Argentina Business Closures Reach Highs Under Milei
Argentina has lost 32,290 companies since President Javier Milei took office in November 2023, leaving the country with its lowest number of businesses since 2007. The decline in the business fabric has persisted for 18 consecutive months, affecting 14 out of 18 economic sectors and 23 of the country’s 24 provinces, according to data from the non-partisan research foundation Fundar.
The contraction represents a 6.3 percent drop in the total number of firms since late 2023. Compared with the same month last year, 15,475 businesses disappeared, marking a 3.1 percent annual fall. The Monitor Mensual de Empresas report shows that 10,095 companies vanished so far this year alone.
Contraction Outpaces Prior Presidential Administrations
The current downturn is the steepest recorded during the first 32 months of a presidential administration since comparable data collection began, according to the Fundar report. By comparison, changes in the number of active companies during the initial 32 months of past administrations ranged from a 2.2 percent decline to a 4.1 percent increase. This group includes the terms of Cristina Fernández de Kirchner starting in December 2007, Mauricio Macri starting in December 2015, and Alberto Fernández starting in December 2019.
Guido Zack, Fundar’s director of economics, pointed to multiple structural pressures choking commercial activity. Falling domestic demand, together with high costs in dollar terms, the tax burden, infrastructure problems and financing costs, are creating a highly adverse environment for companies, including those productive enough to compete,
Zack said, adding that Argentina must rebuild viable conditions for production and investment.
Growth Projections Slashed Amid Deteriorating Domestic Demand
Last month, the Central Bank’s REM market expectations survey cut its economic growth forecast for 2026 to 1.5 percent, down from a three percent projection made in June. The same survey lowered its overall projection for the country’s economy from three percent to 2.5 percent.
A weekly report from Banco Provincia’s Economic Research Department stated that the national economy needs to expand by at least 2.3 percent between August and December to prevent the statistical carry-over effect into next year from turning negative. While private consumption normally drives gross domestic product growth due to its large share of economic output, its current trajectory remains constrained. Purchasing power, employment levels, access to credit, and public-sector transfers to households have all deteriorated.
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