The World - News from May 29, 1989

Argentine President Raul Alfonsin announced strict currency controls, higher taxes and cuts in public spending as part of an emergency package to heal the ailing economy. Argentina is undergoing its worst-ever economic crisis, with June inflation forecast at over 100% and the public sector deficit, which economists say is the root cause of the problems, a massive 15% of gross domestic product. Speaking 14 days after his Radical Civic Union party suffered a crushing election defeat, Alfonsin said in a televised speech that the value of the austral will be set in the future by the government at a rate that will ensure export competitiveness while access to foreign exchange will be strictly limited.