Down with Macrinomics! Argentina

A series of unforced errors and a slower-than-expected economic recovery have hurt President Mauricio Macri’s approval ratings in recent months. A general strike today organised by the CGT, the largest trade-union confederation, threatens to reinforce the downward trend. The CGT is demanding more-generous public-pay increases; Mr Macri insists large rises would jeopardise efforts to bring inflation down to 17% this year. The strike’s timing is embarrassing for the government. Business leaders are gathering in Buenos Aires today for a big World Economic Forum event. Investors worry voters will punish Mr Macri’s coalition in congressional elections in October, unless they feel the benefit of the government’s bitter economic medicine. As the stakes rise, the president’s supporters are also making themselves heard: last weekend thousands gathered in cities across the country to endorse his policies. Mr Macri will hope it is they, rather than the unions, who decide the outcome of the October poll.