The salary, more and more minimum | Argentina has gone from …

The minimum wage measured in dollars records under the Mauricio Macri government a fall of 49%. Most of this decline is explained by the devaluation of 2018, which largely outpaced the revenue trend. Since the end of 2015, the minimum wage has risen from $ 580 to $ 297, causing Argentina to lose 5 positions in the regional ranking, from the first to the sixth position of the minimum wage expressed in dollars, according to economists from the University of Avellaneda. During the same period, the minimum wage in dollars increased in Uruguay, Chile, Ecuador, Paraguay, Bolivia, Peru, Colombia and Brazil. The other country that has had a negative result with Argentina is Venezuela.

The minimum wage, vital and mobile (SMVM) is the legal threshold for the wages of workers in a relationship of dependency. This is not a value that automatically affects pay, but it does so by setting a higher or lower threshold for collective bargaining. The SMVM is defined by the Salary Council, which brings together government officials, unions and business entities.

In November 2015, the minimum wage was 5588 pesos, which was equivalent to 589 dollars and the dollar 9.5 pesos. At that time, Argentina held a very comfortable leading position compared to other countries in the region, followed by Ecuador and Chile, with minimum wages of $ 354 and $ 352, respectively. Part of this huge difference (more than $ 200) with the second and third positions is explained by the strong exchange rate pressures caused by the "cheap" official dollar at 9.50 pesos sold with restrictions and the dollar "blue" at 16 weights defined by a small and opaque market. The sharp devaluation of December 2015 and resulting exchange rate stability, as well as increases in the SMVM, reduced the minimum wage to $ 501 in December 2017. At that time, it was still at the top of the ranking. regional, $ 75 against the minimum wage of $ 425 from Chile and Uruguay.

With the devaluation of last year, the minimum wage in Argentina fell to $ 297, or $ 457 in Uruguay, $ 456 in Chile, $ 394 in Ecuador and $ 348 in Paraguay.