Argentina’s Economy-Good or Bad indications?

Today I was reading over the May 25th-31st edition of the Economist magazine, and I was looking at the economic and financial indicators section when I noticed Argentina’s Consumer Price Index (CPI) had risen to 289. For those who are unfamiliar, the CPI measures inflation based on a basket of prices for consumer goods. The country chooses a base year in which the economy was relatively stable, and then they compare prices from thereon. In comparison, the base year is 100 on the index, so having a number of 289 is not very good for the economy.

I also noticed that Argentina was experiencing negative growth in their overall GDP, with a 1.4% decrease in productivity. My first reaction was that this was a bad situation, as Argentina was having a decrease in their GDP while also experiencing crippling inflation.

However, I wondered if this was perhaps a good thing, since a decrease in their GDP also meant an overall decrease in aggregate demand, causing price levels to fall and give way to an eventual decrease in inflation. On the other hand, I realized that this additionally meant that the decrease in GDP was an indication of a population that could not afford as many goods, perhaps even neccessary ones for day-to-day life.

Overall, I wonder what the combination of the two numbers truly meant. Progress or further suffering for Argentina?