Living in Argentina is no easy task. Rich Country, poor people.
Do the Maths.
We are resilient as roaches and very, very creative when need arises. We struggle but keep going.

In my lifetime (1959 - present) our Peso currency lost 13 ceros. (0.000.000.000.000). In practical terms it means saving money is simply stupid as opportunities are short lived and tomorrow or even later the same day it will be too late. You grow up learning this the hard way.
I’ve been pennyless, broke, in debt, rich and dirt poor several times, a rollercoaster. But never was this my own personal fault or doing, i never fucked up myself, just general circumstances applying to all of us.

So, let me share some of my memories from when, back in 2001, the SHTF. This is the day it happened…

I was working outside of the city, some 50km away, at a factory, doing my IT stuff when all the phones in the office, a dozen of them, started ringing at the same time. The Government had fallen and the city was in turmoil. one of the company owners needed to be a the heart of the situation, rdv with Mr. 5, Head of Intelligence, accross the street from the Pink House and he offered to drive me back to the city in his bulletproof SUV. Comms and public transportation were said to have collapsed. No means to go home otherwise as highways were about to be cut by angry mobs.
As we sped to the city, suddenly cars started passing us by, running in the opposite direction but on our one way lanes. We saw, not too far ahead, commuter buses starting to try to turn around.
We did the same, more worried than scared. The guy dropped me outside the nearest town, not willing to risk entering, and left me to find my way home knowing the road was no longer an option.
I walked into town headed for the train station, my last alternative. There was looting and unrest everywhere. My first time facing this situation. I asked someone about the train service as i got closer to the station but the news were not good. Yet i saw a train entering the station at the same time. Boarded and hoped for the best.The train was full in no time as there’s a lot of jobs in an industrial compound nearby, from where i came, but the workers do not live nearby. Mine was a two hour ride by train to get there.
The train finally started to move, it was packed. The ride was slow as there were people crossing the rails everywhere, some heavy with loot. Mostly food.
As we reached one of the stations, the train stopped completely. Outside, there was a crowd of mostly women standing at the suppliers entrance of a large supermarket demanding they be given food or they would force entry and loot the place. Between them and the closed gates there were a dozen armed policemen. I realized that if they opened fire, my train car would be the backstop. I ducked as much as i could and prayed we gtfo. Eventually we reached the nearby station. Shots, not many, could be heard now and then, none cloae.
After that, the rest of the trip was uneventful by the day standards.
Had to get home to my two boys (5 &1 yo) and their mother.

It’s been over 25 years now but it is hard to forget.

Will share some events regarding our financial situation back then in following post.

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Harrowing! My ex-brother in law has a similar story escaping Beijing after the Tienanmen Square massacre.

My memories of Argentina around 1990 are of a beautiful country and friendly people. Inflation was super high, where one paid higher prices later the same day.

What a shame governments screw things up so badly.

The year 2000 was probably the best one. My business was growing, I bought an apartment, traveled to Europe and the US and everything looked good.

A customer turned friend of mine had been the single winner of the Xmas Lottery and helped some of his friends, me included, to improve their situations and have some fun. I cancelled the bank loan and visited friends in Europe.

Then SHTF.

When it happened, the banks took everybody’s money hostage and did as they pleased.
My friend mentioned above had 1/2 million USD riding in different fixed term deposits that covered the stack of credit cards that had been issued to him. He also held different regular accounts for bills and daily payements but when
everybody’s funds were seized the Bank called him to ask him to bring cash to pay the bills! He ran for the airport. His many businesses collapsed one after the other as suppliers demanded payement in USD no longer available or legal.
My many regular customers simply dissapeared. I was left with only two. One in town and the other mentioned in my first post, in Province.
Provinces started printing their own currency. It’s value was inferior as nobody wanted to take it. My Province income was halved the instant i returned to the city. Lots of black marketeering and shady stuff went on.
The Government had forced people to move from the Public System of Retirement and Pensions to the newly created Private system, allegedly providing public funds to those new private companies. But afterwards started exchanging those funds for IOUs leaving hollow shells.
Then, they started borrowing from the banks until that was gone too.
The banks were left to fend for themselves until they got somehow rescued by the Government at the peoples expense.
When the banks closed, we were allowed to spend an absurd amount of money weekly. Insufficient for most basic living.
I received a check in Pesos for my services and had to deposit it in my Pesos savings account at CityBank. It didn’t show up in my balance after two weeks so i called the Bank. I was told the check had cleared long ago into my Dollars account. I told the clerk i had NO dollars account and please put those funds (check in Pesos) in my regular Pesos) account. The answer was that i now did have a Dollars account (created vy them) but since it was illegal to operate in USD currency they would keep my money, thank you very much and have a nice day.

Mine is just an example.
The banks closing likely killed hundreds of people.
It was Summer, people got desperate for very good reasons and uncertainty was the rule.

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Another terrible memory found me looking out the window at the grocery store across the street, wondering if i would be able to purchase food and everything else my 1 year old baby could need.
Paper money was hard to acquire as funny money replaced it and was not accepted everywhere and prices no longer existed as there were no restocking prices available either.

The slowing pace of the declining economy had depleted everyone’s reserves and savings.
I found myself barely making a couple of hundred dollars a month with incoming bills that matched the 3k+ i was making the previous months.

When currency failed miserably, trade flourished in a small measure and only for few months.

