This page has been archived and commenting is disabled.
Start Crying For Argentina
This article originally appeared in The Daily Capitalist.
In a follow-up to my article on Argentina's road to hyperinflation, it appears that Mrs. de Kirchner is getting nasty in the way all autocrats get nasty: kill the messenger. As mentioned in the previous article, the level of ignorance, stupidity, and demagoguing by de Kirchner and her central bank head, Mercedes Marco del Pont, is vast.
Now that they have set off on the hyperinflationary highway, they deny they have inflation and deny that monetary policy has anything to do with it. To prove it they are punishing private forecasters who contradict the government's false reporting by levying heavy fines on them. The government says they only have 10% annual inflation, but private economists say it's at least 25%.
On Tuesday, the government fined consulting firm Econviews 500,000 pesos ($123,442). It fined the consultancy abeceb.com an equal amount Monday for allegedly publishing inflation estimates that "lack scientific rigor." ...
The government has imposed similar fines against Estudio Bein & Asociados, Finsoport, MyS Consultores, GRA Consultoras and former Indec official Graciela Bevacqua, who used to oversee Indec's consumer price index. Several other firms said they expect to be fined soon. ...
Government officials have said they hope the fines will deter economists from "deceiving" the public into making poor financial decisions by publishing inflation estimates that differ considerably from Indec's CPI data. ...
Government officials deny the fines amount to censorship, saying they want Argentines to have access to "good data." ...
Additionally, a handful of current and former Indec employees, as well as some Economy Ministry officials, have acknowledged in private that Indec fudges its data.
The credibility of Indec's data has been questioned ever since former President Nestor Kirchner replaced longtime civil servants with political appointees in early 2007.
Almost overnight, Indec's estimates started diverging from those in the private sector.
Some critics say the government may have reorganized Indec to lower Argentina's payments on inflation-indexed bonds--claims Indec officials say are bogus. ...
The Economy Ministry spokesman couldn't be reached for comment.
There is no question that Mrs. de Kirchner is acting illegally in violation of their constitution. But when has the mere rule of law ever hindered socialist-fascist autocrats.
It is no secret that Mrs. de Kirchner is very, very close to dictator-for-life Hugo Chavez of Venezuela. In fact he illegally financed her presidential campaign.
In a scandal revealed in a U.S. federal trial, a Chavez agent was caught smuggling bags of cash into Argentina in 2007 to fund the presidential campaign of Mrs. de Kirchner. American-Venezuelan, Guido Alejandro Antonini Wilson was arrested by police officer María del Luján Telpuk at the Buenos Aires airport with a bag containing $800,000 in cash. Wilson told Officer Telpuk that he had smuggled money into Argentina previously and that there was another $4.2 million on the plane.
The whole financing deal was set up on Chavez's order by Chavez's head of security, Gen. Henry Rangel. Eventually hush money was paid (not to Ms. Telpuk) and Wilson fled. He eventually went to Miami where he made a deal with the FBI to entrap Chavez agents. General Rangel sent agents to Miami to meet with Wilson and bribe him with $2,00,000 of hush money. Wilson was wired during the negotiations and they were convicted, but not before several agents spilled the beans about Chavez and Rangel.
The main agent, Franklin Duran received a 4 year prison term. In October, 2010, Chavez nationalized Mr. Duran's company Industrias Venoco, a supplier of automobile lubricants. There isn't any inflation in Venezuela either, because if companies overcharge, as they accused Mr. Duran's company, they are nationalized. Hugo doesn't like failure.
Mrs. de Kirchner is another Chavezista thug-type caudillo who is running Argentina into the ground. But at least some good came out of it: Officer Telpuk is doing very well. The very beautiful Ms. Telpuk now is an actress and has appeared in the Latin version of Playboy. In one way that's too bad because she was an excellent cop. If you wish more, just Google her name.
You know, if those economists just wait a few months, they can pay the fines off with real cheap pesos.
