Argentina annual inflation hits 138 percent

BUENOS AIRES

Annual inflation in Argentina rose to 138 percent in September, official figures showed, as economic woes mount ahead of a pivotal presidential election.

Argentines are already struggling to make ends meet, with about 40 percent of the population living in poverty as the Latin American giant reels from the latest in a long line of economic crises.

Prices rose 12.7 percent in September alone. 

The news came just days after Argentina's beleaguered peso tumbled to new lows against the dollar on the informal market as citizens scramble to ditch the peso amid anxiety over what the election will bring.

Argentina's traditional political parties have been rocked by the emergence of outsider Javier Milei, a surprise frontrunner in the presidential election.

His libertarian ideas and plans to slash a bloated state and ditch the peso for the US dollar have wooed voters across the board who are desperate for a way out of decades of economic chaos.

President Alberto Fernandez on Oct. 11 said he had filed a complaint against Milei, accused of sparking a run on the peso by claiming it "isn't worth excrement."

Milei's main rivals in the Oct. 22 vote will be former security minister Patricia Bullrich on the right, and incumbent Economy Minister Sergio Massa from the ruling center-left coalition.

Massa has also been accused of worsening Argentina's crisis by going on a spending spree to lure voters - further fueling inflation, a chronic problem in the country.

In recent weeks he has eliminated income tax for some 800,000 citizens, removed VAT levies from basic goods, and is making cash payouts to millions of informal workers.

Analysts say whoever wins the election faces an uphill battle to achieve what no previous government could: restoring fiscal discipline in the heavily indebted country, where millions rely on welfare, and which has a penchant for printing money to finance its overspending.