Cracks Surface in Argentina’s Ruling Coalition as Crisis Deepens

[Alpinista]

To put things in perspective, Argentina has seen worse. During Peron’s time, churches were burned and the Jockey Club was torched, its priceless library lost in the fire. Homes and businesses were expropriated, used by the regime as rewards to the faithful or as bribes to new supporters. Schoolchildren were compelled to copy Evita’s book, one page per day, with a Peronist inspector checking the copybooks monthly. Public hospital doctors were forced to join the Peronist party to avoid being fired. Before big rallies, trucks would show up at hospitals and all personnel would be forced to go to Plaza de Mayo under the threat of dismissal. Street demonstrations were disbanded using tear gas, rubber bullets, soapy water from water cannons, or by mounted police using their horses to run over demonstrators.

For three whole years Argentines ate grayish bread, because all white flour was exported. Fridays were meatless – no beef available for love or money. Travel to Uruguay was forbidden, I don't know why. Landlords could no rise rents, nor evict non-paying renters. Many were blackmailed into "selling" to their renters at prices 1/20th. the property's market value.

After Peron died, his third wife became president. Isabelita was a night-club dancer with a fifth grade education, who governed advised by her astrologer and fortune-teller, Jose Lopez Rega.

Argentines have been through so many crises that they have become sort of impervious to them. What for expats is a major crisis, for the locals it is just more of the same.

Time will tell who's right.

I think the typical expat is materially much more immune to the crisis than the typical local. And if things are really about to get nasty, then they (or we) have a simple exit strategy (that is, just go to next country with similar quality of life and costs).

If you turn on the TV, or read the newspapers, they are pretty much full of articles about the state of the economy, Covid, Dolar etc. So even though I see that Argentines are much more used to economic crisis, devaluations etc. they are certainly not cool about this situation.

80% are "very worried" (plus 15% "worried") about the prices for basic goods and about losing the job / unemployment:



In total, 77% of the people are either "very unhappy" or "unhappy" about how things are going:



Source: Infobae

 

[on the brink]

Thing is, the locals have never known anything else, and don't have the option to get out. Many are cemented in place by family loyalties, property, tradition, or cultural blindness. They believe this is the best country on Earth, if it wasn't for "The Government". So they clench their teeth, hold their breath, and wait for the crisis to ease.

Argentines are ALWAYS insatisfied, and dearly love to complain. It is their substitute for taking action. Most of my acquaintances hate the Ks, but never bother to attend a banderazo, or an anti-government demonstration. They figure that by forwarding whatsapps against them, they've done their civic duty.