Macri pledges to press on with Argentina reforms

Argentina's President Mauricio Macri pledged Monday to press ahead with an austerity drive in Latin America's third-largest economy, following a sweeping victory in mid-term elections. Macri told a news conference at his Casa Rosada presidential palace in Buenos Aires he would target the large budget deficit and inflation in the remaining two years of his mandate. Macri's Cambiemos, or "Let's Change," coalition won decisive victories across the country in Sunday's mid-term elections which were widely seen as a referendum on his reformist government. He said his government was "in a stage of permanent reformism" that will lead Argentina to progress. "It's what people voted for yesterday," he said. "As long as Argentina has a fiscal deficit, it will continue to take on debt, but we have to reduce the deficit to lower inflation," Macri said. He indicated the government would tackle key tax, pension, labor and political reforms as a priority. Sunday's vote still did not deliver an overall majority in parliament, however. That means Macri will have to rely on smaller parties as well as the support of regional governors who depend on federal funds to finance their budgets. He said he would set up a meeting with governors "as soon as possible" to discuss his targets. "We have a lot of reforms to do. There is much further to go, so I hope that the governors play a very important role, the guilds, the Congress and the Justice Department because we all have to be committed," he said. Argentina has been battling inflation of well over 20 percent for the past decade. Macri has managed to halt the spiral since his election in 2015, though inflation this year is already running at 17 percent.