Argentine poverty remains above pre-pandemic level

Protesters holding an Argentine flag arrive at the Plaza de Mayo to demand higher salaries and more jobs, in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on Thursday, May 12, 2022. (AP Photo/Victor R. Caivano)

BUENOS AIRES: Argentina’s poverty rate remains above its pre-pandemic level in the first half of this year as high inflation eroded the benefits of the country’s economic recovery.

About 36.5% of Argentines lived in poverty earlier this year, the government’s statistics agency reported last week. That’s above the 35.5% reading just prior to the pandemic and well above the previous low of 25.7% seen in 2017.