ARGENTINA’S INFLATION RATE, END-OF-PERIOD CONSUMER PRICES (ANNUAL PERCENTAGE CHANGE) 60 Annual percent change 40 20 0 -20 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010 2015 2020 2025 Source: IMF DataMapper. Retrieved from: https://www.imf.org/external/datamapper Before the emergence of the pandemic, Argentina’s primary deficit was projected at 1.1% of GDP in 2020 but, as a result of the social spending due to the pandemic, Argentina ended the year with a 6.5% of GDP budget primary deficit, the highest since 1993 (Buenos Aires Times, 2021). The home isolation and social distancing associated with COVID-19 have had a significant impact on tax revenue, while social protection measures and support to companies and workers have led to an increase in public spending (IDB, 2021). For 2021, the Argentine government has announced a target of 4.5% of GDP for the primary deficit. In this sense, the pandemic and the associated lockdown, which have had a significant impact on the earnings of groups in vulnerable situations, has amplified the role of the government as a provider of social and economic assistance. In the second half of 2020, Argentina’s poverty rate rose to 42%, according to the National Institute of Statistics and Censuses (INDEC, by its Spanish acronym). It is the country’s highest rate since 2004, emphasizing the impact of the pandemic on the country. These numbers mean that some 19 million people in Argentina are classified as poor. There is also a significant dispersion in poverty rates at the geographical level, with higher rates in the Northeast and Northwest regions and in the Buenos Aires conurbation. The grow in poverty has, in turn, exacerbated inequalities. 05 DFIs FINANCING IN ARGENTINA DURING THE PANDEMIC: COVID-19 PROJECTS AND TRANSPARENCY SHORTCOMINGS