»
- advertisements -
The currency has not moved all that much with the inflation.
cash loans
The Yen, and Japan, raising cash to pay for the reconstruction of the country, is already on the path of Yen appreciation and will be assisted in their efforts by the other central banks. By acting in a co-ordinated fashion they will begin to reverse the worldwide race to the bottom.
florida home insurance
secret method of killing your BUSINESS that was so secret that nobody knew they did it. This is because if the STASI kills a bunch of dissidents' overtly, then their dead guys surviving friends and families could piece together what was in common among the dead that the STASI used to spy on them.
cheapest car insurance
you look at the Stasi video on youtube u see that they had a secret method of killing your BUSINESS that was so secret that nobody knew they did it. This is because if the STASI kills a bunch of dissidents' overtly, then their dead guys surviving friends and families could piece together what was in common among the dead that the STASI used to spy on them.
car loans
I see big inflation in her lips. Trout pout!
So how much money does Humala get? Get ahead of the game. Start crying for Peru now.
So if you have the balls to play. What is the best way to profit from the country in all seriousness? The currency has not moved all that much with the inflation.
You would not look to "invest," rather you would look to start production in Argentina. Exporting to Argentina is out of the question as there is a large import tariff. Electronics is a good game (and something that I am looking into) and where the demand lies. By selling in pesos, converting to bullion or a stable foreign currency (good luck) daily, you should profit, regardless of inflation. This is the way the best Argentine entrepreneurs play the game (though many use USDs as their currency to hold). The country has vast underutilized resources. The people are willing to work hard, but they are not complacent (cheap) workers; they expect to be compensated for their labor. Most who do work work 50 hours a week (though their lack of concern for punctuality will tend to frustrate most Americans). Their education system is more than adequate for basic mathematics and literacy, though they lack the capacity at present to train many folk in the most recent technology.
Now this is interesting Mr. Spock? So not metal but USD for holding. This is how the Ruskies did it for decades. But a Rusky not so stupid as gringos and he use Eurodollars now to hold and trade in Moscow if he wise guy. Maybe lots use dollars but Argentinians need to look at Euro.
My personal favorito is the quintessential mother fo of all, the SWISSY FRANKLY!
If the damn sheep would get their heads out their gr'asses and look up they will see on the overhead projecter a transparency of the graph of time vs. the price of Swissies in both USD and EUD. Notice that the Swissy has FOOKIN' SKYROCKETED over the last so many years?
I bet that makes Soros mouth water lookin at that? eh big Snake you there?
The Argentines are much savvier about currency than most Americans. Those I talk to are beginning to notice that USD devaluation is starting to keep pace with peso devaluation. In times past, as the peso depreciated the USD held its value. In the past year, USD has gone from about 3.35 pesos to about 3.85 pesos, about a 15% increase in the USD/Peso, but inflation is running at around 26%. So Argentine business people holding USD lost over 11% of value yoy (losing more purchasing power than many working folk who received a 20% raise recently). Most Argentine banks are tied into international financial markets through association with Citi and HSBC (or so I am told-- have yet to verify). I suspect some have begun converting their holdings to Euros and many more will soon follow. This is how a reserve currency loses its "reserve" status, you see. Just like that only worldwide.
Guido Alejandro Antonini Wilson was arrested by police officer María del Luján Telpuk at the Buenos Aires airport with a bag containing $800,000 in cash...The very beautiful Ms. Telpuk now is an actress and has appeared in the Latin version of Playboy.
nsfw
http://www.alexismarrero.com/2008/10/mara-del-lujn-telpuk-tengo-un-poco-...
Uh, um, ugh ...I'm in love.
Nice.
Butterface.
Fake tits, but that's never bothered me.
She's alright. I wouldn't kick her out of the bed, but there's better down there.
Let's have more comments from authentic Argentinians. I suspect Americans will need their knowledge going forward. At the same time let's have fewer "cartoon comments" from Americans about communists lurking about Argentina. It is embarrassing.
A family member works at one of the Argentine consultancies that are being targeted by the government for reporting the truth. His company has been fined and harassed by the government (they came in to his office, took computers, records and hard-drives) and it seems like the government’s strategy is to kill them off by forcing them to swallow mounting legal fees. He told me that they have never seen so much harassment, even during the military dictatorship.
What’s funny is that despite Cristina Kirchner’s best attempts to fool the people, everyone knows that inflation is out of control. Private sector unions are all asking for 25%-30% wage increases and if inflation accelerates as it did towards the end of last year, they will return to the table and ask for adjustments mid-year.
