(Angus Reid Global Monitor) - Most people in Argentina think the government is to blame for the rising cost of life, according to a poll by UCA and TNS Gallup. 54 per cent of respondents say the economic policies of the administration headed by Cristina Fernández de Kirchner are mainly responsible for price increases in the country.

Retailers and companies who seek to make more profits than they should are second on the list with 27 per cent, followed by the laws of supply and demand with five per cent.

In October 2007, Fernández de Kirchner won the presidential election with 44.9 per cent of the vote as the candidate for the Front for Victory (FV). In December, Mrs. Kirchner succeeded her husband, Néstor Kirchner, as Argentina’s head of state. The outgoing president was praised for fostering an economic recovery after a major crisis in 2002. Fernández de Kirchner has vowed to address poverty and carry on with her husband’s fiscal policies.

In January 2007, Néstor Kirchner replaced Graciela Bevacqua—the official in charge of calculating inflation—which led to allegations of data manipulation. Argentina’s official inflation numbers have been questioned ever since by retailers, bankers, investors and politicians. They all suggest that inflation is much higher than the government cares to admit.

In July, the president named Sergio Massa as her new cabinet chief of staff. Massa vowed to restore the credibility of Argentina’s Statistics Agency (INDEC).

On Sept. 10, INDEC said that annual inflation dropped from 9.1 per cent to 9.0 per cent in August.

Mario Blejer, Argentina’s former Central Bank president, said earlier this month that the bank cannot solve inflation woes if it lacks real data to work with, stating that there is a "credibility problem with the official figures," and adding, "I don’t know how much real inflation is, and that’s a problem."

Polling Data

Who do you think is primarily responsible for price increases?

Source: UCA / TNS Gallup
Methodology: Interviews with 1,005 Argentinean adults, conducted from Aug. 21 to Aug. 28, 2008. Margin of error is 3.1 per cent.

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