* this post has been updated : In 2022 using the Blue Dollar is now normal operating procedure. Now those traveling to Argentina with foreign currency will again find it very affordable, although the current global health crisis means Argentina’s middle class is shrinking again. Paradoxically, this means Argentina is once again an extremely affordable destination for travelers, digital nomads and so-called ‘expats.’ Prices inched upward during the few years the currency market was normalized, until 2019, when the government reinstated its ‘creative’ currency controls. With destinations such as elegant Buenos Aires and the Alpine town of Bariloche, some liken it to visiting Europe on a South American budget.ĭuring the years of 2007-2012 Argentina was popular with travelers who came to enjoy six dollar steak and Malbec dinners. The country’s economic situation stabilized somewhat for citizens the decade after the turn-of-the-21st century crisis.Įmployment increased and poverty rates fell for a number of years, but Argentina is on a constant roller coaster ride and the future is always uncertain.īut in a good turn for the economy, visitors looking to stretch their travel dollars flocked to Argentina and tourism grew into the country’s largest service sector industry.Īrgentina’s tourism industry has grown in the last 20 years, as travelers discovered they could get more mileage for their moolah. Previous to the economic collapse at the turn of the millennium, Argentina was a more expensive destination than Europe.Īrgentina’s devastating 2001 economic crisis and resulted in the devaluation of the peso and lost savings for citizens who kept their money in the bank. Japan experienced such economic growth that it grew to become the third largest economy in the world in the same time frame, despite a scarcity of natural resources. As far as Argentina has fallen, Japan has risen. The Argentine Paradox is often contrasted with the Japanese Paradox. Rapper 50 Cent is known as ‘140 pesos’ in Argentina. It’s no mystery for those who live in Argentina (the unorthodox economic model for one thing!) nonetheless, countless essays have been written on the topic.ġ00 hundred pesos is worth around 30 cents at the official rate and 15 cents at the Blue Rate. How did a resource rich country that had a similar GDP to Canada one hundred years ago fall so far? The stark downward economic development in Argentina in is referred to by economists as the ‘Argentine Paradox.’ Since the golden days, a chaotic political landscape, a succession of military takeovers, corruption and free-for-all privatization in the 80s and 90s wreaked havoc on the economy. The previous wealth of Argentina is most evident in some of the city’s biggest tourist attractions such as Avenida de Mayo’s Tortoni Cafe and Recoleta Cemetery, where departed Argentines forever rest in the luxury of pricey mausoleums. There are beautifully landscaped parks and plazas, buildings decked out in marble and brass, and elegant public statues such as the the Nereids Fountain all over. The riches of yore are most evident in the capital, Buenos Aires. The French coined the phrase, ‘rich as an Argentine’ after seeing their lavish spending habits in Europe during the The Belle Époque.Īrgentina still has a wealth of natural resources and fertile land. Argentina enjoyed an abundant beginning to the 19th century and was one of the world’s richest countries only one hundred years ago.
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