OUR Argentina mired in inflation, which is expected to break the 100% annual barrier when the authorities release data for February. This will be the first time inflation has hit triple digits since the 1991 crisis.

Pensioner Irene Devita knows firsthand the consequences: an almost empty shopping bag and less food on the table.

At the San Fernando street market, on the outskirts Buenos AiresThe 74-year-old woman carefully measured her purchases, comparing prices that change every week due to inflation, which is 6% on a monthly basis – one of the highest rates in the world.

“The other day I came and asked for three tangerines, two oranges, two bananas and a pound of tomatoes. When (a staff member) told me it cost 650 pesos (3 euros), I told him to take everything out and leave only the tomatoes because I didn’t have enough money,” he says. “There is no money, people have nothing, so how to shop?”

The Argentine government has tried in vain to contain rising prices, which have eroded the purchasing power and savings of citizens, reduced the country’s economic growth and limited the chances of the ruling party to stay in power in the next elections.

Inflation dominates the debate, causing frustration and anger among people as wages often do not match the value of goods, despite government measures to impose price ceilings and restrict grain exports to support the domestic market.

50 year old Patricia Quiroga she says 100 percent inflation is unbearable as she patiently waits in line to shop. “I’m tired of all this… politicians fighting and people starving,” he told Reuters. “It doesn’t go any further,” he emphasizes desperately.

Reuters