A black market, a currency crisis, and a tango competition in Argentina
Sep 23, 2023
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Nobel-prize winning economist Simon Kuznets once analyzed the world's economies and said there are four kinds of countries including Argentina. This episode explores Argentina's economic crisis, including skyrocketing inflation and a collapsing currency. It delves into the impact on various sectors, the existence of black markets for currency exchange, and the ways people navigate parallel economies. Despite the chaos, the annual Mundial de Tango - the biggest tango competition in the world - still takes place.
Argentina's economic crisis is characterized by soaring inflation, a collapsing currency, and a parallel economy that navigates the impact of currency devaluation and inflation.
The Mundial de Tango competition reflects Argentina's economic hardships and improvisation, with rising prices, frequent price adjustments, and a black market for currency exchange driven by the government's artificially inflated exchange rate.
Deep dives
Argentina's Economic Crisis and Tango
Argentina's ongoing economic crisis, characterized by soaring inflation and a collapsing currency, provides the backdrop for the Mundial de Tango competition. Saya Date, a tech worker from India, is representing her country in the competition, and she believes tango can help explain Argentina's economic situation. The currency devaluation and inflation have resulted in rising prices, and businesses like Neo Tango have had to frequently adjust their prices to keep up. The black market for currency exchange plays a significant role in Argentina, allowing locals and tourists to exchange dollars for pesos at rates far different from the government's official rate. The impact of the economic crisis is felt throughout the country, with people resorting to multiple jobs and employers offering regular salary adjustments to keep up with inflation.
The Parallel Economies of Argentina
Argentina's economic instability has led to a parallel economy where people find ways to navigate the impact of currency devaluation and inflation. Martin Ochoa, a tango enthusiast and videographer, explains that Tango reflects the hardships and improvisation seen in daily life. The government's artificially inflated official exchange rate for the peso creates a discrepancy between the real value and the government's asserted value. This discrepancy fuels the existence of a black market for currency exchange. These parallel systems allow individuals to find creative ways to survive and make money outside the formal economy.
The Impact on Daily Life and Tango Competition
The economic crisis has a direct impact on daily life in Argentina. People constantly monitor the exchange rate, and businesses like Neo Tango have to raise their prices frequently due to inflation and the falling value of the peso. The upcoming presidential election adds to the uncertainty, as the possibility of a shift towards dollarization looms. Despite the economic challenges, the Mundial de Tango competition continues, with the prizes' value gradually diminishing as the economic crisis deepens. Tango, with its symbolism of economic struggle and resilience, becomes an embodiment of Argentina's economic reality.
The Nobel-prize winning economist Simon Kuznets once analyzed the world's economies this way — he said there are four kinds of countries: developed, underdeveloped, Japan... and Argentina.
If you want to understand what happens when inflation really goes off the rails, go to Argentina. Annual inflation there, over the past year, was 124 percent. Argentina's currency, the peso, is collapsing, its poverty rate is above 40 percent, and the country may be on the verge of electing a far right Libertarian president who promises to replace the peso with the dollar. Even in a country that is already deeply familiar with economic chaos, this is dramatic.
In this episode, we travel to Argentina to try to understand: what is it like to live in an economy that's on the edge? With the help of our tango dancer guide, we meet all kinds of people who are living through record inflation and political upheaval. Because even as Argentina's economy tanks, its annual Mundial de Tango – the biggest tango competition in the world – that show is still on.
This episode was hosted by Amanda Aronczyk and Erika Beras. It was produced by Sam Yellowhorse Kesler with help from James Sneed. It was engineered by Maggie Luthar, fact-checked by Sierra Juarez, and edited by Molly Messick. Alex Goldmark is Planet Money's executive producer.