What Would Dollarization Mean for Expats?

[earlyretirement]

How did the Ks get to be oligarchs? Wasn't CFK's father a bus driver?

They stole tens of millions of dollars. They also enriched themselves through various other schemes. I know close friends that grew up in the same town with them and they confirmed they never had this kind of money before or even their first years in office. Although it SURE came rolling in rather quickly after they came into office.

As far as Milei, my feeling is Argentina needs a big change. They have to try something different. Let's face it, the last several Presidents have been horrible. And I don't think women care too much about the abortion issue as it pertains to Milei. Why? Because these women would rather their family not staves right now. Many women there don't even ever married. And with the inflation, VERY few people are thinking about having kids. Being scared, tired, desperate and hungry are more urgent priorities vs. worrying about other things.

In theory, if they could get enough US dollars here and there was some concrete plan in place where they got all the Argentines that are holding hundreds of billions of dollars to safely and without fear bring their funds in at least dollarizing would help cut down on inflation. But there are a lot of other things that have to get fixed. Laws to be changed. And I don't see that happening quickly or easily.

One thing even if Milei doesn't win is the other side sees that they have to go towards the middle. Being too far right and too far left isn't the winning formula these days.

 

[sergio]

They stole tens of millions of dollars. They also enriched themselves through various other schemes. I know close friends that grew up in the same town with them and they confirmed they never had this kind of money before or even their first years in office. Although it SURE came rolling in rather quickly after they came into office.

As far as Milei, my feeling is Argentina needs a big change. They have to try something different. Let's face it, the last several Presidents have been horrible. And I don't think women care too much about the abortion issue as it pertains to Milei. Why? Because these women would rather their family not staves right now. Many women there don't even ever married. And with the inflation, VERY few people are thinking about having kids. Being scared, tired, desperate and hungry are more urgent priorities vs. worrying about other things.

In theory, if they could get enough US dollars here and there was some concrete plan in place where they got all the Argentines that are holding hundreds of billions of dollars to safely and without fear bring their funds in at least dollarizing would help cut down on inflation. But there are a lot of other things that have to get fixed. Laws to be changed. And I don't see that happening quickly or easily.

One thing even if Milei doesn't win is the other side sees that they have to go towards the middle. Being too far right and too far left isn't the winning formula these days.

I agree. As for abortion, reversing the decision is highly unlikely. I believe you are also right that whoever becomes President is going to have to find a middle course. If it is Milei he too will have to modify his views - and most likely he would do so. Change will take time but the process must begin. I don't see why dollarisation is such a radical idea, especially in a country that already considers the dollar its safe currency. It's not as though people have never seen or used dollars!

 

[Jtee125]

I agree. As for abortion, reversing the decision is highly unlikely. I believe you are also right that whoever becomes President is going to have to find a middle course. If it is Milei he too will have to modify his views - and most likely he would do so. Change will take time but the process must begin. I don't see why dollarisation is such a radical idea, especially in a country that already considers the dollar its safe currency. It's not as though people have never seen or used dollars!

Personally I find revoking abortion rights a lot more radical than dollarisation. I’m asking this question because I truly don’t know the answer, is revoking abortion rights popular in Argentina?

If it is popular then I understand why it’s a prudent policy to pursue, but if it’s an unpopular stance, then why would one riding populism against the main political actors pursue it?

(NB: I mean no offence with the term populism, I’m just curious to understand better)

 

[sergio]

There is "a lot of US investment" in some truly horrible places, nations with a abysmally low standard of living.

Also, when I ask you for a concrete example, and you reply with qualifiers like "seems to have" and "I believe", that doesn't inspire confidence. This is a nation of some 47 million people, and you are proposing radical financial changes which would turn their lives upside down. We need a little more certainty than that.

Let's face it. Milei is a stalking horse for major business interests who are only concerned with their own profit, and don't give a fat rat's ass about the welfare of the Argentine people. They want a situation in which they can rape the country of its resources, control its food production, and do so in an ambience of minimal environmental or social regulations.

In 2015 they used Macri, and the evidence of his backers was the fact that his very first act as President was to pay the buitres (vulture funds) every penny they were asking for, without even trying to negotiate. He even paid them their legal expenses for that failed and entirely illegal attempt to seize the Argentine Navy's cadet training frigate.

In 2019, Macri shit the bed, so they have cast him aside like a used kleenex, and Milei is their new boy, their traitorous little sepoy who will sell his nation down the river for 30 pieces of silver.

Panama is a major banking center. That isn't an opinion. And there is a lot of US inmvestment there. Is Panama such a bad country? It has a higher GDP than Argentina. What do most Argentines make? I'd say between $200-300 U$S a month. From what I have read Wall Street is opposed to dollarisation.

 

[Jtee125]

Panama is a major banking center. That isn't an opinion. And there is a lot of US inmvestment there. Is Panama such a bad country? It has a higher GDP than Argentina. What do most Argentines make? I'd say between $200-300 U$S a month. From what I have read Wall Street is opposed to dollarisation.

Also if Panama is corrupt, I dare to think what the UK with our offshore tax havens are. Every country is to a degree corrupt, money is the ultimate string-pull

 

[sergio]

Personally I find revoking abortion rights a lot more radical than dollarisation. I’m asking this question because I truly don’t know the answer, is revoking abortion rights popular in Argentina?

The country was split on the issue of abortion. Would he press the abortion issue? Could he do so and work on the economy? It would certainly distract the country from the issue of dollarisation. And how would he be able to change the law?

 

[Agribotics]

No I mean why is dollarisation a gimmmick? Dollarisation would stabilise the economy and make doing business a lot easier.

Dollarization would put the starving masses on a diet in order to curb the profligacy of the elites. It's not the structural change Argentina needs. Taiwan is a good model for how to run a country by unleashing the ability of people to create goods and services that constitute true prosperity as nothing else can.

 

[bmb5sp]

I have a hard time seeing dollarization happening. Argentina simply doesn’t have the forex reserves for it to be feasible. Even if it did, I wouldn’t even know how to begin assessing what that would mean for expatriates.

Unfortunately, any solutions to Argentina’s economic situation will take longer than a four year political cycle. Drastic economic overhauls often come with immediate, if not temporary, suffering for the people in order to make the necessary structural changes for a reform to have a chance. It may be years before benefits could be seen. Hungry voters will vote for the candidate that offers them food tomorrow, not years down the road.

Wash. Rinse. Repeat.

I do wish politicians in Argentina and other countries would stop offering quick fixes and start moderating.

 

[sergio]

What's Taiwan's model other than capitalism? And why would dollarisation not go hand-in-hand with encouraging self-initiative and a better business environment?

 

[earlyretirement]

I thought this was a great article. Most journalists don't really understand Argentina. Many have never even stepped foot in the country yet write about it.

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