Now this is what we need to know thanks kaptin solar flare!! we see a very similar 'finessed' hit on any biz in the usa that pisses off the 'banqueros', the 'mil/ind. complex' or the 'fuktards in Israeli Sec or US/Local Pigs'. What we have in the USA is a fukin Top Secret STASI (stands for: Ministerium fuer Staat Sicherheit)
If you look at the Stasi video on youtube u see that they had a secret method of killing your BUSINESS that was so secret that nobody knew they did it. This is because if the STASI kills a bunch of dissidents' overtly, then their dead guys surviving friends and families could piece together what was in common among the dead that the STASI used to spy on them. SEE?
We have to weed out the NSA, the DHS, the FBI, the ATF, the SS and IRS (Treas.), fukers and spray a big X on the front doors of their houses. In the bottom part of the X will be the number of babies we need to look for when we have the revolution as we don't want them reproducin' either.
This was done at Katrina on houses to signal DOA's but we can use it for our purpose just as well!
:)
Hey, I like that. The Statist Katrina will truly be a disaster to look forward to. I'll start stockpiling spraypaint cans along with everything else.
I am Chumbawamba.
Maybe Chavez will marry Mrs Kirchner and they will formally merge countries and say everything in between comes as dowry! So one united continent! Imagine Venezuelan oil and argentinian beef at the barb q...what a guzzler to make Dilma green from envy. "Who will samba with me like they con-tango in Tierra del Fuego?" She'll sing. Maybe Sean Penn will propose to Dilma in name of filma industry and install Hollywood in Brazilia on Amazonia, non earthquake green zone, unlike LA, now frazzled by Fukushima's deadly rays.
Then Obama can come to Rio as if he came to de Janeiro county, Florida. I don't see any other way for North-South harmony in NWO of marxist capitalists centrally planned 'banksta' economies than these marital moves to send the film industry into Yuri Gagarin orbital. We will have Gaucho Barack do the paso-doble in Asuncion with buddy GBW and Laura B. It'll be hunky dory for all the plutocrats living in southern hemisphere where radiation is a dirty northern word. To be forgotten with 'foreclosure' and 'USD default'.
Hmm, as an Argentinian from Buenos Aires, lemme add my 2 cents here:
Don't go losing no sleep for the Chávez-Cristina relationship. There's no "communist bloc" forming to bring the Kremlin right down to the continent. It was a marriage of convenience, very much managed by Crista's husband, the late ex-president Néstor Kirchner. Now he's gone, the real power behind Crista's gone. The scandal from the moneybag-gate made it more difficult for Chávez to finance this next presidential election. Cristina can have at least another term legally if she's elected, but nothing more than that without constitutional reform. And that's very much impossible nowadays, even more if Crista gets another term. Now all the Chávez financing the K's fad is over, and all in all is very much a non-issue here. Don't lose your breadth over it.
Inflation is something else. There are monetary policy causes and there's something more structural. The govt devalues the currency to finance itself. It doesn't publish the real numbers (the national institute on statistics was de-facto coopted by partisans for the K faction some years ago) on inflation because if they did they would have to pay fortunes on those inflation indexed bonds (among other things). Also, with such an exchange rate, the govt is filled with USD that come from the exports (USD have to be converted to pesos when you export), and the reserve level devalues the currency even more. Also, with so much judicial insecurity (because the K's way was to "do what I want", Victoria Mauri-style), and now a growing power vaccuum, there wasn't investment enough. Besides many prices have been frozen for stuffs like electricity and natural gas. And there are price controls on other things too. Probably that's keeping the lid on a big hyperinflationary jump as was seen during the late 80's (even though there was a big political cause for that then); and while it's good for some things, it's bad for others.
If we're going to see hyperinflation, I bet it's gonna be a year or 2 after this years elections. Specially with a rapidly falling USD, and the argie currency chained to it. But argies are resilient. I was born in the early 80's and I've already seen 2 huge crises which included collapsing government. My pops has been through a lot lot more, and even more heavy than this. Only a 35 or something percent of the workforce uses the banking system. Most people have nothing to do with financials. Nobody trusts the banks. Most people save, and while there's been easy credit lately, it's almost loan shark kind of. And no, "communism" a-la soviet revolution is just not possible here. There is and might be even more a push towards a more socialist state of being, but most people here agree with that. We all have very bad memories of anti-communism and anti-socialism, so called "free markets" and stuff. And most people here agree on the state giving more guarantees to the populace. We believe in the necessity of a state to act as counterbalance to private (many times foreign too) economic power, and in that aspect the K's did somewhat good.
