The South American country is rich with resources, but often broke. As a result, Argentines are so accustomed to political and economic turmoil that they've adopted a bunch of interesting coping mechanisms — habits that help them get through the disorder.
And then there's the stuff that just comes out of left field.
In 2001/2002 the country had five presidents in two weeks.
It was a tough time — Argentina's economy had crashed after it defaulted on $13.2 billion of foreign debt it could not pay.
The string of presidents started when Fernando de la Rua resigned in December of 2001. The last of the five, Eduardo Duhalde, was appointed in January 2002 amid major protesting.
The string of presidents started when Fernando de la Rua resigned in December of 2001. The last of the five, Eduardo Duhalde, was appointed in January 2002 amid major protesting.
The country's naval vessel, La Fragata Libertad, was impounded in Ghana for two weeks thanks to a hedge fund manager.
Hedge
fund manager Paul Singer got a Ghanaian court to impound the
'Libertad,' which was docked in a Ghanaian port, last year. It was stuck
there for months.
The country has refused to pay Singer and other investors $1.4 billion in sovereign debt. The legal case has raged for years, with Argentina referring to the hedge fund managers as "vultures."
Singer took the boat as collateral.
The country has refused to pay Singer and other investors $1.4 billion in sovereign debt. The legal case has raged for years, with Argentina referring to the hedge fund managers as "vultures."
Singer took the boat as collateral.
Now the president charters a flight to avoid getting her state plane impounded.
In order to avoid another Paul Singer Ghana incident, President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner chartered an $880,000 flight to Indonesia earlier this year.
Massive dolls like this one get blown up on New Year's Eve.
Sometimes neighborhoods close down roads and ask drivers to pay a toll in order to raise money for doll construction.
The current president's shopping sprees are public knowledge.
President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner (CFK) is known for her good looks, so she has to look good, right?
So why not grab 20 pairs of Louboutin shoes (as well as some designer bags from Louis Vuitton and Hermes) in Paris after a meeting with the president of France?
So why not grab 20 pairs of Louboutin shoes (as well as some designer bags from Louis Vuitton and Hermes) in Paris after a meeting with the president of France?
To show a car is on sale, all you have to do is put a plastic bottle on it.
A bottle of bleach will do. Then write your phone number on the car.
Prospective buyers will then call you and inquire about the price.
Prospective buyers will then call you and inquire about the price.
Ugly people wanted beautiful Argentines to pay a tax.
From BBC back in 2007 during the reign of not-so-attractive President Nestor Kirchner, CFK's late husband:
Gonzalo Otalora does not much care what
he looks like. He planted himself in front of the presidential palace,
the Casa Rosada or Pink House, to harangue President Nestor Kirchner to
change the law.
It's not fair, he said. The beautiful
people get all the breaks. Beauty is a natural advantage and he wants
the good-lookers to be taxed to finance compensation for the ugly
people...
"The president for me is a
comrade," he explained. "He's a loyal comrade because our childhoods
were very similar. He also had thick glasses and spots. They also made
fun of him.
No one believes the inflation rate the government reports, but dissenting economists can get in trouble.
Jose Luis Magaua / Reuters/Reuters
Even the IMF put out a report on this and Cristine Legarde, the IMF president, said the country might get a "red card" for its fibs.
Political parties have their own beers.
AP Photo
From AP:
The Peron Peron bar started the trend
when it released its blonde beer, Evita. Now it also offers "Montonero,"
a dark ale named after the 1970s guerrilla group, and "Double K" in
honor of Argentine leader Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner and her late
husband, President Nestor Kirchner.
Across town, the opposition Radical Party
has its own brewery, crafting blonde, red and black varieties named
after another president, Hipolito Yrigoyen.
Apple products are really hard to find and cost triple what they cost in the United States.
Lintao Zhang/Getty Images
The Rolling Stones have a cult following called "Rolingas."
REUTERS/Olivia Harris
You have to apply to get dollars to leave the country.
And your application can easily be rejected.
To stem capital flight from the country, the government has placed restrictions on currency exchanges and travel.
From the Economist:
To stem capital flight from the country, the government has placed restrictions on currency exchanges and travel.
From the Economist:
Any Argentine wishing to buy dollars to
travel abroad must provide their tax-identification number to the tax
agency (AFIP) and declare where, when and why they are travel ling. Even
after waiting in long queues and filling in stacks of paperwork,
would-be travelers are often refused dollars, or granted miserly sums
that would hardly cover a souvenir snow-globe. When recently
asked to explain how AFIP determines the allotment of dollars, its
director bumbled: “It is a formula that is periodically changed that has
ingredients from the central bank, AFIP and God. The truth? I can’t
explain it because I don’t know exactly how it operates.”
So to get dollars, there are underground dollar exchanges called "blue markets."
Argentines are afraid their economy may crash again, so to get ready people exchange their dollars for pesos.
But since there are restrictions on currency exchange, anyone who wants dollars sometimes must go underground.
Bitcoins are getting popular in Argentina as well.
But since there are restrictions on currency exchange, anyone who wants dollars sometimes must go underground.
Bitcoins are getting popular in Argentina as well.
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