Buenos Aires, July 1 (AFP\/APP): It is hard to come by but ever-present on the mind of average Argentines: the US dollar, whose value relative to the feeble peso is a barometer for an economy in crisis.<\/p>\n
“Dollars! Change, change, doooolars!” The cries of unofficial money changers follow tourists, but also locals, down the streets of central Buenos Aires’ office district.<\/p>\n
It is illegal, but part of life: These “arbolitos” (“small trees,” after the “green leaves” they sprout) offer a black market rate about double the official one.<\/p>\n
“It is a service to the community… part of the normalcy of the country,” one arbolito told AFP on condition of anonymity.<\/p>\n
These days one dollar gets its bearer about 236 pesos at the unofficial or “blue rate,” instead of 130 at an official currency exchange.<\/p>\n
A year ago, the blue rate was 170 pesos to the official rate of 95.<\/p>\n
The peso is Argentina’s official currency, but its high volatility means that dollar prices are quoted for big-ticket items from buying property or a car to renting an apartment or getting an expensive medical procedure.<\/p>\n
To prevent a hemorrhage of foreign exchange reserves and stabilize the peso, Argentines have been prohibited by law since 2019 from buying more than $200 in greenback per month.<\/p>\n
This, of course, fuels demand, and Argentines — also distrustful of savings accounts — hoard as much of the US currency as they can afford to buy on the streets.<\/p>\n
Goods vendor Marcela Leiron said that “like an ant” collects food, she buys dollars, “from $20 to $50 per month, as much as I can.”<\/p>\n
The 56-year-old told AFP she has resigned herself to living in dollar dependence “because of the economic mess that no government can fix.”<\/p>\n
The black market trade, in turn, further fuels inflation which reached 60.7 percent for the year to May — one of the highest rates in the world.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Buenos Aires, July 1 (AFP\/APP): It is hard to come by but ever-present on the mind of average Argentines: the US dollar, whose value relative to the feeble peso is a barometer for an economy in crisis. “Dollars! Change, change, doooolars!” The cries of unofficial […]<\/p>\n
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