So no, no Chávez here. K's are not "Chavistas", and "Chavismo" is not possible here. Still, hyperinflation is very much possible in the next 2 years.
Let's not lose sight of the monkey in the picture when watching black and white team passing each other the basketball.
Having been to Argentina and planning to return soon, I agree that one can make too much of the monetary and political situation. Much of the economic activity is "en negro" or black market. This is one of the major causes of inflation; the government has difficulty collected taxes and must borrow or print.
The Argentines function quite well without much support from the banks and with little confidence in the currency. Currency in Argentina is used for daily expenses but not for saving, investing, and so forth. Most folk convert their currency and save in USD or even Euros. They build houses and businesses (and Argentina is filled with small businesses) without using bank credit whatsoever. A trip to Argentina is well worth the trouble to see how people can adapt to a world that does not depend on fiat and bank credit.
Is Argentina all rainbows and butterflies? Not at all. There is widespread poverty and underutilization of resources. Investment in new production capacity is limited (another cause of inflation), but it does occur. The agriculture is first-world through and through. And there is certainly opportunity in electronics in Argentina and all of South America as the demand for computers and internet access is insatiable. The power-grid in Argentina is actually quite good and relatively new in many places.
I am glad to hear that the sentiment I picked up in Formosa is consistent down in Buenos Aires. Thanks for the post.
As an American circa-Libertarian, I continue to get in debates with my Argentine friends about social healthcare, capitalism, state welfare pensions etc. This post is consistent with the socialist sentiment that abides in Argentina for reasons mentioned by Achtung.
On another note, the US is close to this type of inflationary shock. The root cause is the same (despite the superficial causes being the military industrial complex and socialism/corruption, respectively): an inability to service financial obligations. Keep in mind that Argentina was one of the wealthiest nations in the world during the early 20th C., complete with a Manifest Destiny-type belief in northward expansion (and a similar effect on the natives). Argentina isn't 'developing' in our simplistic teleological typology--it is post-peak, just like Russia is and much of the E.U. and U.S. will soon be.
If .gov gets a hold of this idea......Rosie is in trouble!!!
The Film Actors Guild will send down Danny Glover and Sean Penn, everything will be fine after the benefit concert.
concert of what? can't sing, can't dance, can't play an instrument other than ego trip.
Buenas Dias Mis Amigos en Argentina. Por favor ustedes necesitan a halto los estupidos banqueros de central y mortes si posible? No quiero mucho los pendejos cabrones y ellos son muy malo hijos de putas, y pinchi putas.
Ahem... OK so you poor guys have 25% Inflation a year. You need Ron Paul for El Presidente Seniors y Senioritas
We got 16 million lightning bolts a year or 5 terawatts of pure electricity Tesla had tapped until JPMoron BankErupted Tesla in 1910, of horse power running right over our heads 24x7 and we get hoodwinked into paying for electricity and gasoline when its free.
You poor poor poor bastardos. Hey at least we all got somthing in common with the Merikin Injuns now as we all on the Rez!!! Oh and an old US Injun once said if you pull that yellow metal out the ground it will go around the world and kill everything. Fukin nooooooooobody nose shit compared to Injuns about the Earth.
Chow Babies...
I should think it would be a little embarrassing to be in your second inflationary death spiral in as many decades...
I would argue that its more like a douple dip of the same soup. Was the Great Depression a punctuated recession followed by a deeper tough? Maybe at the time it seemed like that, but in hindsight, it was one phenomenon. I think it will be written in history that the 2000s were hyperinflationary for Argentina, with a brief intra-decade respite.
"But when has the mere rule of law ever hindered socialist-fascist autocrats"
Forgot were you talking about North America, South America or Europe on this point?
Not good Govt nationalises your company in South America if it doesn't like you. In America and Europe they focus on shuttering you on enviromental, health and safety, accountancy, financial and tax regulations. Yep the socialist-fascist Big Bro parasites have more ways than one to skin a cat here in the West
When the state is threatened, regardless of its ideology, you can expect the state will defend itself "by any means necessary".
