The Sinking Argentine Peso

US Dollars

1 Peso Argentino

As I pointed out in my blogpost about YPF, the inflation of the Argentine Peso is pretty high. It is becoming a burden for the population as well as for the Argentina government. It is almost impossible for ordinary citizens to legally buy dollars. Citizens have to jump through many bureaucratic hoops to purchase US dollars. The official exchange rate is 4.70 Peso. The black market exchange rate is 5.71 Peso and getting higher.

Cristina Kirchner's Populism Regarding Repsol-YPF

Following two days of debate, the Argentine Chamber of Deputies passed the nationalisation bill regarding YPF on May 4th 2012 with a majority of 208 votes – 81 per cent of the house – after the Senate had paved the way for approval last week by also voting in favour. In both houses, the bill was backed by the overwhelming majority of opposition parties. A giant banner of Néstor Kirchner was draped from the upper balconies of the chamber of deputies. The expropriation of YPF is a fact now, but the story is far from finished yet. This developing saga is perfect to illustrate Argentine politics and populism...