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BUENOS AIRES, Argentina — The market welcomed Argentina’s new Economy Minister Sergio Massa on Thursday with what appeared to be a cautiously optimistic attitude amid questions about how he would fulfill a key goal of reducing the fiscal deficit, while leftist groups criticized his initial plans they said would inevitably lead to austerity measures.
In an example of the balancing act that Massa will now have to carry out, his initial words were not well received by leftist political parties and elements of the ruling coalition who are demanding more welfare for the poorest members of society who have been particularly hard-hit by one of the world’s highest inflation rates, currently running at more than 60% annually.
“Massa is a man of the establishment who works for big capital, for the interests that represent the payment of the debt,” Eduardo Belliboni, a leader in the Workers’ Party, told…
