It’s cold outside
A battle over utility bills is Mauricio Macri’s first big crisis

THE most populous parts of Argentina are stifling in summer and bone-chilling in winter. The Kirchner family, which ruled for a dozen years until 2015, kept the cost of comfort low. An earlier government had fixed the price of electricity and natural gas in 2002 to help the economy out of a slump; the Kirchners barely raised it. As a result, Argentines pay a fraction of what their neighbours do for energy (see chart).
This article appeared in the The Americas section of the print edition under the headline “It’s cold outside”
The Americas
August 13th 2016
From the August 13th 2016 edition
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