admitted that he had generated unrealistic expectations of “magical” change when he took power a year ago, NewsNow reported. But the harsh reality of an economy still in the doldrums is beginning to weigh on Argentines. Despite repeated assurances that the second half of 2016 would see the economy rebound, and hasty claims as early as August that “green shoots” had begun to appear, industrial production and construction shrank 8% and 19% respectively in October compared to last year. Analysts say that overcoming the economic imbalances inherited from Cristina Fernandez, Macri’s predecessor, is proving much harder than first thought. Many now also worry that the victory of Donald Trump in the US presidential elections is threatening Argentina’s reliance on the international markets to finance a transition away from an economy that was in default and on the brink of a balance of payments crisis when Macri became president last December.