In Argentina, menus often have layers of stickers over the prices, a tell-tale sign of price increases
Wojciech Pitala says Argentina used to be a cheap country, but the rising cost of living has forced him to rethink his living situation When Flor Rosenblatt’s landlord told her that her rent would triple she was worried, but not overly surprised. Such increases have become commonplace in Argentina, which is in the grip of one of the– with prices rising by around 10 per cent every month.
Before the crisis, Flor, who lives in a middle-class neighbourhood in Buenos Aires, says she and her family would go out for dinner a few times a month. Now they think they will only be able to afford to go out once or twice.“If I buy clothes I have to use my credit card, but that has a very high interest rate. I’m definitely not going out so much and being more careful with my spending.Many Argentines spend on credit cards and buying items in 12 instalments across the year is relatively common.
This, combined with decades of inflation, means most Argentines want to save in US dollars. Those who can get a foreign bank account or work for overseas companies can earn in dollars, while others prefer to save money in cash by hoarding dollar bills. A, perhaps apocryphal, statistic claims that Argentines have more dollar bills per person than residents of the US.
In the early days of the current economic crisis these nomads – foreigners working remotely, often to take advantage of the lower cost of living – were largely shielded from inflation by a preferential exchange rate. But in recent months, even the digital nomads have been feeling the pinch. “I used to work remotely from cafes and I was always going from one to another. I can’t do this anymore. I bought myself a thermal mug and now I make coffee at home and go for a walk in the park.”
In November, Argentina elected Javier Milei, a maverick, libertarian economist who won the election by waving a chainsaw above his head and promising to upend the country’s economic order.
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