The government warned that if dollarization is implemented, the price of gasoline will skyrocket

In view of the general elections on 22 October, the government wanted to show the effects of a scenario “without subsidies”, while defining the policies of the space itself as “in line with inflation and the reality of the wage power of Argentines”. In this sense, the Secretary of Energy, Flavia Royon, pointed out that, in the event of a triumph of the libertarians, fuel prices could skyrocket, if three key factors are taken into account: the sudden devaluation that is needed to dollarize, at an exchange rate that is not yet known; the backlog of fuel taxes, which are frozen; and the gap between local and international prices. On this last point, Royon stressed that “today international prices are high and with a lot of uncertainty due to the global context due to the conflict in Israel and in the Middle East and how this may affect oil prices at the international level.” In addition, in support of the Union for the Homeland formula, the secretary said: “Minister Massa always had a policy. The resources are Argentinian and the costs associated with the resources are in pesos. So, the prices of fuels in the domestic market must correlate with the inflationary reality.” According to sources in the sector, a reduction in subsidies would place gasoline prices at around $900 or $1000 per liter, in line with the current price of the parallel dollar. In this sense, he remarked that if the ruling party wins the elections “there will be no sudden increases in rates. Even for the user who is paying the full cost of energy today, such as industry or the high-income segment, they will have a slight decrease in the price of the tariff. And it will be approximately 6%,” he concluded.

Original source in Spanish