Patacones are returning?

[MilHojas]

Not exactly Patacones, but along similar lines... In an interesting twist of events regarding proposed dollarization, the province of La Rioja plans to create their own quasi-currency and even issue bonds in it.

“I do not want our people to die of hunger,” said the governor.

La Rioja presents bill to issue AR$15 billion in parallel provincial currency - Buenos Aires Herald

The local legislature is set to debate the issue in the upcoming days: if approved, it wouldn't be the first time

buenosairesherald.com

Ricardo Quintela enviará un proyecto para que La Rioja tenga moneda propia

"Vamos a enviar a la legislatura provincial un proyecto de moneda propia para la provincia", adelantó el gobernador.

www.ambito.com

 

[Quilombo]

In La Rioja they're calling them Bocade and issuing $22.5 Billion worth of them now, the provincial legislature which is a rubber-stamp for Quintela already approved the project today. IIRC the value of patacones was 50% their stated value in ARS at regular stores/between people, and he's forcing 30% of public service employees' salary to be paid in Bocade, and provincial owned companies/utilities/etc. will have to accept them at 1:1 for a peso.

If I was a public employee I'd be suing or at the very least protesting since their contracts are supposed to be in the legal currency of the nation which is pesos, but that's just me. People barely want pesos, let alone provincial monopoly money, so it will be interesting to see who'll be left holding the bag of riojano funbucks.

Fun reminder: Quintela is the K governor that promised to resign if Milei won. I'm still waiting for that promise to be kept.

From 2001. everything old is new again:

 

[antipodean]

It’s kinda ironic that they were against dollarization (or more to the point, free competition of currency) and now they are inventing their own currency. It also sums up how populist Argentine politics actually work, if you can’t actually afford what you promise - a state that is the be-all and end-all - just print some papelitos that look like money and start handing them out to people (even if it is against their choosing) despite knowing they can then do jack sh** with them.

The response from Milei was on point, they are free to do what they want and compete with any other currency, just don’t expect the state to come bail them out when people left holding them actually want to get paid.

Wonder what the Bocade Blue will be….

 

[sergio]

Argentines are surely then world's most creative people!

 

[SinPulgas]

Argentines are surely then world's most creative people!

Always creatively giving the people less.

 

[QuilmesSlo]

Milei brilliant to call their bluff.

 

[sts7049]

kinda, but the people are the ones who will suffer this stupidity

hopefully this moron showing himself will get the people to wake up and vote him out

 

[zeno]

Always creatively giving the people less.

The ability to create your own currency is a huge power. It means you can manipulate tax rates, redirect resources, make it harder to save or easier to spend, and vice versa. There's a reason why most stable, democratic regimes give independent power to their central banks. Otherwise politicians will ruin the economy by manipulating this powerful tool.