BUENOS AIRES—Fernando González thought life would be better under President Mauricio Macri, a market-friendly businessman who had pledged to easily tame inflation and turn Argentina into an export powerhouse.

Instead, Mr. González, a 43-year-old maintenance man, saw his work dry up amid a grinding recession. He canceled vacations and stopped going to the movies. He pulled his son out of private school, enrolling him in a public one.

“When...