🇦🇷 La Otra Cara

The other side of Argentina's economy — beyond the few figures repeated to say all is well.

« Argentina attracts capital »

Support from the US Treasury, the RIGI regime for large investments, falling riesgo país: the narrative claims that capital is coming back.

But looking at what really comes in through the foreign exchange market, ~99% is debt or speculative placements, and barely ~1% is productive direct investment (factories, mines that create jobs). Worse: over the last 12 months, several multinationals have left the country. Argentina remains last in the region for foreign investment that actually came in. (source: CEPAL · UNCTAD) What « comes back » is mostly debt.

Green = productive investment (FDI), orange = speculative, red = debt. If the green is invisible, the country is not financing its growth: it is taking on debt.

The premium demanded to lend to Argentina. Low = can borrow… which it does massively (see above).