BUENOS AIRES, April 8 (UPI) -- Some 15 million Argentineans are living below the poverty line, with 6 million of them considered indigent, a survey released Friday shows.
Infobae reports some 500,000 Argentineans joined the ranks of the impoverished in the last three months due to the rising cost of food and other basic necessities.
The study follows recent news Argentina's economy had posted a record expansion and joblessness had declined.
However, some analysts warn the numbers touting Argentina's recovery following a disastrous economic collapse in 2001 are an artificially inflated comparison to the dog days of its latest recession.
The South American country plummeted into its latest bout of malaise when then-President Fernando de la Rua froze all bank accounts in December 2001, a move that triggered deadly riots.
Argentina soon thereafter defaulted on more than $100 billion in foreign debt, which it is only now beginning to pay back, though only a fraction of it.
