Southern Cone in February 2026: the most important developments in economy
The Southern Cone's economic news in February 2026 was dominated by Argentina. At month end Argentina's Congress passed a labor reform, a key part of President Javier Milei's economic agenda, which extends the legal maximum workday from 8 to 12 hours and changes severance pay and trial periods for new hires. Milei's 2026 plan also includes tax cuts, dollar-denominated loans for businesses and further structural reforms. A separate vote is planned to loosen the glacier protection law, on which a potential $40 billion copper mining boom depends.
Argentina deepened its economic ties with the United States. It received an $808 million US loan to pay interest owed to the International Monetary Fund, signed a critical minerals agreement covering resources such as lithium and copper on February 4, and signed a trade and investment agreement in the following days that cuts tariffs and raises the US import quota for Argentine beef fivefold. The US Department of Justice sided with Argentina in an $18 billion lawsuit brought by Burford Capital over the 2012 nationalization of YPF.
The government postponed a new inflation measurement method, contradicting the statistics agency's earlier announcement of a release the following week. Official Martin Lavagna resigned, Economy Minister Luis Caputo confirmed the delay, and the government blocked the proposed index. Opposition figures criticized the decision, and Milei appointed a new statistics chief.
Business news was mixed. Equinor sold parts of its Argentine assets in a $1.1 billion deal, and several multinationals closed plants or put local businesses up for sale as import liberalization alarmed domestic industry. Techint's Paolo Rocca said the company would not join the Vaca Muerta gas pipeline tender unless the terms change. YPF reported an annual net loss, Argentine stocks fell on Wall Street, and Argentina Airports will invest $110 million in Ezeiza airport. In Uruguay, the president attended a business forum in Shanghai.
by WorldBrief & Maksim Micheliov | AI-generated summary
Click a day in the chart above for that day's brief.