Lawmakers in Argentina approved draft legislation to create and distribute emergency food supplies for the poorest citizens to combat a worsening economic crisis.

Conservative pro-market President Mauricio Macri instituted a host of now-hated neo-liberal austerity policies to comply with the terms of a record US$57 Billion International Monetary Fund (IMF) bailout.  

The result:  "We are facing a problem of hunger, malnutrition and a sharp drop in income," said the bill's author, opposition lawmaker Daniel Arroyo.  "We all have to help in a complicated context in which there are many people who are having a hard time."

When Macri became president in 2015, he set about reversing the generous social spending of the previous center-Left administration of Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, who is running for vice president against Macri's ticket in the 27 October election.  By April 2019, inflation had reached 55 percent.  Macri also removed price controls on public utilities, restoring them to market figures which gouged hosuehold budgets.

With thousands of protesters camped outside parliament this week to demand food aid in soup kitchens and schools, Macri acknowledged that many Argentine families "are finding it harder to make ends meet".  

He added, "Where this situation strikes most clearly is at the table of Argentines, which is the most important thing for the family."