Unhappy news from Argentina - and a rejoinder to any of my followers who celebrated it going back 'left' at the elections a couple of months ago.
Hot on the heels of Argentinians being allowed to purchase a maximum of just 200 dollars PER MONTH, comes a quite insane further capital control. Any Argentinian who uses a credit card abroad in dollars will face... a 30% surcharge. THIRTY PER CENT.
Imagine going on holiday, bringing a card - as most people do - and having to pay a 30% charge on every single transaction you make. That's the reality for Argentinians now, after they put back into government someone who stole 1% of the country's entire GDP for herself.
This measure will have a very serious affect on neighbouring economies, Uruguay's above all.
But the reality facing Argentinians is this. The left is a disaster. The right is a disaster. Another default is coming next year. The whole country, before long, will collapse.
But the reality facing Argentinians is this. The left is a disaster. The right is a disaster. Another default is coming next year. The whole country, before long, will collapse.
I find it miraculous that democracy still has so much engagement in the country... but it's on borrowed time. It's the next Venezuela in the making - and no, that has nothing to do with the CIA.
By the way, the 30% surcharge isn't only on purchases abroad. It's also on using international companies such as Booking or Netflix in Argentina itself; and other companies may be affected too. Utterly ridiculous and tyrannical on every level imaginable.
