When President Luis Lacalle took office, he invited 100,000 Argentines to settle and invest in Uruguay, as it is a serious and safe country. And to that end he applied economic flexibility to foreigners.
Emigration –it is not known how many investors- occurred mainly towards the East of the country.
And since last year the situation has turned around, Uruguayans are going to buy from Argentina because of the exchange difference and it is seriously affecting the country’s coastline.
One of the most complicated items at the moment is fuel. The price difference in the liter of super gasoline reached 115% in May, according to the latest IPF report prepared by the Economic Observatory of the Catholic University of Uruguay (UCU). This gap considers the new reduction in the Imesi of 40% that the government decreed as one of the measures to alleviate the critical situation that exists on the coast; if the benefit were not taken into account, the difference between Salto and Concordia would be 258%.
Diesel, for its part, registers a gap of 207.5%. While the only product in the category whose price is cheaper in Uruguay are tires, with 23.4% in favor.
This not only takes into account the reduction in the Imesi, but it must also be considered that the Executive Branch has maintained the value of frozen fuels for most of the year.
Other affected sectors are shops and services, a situation that is also very sad. No matter how much the government applies measures, it is impossible to match prices to dismiss Uruguayan purchases in the neighboring country.
