Leonardo Amarilla is desperate. The geneticist and PhD in biological sciences holds a coveted position as a full-time researcher at Argentina’s prestigious national science council, Conicet, studying how to improve yields of crops such as peanuts, soya beans and sunflowers.
But after President Javier Milei imposed sweeping austerity measures, known locally as his “chainsaw” plan, Amarilla’s salary plummeted and he found he could no longer afford basic groceries or support his ageing parents.