Eventually, the Government forced all of us back into the banking system by making salary deposits mandatory. Screw those living under the informal economy.
Since savings in foreign currencies had been seized and traded later by a fraction of its current value but in Pesos, we were all in the same sunk boat. Only the banks made money out of our disgrace.
Trust was broken but new generations are not conscious or aware of this happening. They all trust a financial system that can be turned off with a switch.


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0-0,

Did possession of precious metals every come into play during these tough times? (people using gold/silve to trade for goods or services)

Never. Not a single comment that i can share. Many large deposits turned to individuals bartering stuff, food and services but not jewelry or precious metals to my awareness.

As this was a long eroding process, there was probably not much worth the trouble and keep in mind that currency was not sought after, maybe to the dollar bill exception.
But then it was a life endangering adventure.

The po-po was absent.

Craigslist is not popular but FB Marketplace is a russian roulette nowadays.
I rather throw away good valuable stuff than try to make a dime out of it.

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Some 60 years ago, grand parents times, the departing ones could leave few gold coins (Napoleons? Mexicans) behind but that practice was not kept by parents. Haven’t seen a gold coin in over 50 years. Never held a silver or gold plate in my hands.

Our economy is small, who would you trade gold with? We squirrel away mint USD 100 bills. Large faces only. There mostly use for them when buying property and vehicles.
At times, foreign currency becomes illegal to have. Purchase is always restricted and extremely controlled.

But what to do when money becomes worthless? Or someone pulls the plug on the whole digital system?

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Looting: It is generally agreed that most if not all the looting that happened in those days was politically orchestrated. The ones stirring things up were not recognized as locals, all hired hands.
That was shocking and a first time, afaik, in our history as a nation.
It happened after school was out, the begining of the summer break and before the holiday season.
During the following years the same period of time was used to heat things up. Never succeded as we are quiet and enduring and that behaviour was not in our nature. Media had a field day covering it from every angle.
Historically and politically, any unrest stirred in that period automatically vanishes after Xmas, most are on summer leave and anything significant will have to wait until March when school starts again.
This was a sacred rule ever since the time of the military coups.

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Something that can be expected is that the Govmnt will take economic measures that will strike the Peso value, effectively halving the value of the funds assigned for the holidays. A stab in the back. BTDT. Can show the scars.
Normalcy, good and bad, resumes in March.

Regardless of what the local and international media might have made of the social situation, people endured it stoically.
I can’t think of a single event that required the use of force.

There was a guy who wrote about those times and how to survive the crisis of 2001. He became an instant survivalist guru. Made a small fortune selling his book online. I read some of his writings. We shared some common background, education and circles but with so many significant similarities i ended up thinking his was a work of fiction.

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quote:

Originally posted by 0-0:

Regardless of what the local and international media might have made of the social situation, people endured it stoically.
I can’t think of a single event that required the use of force.

From the perspective of an American, I find that surprising. In this country when there is a natural disaster that stresses an area for more than 24 hours, the troubles begin. Perhaps it is due to too much reliance on handouts and/or a lack of community spirit. Opportunists come out quickly to loot and commit violence.

Domestic violence is, for me in my location, the biggest worry if there is any prolonged situation more than about a week in duration.

Thanks for posting your experience.

Banks: As stated above, the banks took advantage of the financial bubble that preceded the economic collapse. They were behind the Private Retirement Funds that blossomed like mushrooms overnight.
People had no previous experience with them and did not trust the move. No reason to do so. The Government gave this Funds an unbelievavle amount of money, specially considering it had decreed that 1 Peso was worth 1 USD. Then, Government started borrowing from those Funds and issuing IOUs as collateral. Banks/Funds started gambling with everyone’s pensions with no control.
When the siruation hit rock bottom, the banks were left pretty much to fend for themselves.
Banks are weird beasts in our economy. They offer credit to those that do not need it and refuse it to those who do. Then there are those times, like now, when they’re happy to lend you a rope to hang yourself, when the going gets tough.
I had a fixed term deposit of 3k USD back then but i found an HK P7M13 for a decent price so i decided to reclaim 1k to buy it. The bank told me 3k was the bare minimum to renew the deposit but they would make an exception. Never saw that money again.
Small print: Most people preferred foreign banks, thinking they had international backing and a reputation to keep. Big mistake.
Banks in Argentina are/were backed only by the funds subscribed by the local partners. Hollow shells. State and Provincial banks were under government rules. People were SOL. Seen the elderly and sick baking under the hot summer sun, banging at the closed banks doors was heartbreaking and desperating. These policies were actually killing people on live tv.
No money to buy drugs, drugstores and store shut for lack of restocking prices or stock. Economic breakdown.

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How are things now that Milei has been in office for a few years?

You never know…
I am under the impression that the “self appointed” Peronists lost the elections rather than Milei little known movement, party too big a word, won them.
Whatever good or bad that results of this intereign will help the populists to come back in strength. They desperatedly needed a surgeon to cut through the rot. Picture this, the previous government president candidate needed the victory to straighten our economy. He claimed this nonsense while being the almighty Finance Minister….
That government had ran its course and was completely out of fairy tales for the people to swallow. They could and would not eat the shit anymore. They rather take some serious economic hurting and hope for the best with a new, unknown and untested guy. Even if he doesn’t have enough followers to organize a Poker table.

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