BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) – South American Argentina is suffering from dizzying inflation. Citizens who have become hard to live are desperate to continue their daily lives, such as rummaging through mountains of trash for reusable items and attending bartering parties.
The annual consumer price index (CPI) is expected to rise more than 100% this year, the highest rate of growth since the hyperinflation of the 1990s. Despite efforts around the world to curb inflation exacerbated by the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Argentina’s rising prices stand out.
Sergio Omar, 41, complained: “I don’t have enough income” and spends 12 hours a day rummaging through piles of garbage in a landfill in Lujan, a suburb of Buenos Aires. They look for and sell cardboard, plastic and metal.
Food prices have skyrocketed in recent months, making it difficult for Omar, a mother of five, to feed her family. It is said that more and more people are looking for things to sell in landfills because their lives are at a standstill.
“The situation has become critical and the number of people coming here has doubled,” said Omar. Selling recyclable waste can earn 2,000-6,000 pesos ($ 13- $ 40) per day.
A Reuters reporter saw men and women scouring the landfill for still usable clothing and even food. The decaying waste gases suddenly ignited on the garbage mountain and the sight of rats, wild dogs and birds gathering carrion was spreading.
Argentina was one of the richest countries in the world a century ago. However, in recent years, repeated economic crises have made it difficult to keep inflation in check.
Rising costs of importing fertilizers and natural gas have compounded the old problem of printing more money and raising prices by companies, and the current rate of inflation is the fastest since the 1990s.
Analysts interviewed by Reuters said September inflation is expected to be 6.7% on a monthly basis, prompting the central bank to raise interest rates to 75% and possibly continue to tighten thereafter.
The poverty rate in the first half of this year exceeded 36%. About 2.6 million people, or 8.8% of the total population, live in conditions of extreme poverty. Although the government support plan has prevented further deterioration, there are also voices calling for an expansion of the welfare budget despite the limited state budget.
The Lujan Barter Club, founded by Sandra Contreras in 2001 when Argentina was going through a severe economic crisis, has recently seen a resumption of activity. People who can’t keep up with the high prices come to swap old clothes for flour and pasta.
“People are really desperate because they don’t have enough money and the situation is getting worse every day,” Contreras said. “I have no money, but I have to bring something home, so I have no choice but to barter,” she explains.
Pablo Lopez, 26, who works in a small recycling center, can clearly see the scars of the price hike. “Inflation is insane this time. When you look at the people working, you can see that inflation is affecting us all.”
(Reporter by Lucila Sigal)
