The Argentine people became strangers to survive… ‘Security anxiety’ caused by economic difficulties

“Residents who were fed up with theft caught the thief themselves and handed him over to the police.”

A social problem as serious as Argentina’s economic crisis is security instability. On the 14th, local media ‘Infobae’ reported, “Residents of Resistencia City, Chaco Province, are tired of the authorities’ neglect and have taken direct action.” Serious crimes such as robbery and looting are rampant here and there, and protests demanding increased security continue to occur.

On the 9th of last month, Morena Dominguez, an 11-year-old girl in the capital city of Buenos Aires, was killed by a gunman on her way to school. The criminals, who wanted money to buy her drugs, tried to snatch the young girl’s bag, causing serious damage to her head in the process. The anger of the entire nation exploded in front of the tragic loss of young lives. However, some say that the current administration’s failure to come up with any specific measures is also encouraging public opinion to change the administration.

View largerOn the 20th (local time), a protester with bleeding head is being taken away by the police in San Salvador de Jujuy, Argentina. Protesters claimed that changes to provincial law would limit indigenous peoples’ right to self-government, and clashed with police, leaving at least 70 people injured in the process. 2023.06.21. [산살바도르데후후이=AP/뉴시스]

Recently, there have been frequent posts on local social media showing gangsters breaking into stores in groups and sweeping away all the goods they can find. A store owner also appeared shooting at the gunmen approaching them.

A robber appeared who was willing to go as far as a wild beast to steal a safe hidden in a tiger cage. Some thieves are even stealing urns. In particular, it is clear that looting has become more rampant after the government suddenly devalued the peso by 18% to combat hyperinflation last month.

The prevailing analysis is that this security instability is also due to economic difficulties. Argentina has received bailouts from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) 29 times since the 1950s. In 2018, the most recent bailout, the country borrowed a whopping $57 billion (approximately 75.7 trillion won), or 10.5% of gross national product (GDP).

At the time, the government promised to implement fiscal austerity, including raising taxes and reducing various welfare benefits to repay debt. However, the public, accustomed to populist policies such as de facto free medical care, rejected this, and the current left-wing government also did not properly fulfill its promises.

As a result, despite borrowing a huge amount of money, it is not being used properly, creating a security vacuum. The average annual salary of an Argentine police officer is 4 million pesos (about 15 million won). It is much lower than neighboring countries such as Chile (about 27 million won), Brazil (about 16 million won), and Mexico (about 19 million won). This is also a factor that worsens the security problem.

Son Hye-hyeon, a visiting professor at the Graduate School of International and Area Studies at Hankuk University of Foreign Studies, said, “The area around Buenos Aires, the capital, appears peaceful, but if you leave even a little bit, it becomes lawless. Outside of the metropolitan area, it is virtually the same as Venezuela, where the central government’s functions have been paralyzed.” It is similar to Venezuela, where violent crimes such as murder, looting, and arson are rampant due to long-standing sanctions by the United States and chronic economic difficulties.

View largerIn the early morning of the 13th (local time), a homeless person is sleeping on the sidewalk in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Argentina’s consumer prices in August rose 12.4% compared to the previous month, showing the highest monthly increase since 1991. 2023.09.14. [부에노스아이레스=AP/뉴시스]

Some people welcome this situation. These are neighboring countries such as Uruguay and Chile. As the value of their own currency rises due to the sharp drop in the value of the peso, people are going beyond shopping trips and even moving. In particular, the process of moving residents of Uruguay’s Il Salto Province, which borders Entre Rios Province near Buenos Aires, is in full swing. Living in Argentina for a month is also popular.

Carlos Garilcia, who works as an auto mechanic in Il Salto, told the Buenos Aires Times, “I can get an apartment in Concordia, Entre Rios, by paying just 20% of the current rent.” If you exchange Uruguay pesos for US dollars and then convert them back to Argentine pesos, you can buy a good house for one-fifth of what you would pay in your home country. Another Ilsalto resident, Mycol Horvat, also said, “We are pushing to move because Argentina is just across the bridge.” He added that if he finds a house, he will still work in Uruguay and live in Argentina, where the cost of living is relatively low.

Even Argentine citizens do not use their own peso. Some painters use pesos, which are essentially pieces of tissue paper, as a substitute for canvas. Mercado Libro, a payment service provider with 10,000 employees, also pays a portion of salaries in dollars to prevent employee departure. This is because employees who are paid in pesos are leaving to find jobs that pay in dollars.

Brazilian and Chilean soccer fans often burn or tear up Argentine pesos during matches against the Argentine team to mock Argentina’s economic situation. Accordingly, the authorities have recently prepared a bill that could subject anyone caught tearing up pesos to up to 30 days in prison.

Source: Donga

Mark

Mark Jones is a world traveler and journalist for News Rebeat. With a curious mind and a love of adventure, Mark brings a unique perspective to the latest global events and provides in-depth and thought-provoking coverage of the world at large.