Sergio Massa, a presidential candidate in Argentina, has pledged to introduce a central bank digital currency (CBDC) to address the country's persistent inflation problem if elected.
During a presidential debate on October 2, Massa, the second-leading candidate in the country, expressed his concern about Argentina's high inflation and outlined his plans to tackle it. He stated:
"It is clear to me that inflation is a big problem in Argentina. We will launch a digital currency in Argentina. We will do it globally for all of Argentina and create an anti-money laundering law that will allow those who have money abroad to take it abroad and use it freely without the simultaneous imposition of new taxes."
Massa rejected the idea of dollarization, emphasizing the importance of defending the Argentine currency rather than promoting the use of the U.S. dollar.
Argentina's general election is scheduled for October 22, and Massa is currently trailing slightly behind Javier Milei, a pro-Bitcoin candidate who won Argentina's primary election in August. Milei has advocated for adopting the U.S. dollar as Argentina's official currency and has expressed skepticism about central banks. His campaign pledge includes abolishing Argentina's central bank, which he views as problematic.
Milei has previously described Bitcoin as a response to "central bank scammers" and argued that the Argentine peso has allowed politicians to defraud the public through inflation. Another candidate, Patricia Bullrich, has proposed a dual currency system in which the Argentine peso and the U.S. dollar would coexist as legal tender if she wins the election. The Argentine peso has experienced a drastic depreciation of over 99% against the U.S. dollar since December 2023.
Most data indicate that Argentina has one of the highest inflation rates globally, ranking third after Venezuela and Lebanon.
