Argentina: Life with hyperinflation

The Documentary Podcast

BBC

Society & Culture, Documentary, Personal Journals

4.3 • 2.6K Ratings

🗓️ 29 September 2022

⏱️ 27 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Inflation in Argentina is racing towards 100%. In a country where prices are constantly on the move, it’s hard to navigate daily life as salaries slump and the cost-of-living soars. But, after decades of lurching from one economic crisis to another, Argentines have developed their own techniques for dealing with soaring inflation. In this week’s Assignment, Jane Chambers travels to the capital Buenos Aires to find out how people from all walks of life are coping. People in places like Diego Maradona’s hometown have to queue for food parcels to get by. The dollar is increasingly being used as the alternative economy and an outspoken Presidential Candidate has come up with a strategy to deal with the billions of dollars owed to the International Monetary Fund. Presenter/Producer Jane Chambers with help from Buenos Aires based journalists Lucinda Elliott and Isobel McGrigor Studio Manager: Neil Churchill & Rod Farquhar Production Coordinator: Gemma Ashman and Iona Hammond Editor: Penny Murphy Photo Credit: Lucinda Elliot

Transcript

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0:00.0	Great Uf Down loaded this edition of assignment from the BBC World Service.
0:05.0	Most of us are just waking up to living with rapidly rising inflation,
0:09.0	but in Argentina they're experts.
0:11.0	They've been dealing with various economic crises for decades,
0:15.0	and now it looks like inflation will hit 100% by the end of the year.
0:19.0	But somehow they managed to get by.
0:21.0	I really enjoy travelling to very different neighbourhoods
0:24.0	in and around Buenos Aires to hear about the ingenious ways they cope with it.
0:31.0	64-year-old Alfredo Sabada and his friend are patiently waiting in line
0:36.0	in a rundown street with rubble on the road, motorbikes racing by
0:40.0	and chickens pecking through the rubbish.
0:45.0	This is Bía Fioreito, a poor neighbourhood around the 45-minute drive
0:49.0	from the centre of Buenos Aires.
0:51.0	Footballer Diego Maradona grew up a few blocks away.
0:58.0	We've got work, but I still have to come here to get my food package
1:02.0	because what I earn isn't enough.
1:05.0	Living costs keep going up, and my way is to uncover it.
1:09.0	I work for the local council's sweep in the streets.
1:12.0	I've just finished work and I've come here with my friends
1:15.0	because we both have families and we need help.
1:18.0	I have children and grandchildren to support.
1:21.0	The council would also raise up by around 5%,
	...

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