New Argentine President Must Deal with Inflation, Weak Economy

2023-11-21

00:00 / 00:00
复读宝 RABC v8.0beta 复读机按钮使用说明
播放/暂停
停止
播放时:倒退3秒/复读时:回退AB段
播放时:快进3秒/复读时:前进AB段
拖动:改变速度/点击:恢复正常速度1.0
拖动改变复读暂停时间
点击:复读最近5秒/拖动:改变复读次数
设置A点
设置B点
取消复读并清除AB点
播放一行
停止播放
后退一行
前进一行
复读一行
复读多行
变速复读一行
变速复读多行
LRC
TXT
大字
小字
滚动
全页
1
  • Libertarian Party politician Javier Milei has won Argentina's presidential election with 56 percent of the vote.
  • 2
  • Now President-elect Milei must face the South American country's economic problems.
  • 3
  • Inflation has been measured at over 140 percent.
  • 4
  • The country lacks foreign currency for international trade, people who aim to save are selling the Argentine Peso, and a recession appears likely.
  • 5
  • About 40 percent of Argentines live in poverty.
  • 6
  • Milei is promising to close Argentina's central bank.
  • 7
  • He also supports dollarization.
  • 8
  • Dollarization means Argentina would stop using its peso and instead use the U.S. dollar for money.
  • 9
  • Milei won a second-round of voting on Sunday with about 56 percent against opponent Sergio Massa's 44 percent.
  • 10
  • Now he will try to turn around the economy once he takes office on December 10.
  • 11
  • Failure could lead to the country's tenth debt default, increased poverty, and possible social unrest.
  • 12
  • Argentina's high inflation rate creates huge problems in its markets and for consumers.
  • 13
  • Prices change weekly. Economic experts predict a yearly rate of 185 percent inflation by the end of the year.
  • 14
  • To reduce inflation, Argentina's central bank has increased the interest rate to 133 percent, which pushes people to save Argentine pesos.
  • 15
  • However, this move makes it too costly to borrow money and hurts economic growth.
  • 16
  • Capital controls have harmed the value of Argentina's peso since a stock market crash there in 2019.
  • 17
  • However, different exchange rates for currencies of other nations have led to problems.
  • 18
  • For example, the U.S. dollar's official exchange rate is about 350 pesos per dollar,
  • 19
  • but news reports say it can trade for a far higher price under different controls.
  • 20
  • Milei has promised to quickly undo capital controls and to dollarize the country's economy.
  • 21
  • Argentina's central bank reserves of foreign currency are near their lowest level since 2006.
  • 22
  • A major drought affected the exports of important crops like soy, corn, and wheat, which used to bring in enough foreign exchange money.
  • 23
  • Low reserves threaten the country's ability to repay its debts to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and private bondholders.
  • 24
  • It will also be difficult to pay for imported goods.
  • 25
  • The government has agreed on an extended currency swap with China to help enable it to carry out foreign trade.
  • 26
  • Argentina also had to delay some payments to important trade partners like neighboring Brazil.
  • 27
  • Argentina is Latin America's third-largest economy.
  • 28
  • But it is expected to shrink by two percent this year, the central bank predicted.
  • 29
  • The recession is partly being blamed on the drought that cut corn and soy crops in half.
  • 30
  • With very high inflation, poverty will likely increase as workers' pay and savings decrease.
  • 31
  • Argentina, rich in important grains, natural gas, and lithium, could see an increase next year as improved weather helps crops.
  • 32
  • A new gas pipeline will reduce dependence on costly imports, and demand is rising for the lithium needed for electric vehicle batteries.
  • 33
  • Soy and corn are expected to have stronger harvests, which will bring in much-needed foreign currency.
  • 34
  • Eugenio Marí is head economist at Libertad y Progreso Foundation.
  • 35
  • He said agriculture and oil and gas from rocks, called shale, can help the economy.
  • 36
  • The "harvest will help bring a greater flow of income in the economy, as will the greater production of (shale oil formation)," he said.
  • 37
  • I'm Dan Novak.
  • 1
  • Libertarian Party politician Javier Milei has won Argentina's presidential election with 56 percent of the vote.
  • 2
  • Now President-elect Milei must face the South American country's economic problems.
  • 3
  • Inflation has been measured at over 140 percent. The country lacks foreign currency for international trade, people who aim to save are selling the Argentine Peso, and a recession appears likely. About 40 percent of Argentines live in poverty.
  • 4
  • Milei is promising to close Argentina's central bank. He also supports dollarization. Dollarization means Argentina would stop using its peso and instead use the U.S. dollar for money.
  • 5
  • Milei won a second-round of voting on Sunday with about 56 percent against opponent Sergio Massa's 44 percent.
  • 6
  • Now he will try to turn around the economy once he takes office on December 10. Failure could lead to the country's tenth debt default, increased poverty, and possible social unrest.
  • 7
  • Inflation
  • 8
  • Argentina's high inflation rate creates huge problems in its markets and for consumers. Prices change weekly. Economic experts predict a yearly rate of 185 percent inflation by the end of the year.
  • 9
  • To reduce inflation, Argentina's central bank has increased the interest rate to 133 percent, which pushes people to save Argentine pesos. However, this move makes it too costly to borrow money and hurts economic growth.
  • 10
  • Peso controls
  • 11
  • Capital controls have harmed the value of Argentina's peso since a stock market crash there in 2019. However, different exchange rates for currencies of other nations have led to problems. For example, the U.S. dollar's official exchange rate is about 350 pesos per dollar, but news reports say it can trade for a far higher price under different controls.
  • 12
  • Milei has promised to quickly undo capital controls and to dollarize the country's economy.
  • 13
  • Central bank reserves
  • 14
  • Argentina's central bank reserves of foreign currency are near their lowest level since 2006. A major drought affected the exports of important crops like soy, corn, and wheat, which used to bring in enough foreign exchange money.
  • 15
  • Low reserves threaten the country's ability to repay its debts to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and private bondholders. It will also be difficult to pay for imported goods.
  • 16
  • The government has agreed on an extended currency swap with China to help enable it to carry out foreign trade. Argentina also had to delay some payments to important trade partners like neighboring Brazil.
  • 17
  • Recession
  • 18
  • Argentina is Latin America's third-largest economy. But it is expected to shrink by two percent this year, the central bank predicted. The recession is partly being blamed on the drought that cut corn and soy crops in half.
  • 19
  • With very high inflation, poverty will likely increase as workers' pay and savings decrease.
  • 20
  • Possible improvement
  • 21
  • Argentina, rich in important grains, natural gas, and lithium, could see an increase next year as improved weather helps crops. A new gas pipeline will reduce dependence on costly imports, and demand is rising for the lithium needed for electric vehicle batteries.
  • 22
  • Soy and corn are expected to have stronger harvests, which will bring in much-needed foreign currency.
  • 23
  • Eugenio Marí is head economist at Libertad y Progreso Foundation. He said agriculture and oil and gas from rocks, called shale, can help the economy. The "harvest will help bring a greater flow of income in the economy, as will the greater production of (shale oil formation)," he said.
  • 24
  • I'm Dan Novak.
  • 25
  • Dan Novak adapted this story for VOA Learning English based on reporting by Reuters.
  • 26
  • ________________________________________________
  • 27
  • Words in This Story
  • 28
  • default - v. at fail to pay a debt
  • 29
  • consumer - n. a person who buys goods for personal use
  • 30
  • drought - n. an extreme deficit of rain for a long period
  • 31
  • swap - v. an exchange of one thing for another by agreement
  • 32
  • income - n. money that is received from work, investment or taxes