The expectations prompted by the current context were a factor in attracting many industrial SMEs from the Group’s value chain to fill the Convention Center auditorium for the latest ProPymes meeting. Moderated by the executive president of Ternium Argentina, Martín Berardi, the session included presentations by the economist and former Minister of Production and Labor, Dante Sica, as well as veteran journalist Carlos Pagni.
Argentina’s horizon following the primary elections has raised many questions: What will happen? How to plan for the immediate future? What is the best way to navigate uncertainty? To provide some clarity on the different scenarios likely, focused always on reinforcing the value chain and the productive development of the steel sector, the 38th ProPymes Breakfast was held on September 6. These events are always designed to strengthen the local industrial fabric, but this time, the aim was also to explain the current context and situation that the country is going through during the electoral interregnum between the primaries and the general elections.
More than two hundred representatives from small and medium-sized companies listened to the economist and former Minister of Production and Labor, Dante Sica, at the Techint Training & Convention Center, who began the morning with a detailed description of the current political and economic panorama. Sica pointed out that after the primaries, the scenario broadened to include a third contender, giving way to greater uncertainty, and he emphasized that whoever wins, “will have to normalize the macro situation because things are currently very difficult to manage.”
Historian and journalist Carlos Pagni then took the floor to speak about “the crisis of representation” that came to the fore during the August 13 election, and discussed the other crisis, referring to the political and the social situation which has been an issue for many years. He linked that to the emotionality with which a large percentage of the electorate voted in these elections and commented on the Milei phenomenon: “He is a market fundamentalist, but since he won, the markets have slowed down. Why? Because the market is seeing governance.”
The executive president of Ternium Argentina, Martín Berardi, dedicated his talk to this uncertain and complex future, and was cautious during his presentation: “2024 will be a complex year, but also one of transformation. We are in a crisis, but this time we have more experience, more technology, and more liquidity. I invite you to work together with us as a value chain to be ready to tackle different potential scenarios.”