Transvestite in Chief Cristina Kirchner, continues to do a great job in destroying the Argentinian economy.
Abridged from the Dollar Vigilante.
Most gas stations are out of gas on a very regular basis. Line-ups for ATMs can go down the block at certain times of the day as people try to withdraw their 1,000 peso per day maximum limit (about $200).
They stopped allowing Argentines to use their debit cards when outside of the country... and they instituted a tax on sushi... surely taxing imported tuna will save the disastrous socialist government!
As well, they continue to not allow the importing of certain things such as Apple iPhones... to protect the very important Argentine cell phone manufacturers like... well... I don't think there are any. So, instead of Argentinians having access to new technology even the upper class walk around with 1997 era mobile phones.
Energy shortages, currency controls, import restrictions, you name an evil and Cristina and the cohorts are doing it, except soccer and tango...
Real estate, especially in Buenos Aires, is, from practical stand point, paralyzed. Transactions fell 15% in January and 15% in February, basically due to currency controls imposed by Cristina as soon as she won the elections in October and sales have plunged 41% since October. Property values have risen in the last decade, providing more stable returns than the Argentine dollar bonds, which posted annual losses four times in the past decade. Because of the currency controls, potential buyers are struggling to get dollars and the sellers are reluctant to lower the prices, preferring rather to pull the properties off the market; they do that because they want to use real estate as a protection against inflation. Out of about 1,000 properties for sale or rent with one of the real estate agencies, only 10 owners accepted pesos (how is that as a sign for Argentina's health?). Some buyers are turning to the unregulated "blue market" to get dollars, where they have to pay almost 5 pesos for one dollars, while the official exchange rate is 4.20 to 4.30.
Currency controls, along with the import restrictions, are really, putting the last nail in the coffin...There are SO MANY stupid things this government is doing, that there is no other label than sociopaths! These days, they don't allow anyone to withdraw more than 1,000 pesos a day from the ATM (they now have even frozen Argentinians' debit cards when they go to Chile to buy stuff that's significantly cheaper or "normal" stuff that's not available in Argentina...Cristina's daughter made the comment that "importing all those gadgets would hurt Argentina's economy"! ).
What will that mean for Argentina? Nobody knows exactly. But if the government can be removed from every facet of Argentine economic life then very quickly the gas and ATM lines would fade away, a flood of new products from around the world would enter into Argentina, prices for a time would be very cheap (and good for building a house... hint hint) if you had your savings in anything but the Argentine peso.
Will there be chaos in Argentina? Perhaps some outbreaks in Buenos Aires. The majority of the country is farmland. And the Argentine peso has collapsed and become worthless five times in the last forty years so if this comes as a surprise to anyone in the country then they deserve what is coming to them.
Don't cry for me Argentina, it is us that should be crying for you.