1 in 3 Argentines Now Live in Poverty Under Macri Govt: Report

A staggering 1.4 million people have fallen into poverty since the beginning of Mauricio Macri’s government, bringing the total number of people living under the poverty line to 13 million, according to a new report published Friday.

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Published by the Observatory on Social Debt of the Catholic University in Buenos Aires, the report analyzes poverty statistics in the country post-December 2015, when President Macri took office.

"We've maintained a very complicated structure from the social point of view since last December," said Agustin Salvia, director of the observatory, to a local radio station Friday.

The indigence rate, meaning those who live in extreme poverty and cannot afford to satisfy their basic need such as food, rose from 5.3 percent at the end of 2015 to 6.9 percent in March 2016.

This means that a further 350,000 people are now living in extreme poverty compared to the pre-Macri period.

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In a country with 43 million people there are 1.4 million people accessing essential food items, 7.9 million people facing difficulties in accessing health programs, and 7.2 million people without adequate housing.

The report also analyzes working conditions in the country and warns of abuse from employers. "The lower-middle class is the most vulnerable (and) the sector that suffers the most (from) falling consumption, rising prices and increased risk of layoffs," noted Salvia.

According to the report, 57 percent of 17 million workers work in precarious jobs or are unemployed.