GZERO Daily is a free newsletter!

{{ subpage.title }}

A shopper looks at produce in a market in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Reuters

As inflation nears 100% in Argentina, the political class struggles to respond

Though much of the world is suffering from uncomfortably high inflation as economies adjust to the disruptions brought by the pandemic and the war in Ukraine, some countries are grappling with double- or triple-digit price increases. In Argentina, for example, a rapid acceleration of price gains in recent months has economists predicting inflation will reach 100% this year.

We asked Eurasia Group expert Luciano Sigalov to explain the runaway price increases in the South American country and how political leaders are responding to them (or not).

How did we get here?

This is not Argentina’s first bout of very high inflation. The last was in the late 1980s, when inflation topped 4,000%. After a period of price stability in the 1990s, inflation began to accelerate again in 2005 and then skyrocketed over the summer. Prices rose at an annual rate of 83% in September, one of the highest in the world.

Read moreShow less

A man works at an illegal oil refinery site in Bayelsa, Nigeria.

REUTERS/Akintunde Akinleye

Nigeria struggles to curb oil theft

Nigeria’s official oil output recently slumped to a two-decade low of less than 1 million barrels per day, spotlighting a longstanding problem with oil theft in Africa’s largest country. Mele Kyari, head of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corp. Ltd, sparked debate locally when he provided an estimate of the magnitude of the problem: Thieves are stealing about 200,000 barrels per day.

These losses are particularly galling at a time when many oil-producing countries around the world are reaping the benefits of high prices. Nigeria, conversely, earlier this year said weak oil income had caused federal revenue to fall below its debt service obligations in the first quarter.

So, what’s going on? We asked Eurasia Group expert Tochi Eni-Kalu to explain.

Read moreShow less

Election banners of Kenya's presidential hopefuls.

REUTERS/Baz Ratner

Kenya’s two-and-a-half presidential horse race

On Aug. 9, Kenya’s 22 million registered voters will go the polls to pick a successor to the outgoing President Uhuru Kenyatta, who is barred from reelection by term limits. They will also select new national- and county-level lawmakers and county governors. For the presidential contest, Kenyans are presented with a batch of familiar faces to choose from. Yet even by the standards of the country’s ultra-transactional, unpredictable politics, this year’s electoral playing field is an unusual one. We spoke with Eurasia Group analyst Connor Vasey to learn more.

Read moreShow less

Subscribe to our free newsletter, GZERO Daily

Latest