The share of Argentina’s population living in poverty fell sharply in the second half of 2024, the country’s national statistics agency announced on Monday, in a boost for libertarian President Javier Milei in his battle against high inflation.

The poverty rate fell to 38 per cent in the second half of last year — the lowest since 2022 — down from 53 per cent in the first half of the year, when triple-digit annual inflation left a majority of people unable to afford a basket of basic goods.

Milei, who took office in December 2023, implemented a “shock therapy” package including a sharp devaluation of the peso, sweeping spending cuts and the removal of price caps, unleashing price pressures that had been building after the previous left-leaning government printed billions of dollars to fund spending.