Macri's reforms burned in gas-tariff fight

A retreat on subsidy cuts casts doubts on the Argentine president’s broader energy agenda

Among the most vexing problems on president Mauricio Macri's desk when he took office was Argentina's energy crisis. Subsidies were unsustainably costly, eating up more than 10% of federal spending-a bigger outlay than education and healthcare combined-and growing imports were sucking much-needed dollars out of the country's coffers. The answer was clear enough: raise prices for consumers and provide incentives for domestic producers. But the politics have proven far more difficult. Macri and his energy minister Juan José Aranguren's first attempt to deal with the subsidy question was disastrous. They tried to put in place a 400% increase in gas prices for most consumers and a sixfold increa