Photo Credit: Rayma Suprani, CagleCartoons.com
The sun is shining bright on Macri’s Argentina. Last Sunday’s parliamentary elections came as a victory for Argentina’s President Macri’s “Let’s Change” coalition. The coalition won in 13 of Argentina’s 23 provinces, and in Buenos Aires, Esteban Bullrich defeated former President Cristina Fernandez with 41.34 of the votes. However, under Argentina’s electoral laws that give the second-place finisher a seat, Fernandez still received a seat in the senate, granting her immunity from prosecution over corruption allegations.While Macri’s coalition may not have the majority, according to Ignacio Labaqui, a local analyst with New York-based consultancy Medley Global Advisors, the coalition prevented the opposition from gaining the two-thirds majority needed to block presidential vetoes, which gives Macri a decent shot at passing his pro-market economic reforms.
Since taking office in 2015, Macri has sought to resolve the macroeconomic imbalances—which led to inflation—he inherited from Fernandez. Macri will look toward making labor and tax reforms to boost the environment for business and investment. The market appears to be on his side. The country’s currency, bonds and stocks have been strengthening as investors begin to bet on Macri’s agenda. It is still too soon to tell if Macri’s reforms will beat the odds, or if they’ll be effective. Macri’s sun, at least, is still shining bright.
