The Americas | Argentina’s economy

It’s cold outside

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

|BUENOS AIRES

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"

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