Chavez, Kirchner, Obama. Birds of a feather. We will be able to judge whether Bush was worse than Obama once the transfer of power from Obama and the Democrats to the opposition has occured without cheating and without violence.
"judge whether Bush was worse than Obama"
You've set the bar way too low. By admitting that it is nevertheless a contest, you've condemned both men.
People receive the Government they deserve.
The revocation of amnesty demanded by the fools in the Argentinian and Chilean streets for emotional reasons and supported by the Europeans for intellectual reasons has created perverse and bloody incentives for authoritarian despots to cling to power, and dramatically escalated the cost of their removal both in treasure and blood.
History repeats itself, Isabel Peron kicked off the last hyperinflationary collapse after taking over for her husband. Perhaps it is time for the military to step in, dig up Nestor, and put him and Cristina on a vuelo de la muerte, as the precedent set by Nestor & Cristina has eliminated the possibility of another Proceso if the situation there deteriorates.
"It is no secret that Mrs. de Kirchner is very, very close to dictator-for-life Hugo Chavez of Venezuela. In fact he illegally financed her presidential campaign."
It's not like the EEUU (U.S. for you gingos) never ever ever illegally finance election campaigns in other countries. No, no such things as the Rose Revolution, the Green Revolution, the Pink Revolution, etc., etc., etc. Or Iran in 1953 or . . . .
"Dictator-for-life" that's a very interesting term considering that this "dictator" got more than 60% of his people to vote for him.
I guess in the norteamericano's lexicon, war is peace, democracy is dictatorship, black is white, radiation is good, clean air is bad . . .
Wow, what a tool.
Chavez is a fascist clown. That our administration would like to take "fascist clownism" as far as Chavez has doesn't change that he is a fascist clown. It only means the US is only a couple of decades (at most) behind a fascist clown.
A couple of decades? I'd say sooner than that for the fascism scenario. Haven't you heard that corporations are people, but unlike those people that bleed, corporations can contribute to political campaigns ad nauseum.
Re: subversion, corruption and intrigue - we're guilty as charged, the ussa is just another banana republic, but defending Chavez is idiotic. What socialist-totalitarian kool aid punch bowl you sipping from?
Stalin got a majority of the vote too you fucktard.
And any shitty Presidents had the majority of votes too. In democracy, sometimes the people choose poorly.
I am an anthropologist who works in far northern Argentina. There, no one believes more than provisionally in the banks. Deposits in the banks are thought of as what they are--a loan from an individual to the bank that may or may not be available to you when you ask for it. For this reason, little is kept in the bank, but is rather used on tangibles, investment, or relationship building. Moreover, the people who best weathered the last hyperinflationary were the indigenous people who foraged or bartered their way through, simply adapting, as they always have done, to changing conditions. Back to living for now in my birth country, the US, I am glad for the example--I am sure I will be using some of the Toba's tricks in the coming months/years.
Maybe Mr. Bernanke can explain to the ignorant masses in Argentina that you cannot have inflation and unemployment at the same time. The output gap is not a red herring, and money printing creates wealth....stupid peasants.
Who is to say this kind of crud didn't get the big Zero elected?
I wonder how much Obama and Hillary plan on fining ZH.
Fines - no problem. Put in on the ZH credit card, wait for heavy-duty inflation to set in. Sell a can of soup and pay off the credit card. And no, I am NOT Chumbawumba.
Good handle, remember feral child on Mad Max?
ZH will not be fined they will just dissappear.
When Chevaz said littleBush left smells of sulphur and brimstone in the UN I laughed so hard,then filled my car with Citgo gas
Americans with their global leadership and reserve currency look at these communists and question their inteligence
.
but the only difference is the commies cant lie as easily
I suspect that there are more, many more, differences than the one you identify.
Siral was influenced by Hegel just like Marx, so no there really is not that much of a difference between a Communist, and what we have here in the US.
Inflation is so passé. Maybe Ben can explain them how to make it sound like deflation and give them the excuse to print more money for weeks/months to come before the circus ends.
By fining the reporters the goverment can build up a reserve against the coming inflation! Ole!