High Inflation Forces Hard Choices on Argentines
2022-08-17
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1Argentina reported a monthly inflation rate of 7.4 percent in the month of July, the highest number in about 20 years. 2The country's consumer prices have increased 71 percent over the past year, the national statistics agency, called INDEC, said recently. 3The latest numbers put Argentina among the countries with the highest inflation rates in the world. 4The effects of inflation are clear in Villa Fiorito, around 15 kilometers from downtown Buenos Aires. There, unemployed women gather in the hopes of exchanging goods for food. Such exchanges that do not involve money are known as bartering. 5Every afternoon, women set up their blankets and lay out their goods, including clothes and toys. Their hope is to exchange the goods for food to feed their families. 6The economic problems are likely to get worse before they get better in Argentina. Experts predict that inflation for the whole year will likely reach 90 percent or higher. 7Thirty-one-year-old Soledad Bustos sets up shop in the Villa Fiorito fair every afternoon while one of her children is in school and another is under the care of her sister. 8The money is not enough 9Bustos offers clothing like jeans, leather boots, sneakers and shirts that she either took out of her own home or bought through the social media service Facebook. In exchange, she asks for powdered milk. 10"I can't get to the end of the month, the money isn't enough," Bustos, a single mother, said. 11Bustos is unemployed and says she receives around $255 a month from the state. That amount is not enough to feed her family. 12Bartering events started spreading in Argentina after the economy collapsed in 2001. But such events have increased in recent years as the inflation rate has remained high. 13"This is living hand-to-mouth," said María Inés Pereyra, 48, the organizer of the event that runs Mondays through Saturdays. "Whatever they obtain today they take it straight to the dining table." 14For safety reasons, only women can take part in bartering. Most of the exchanges have already been previously arranged on Facebook or WhatsApp. 15Although there is no set value for the used goods, Pereyra set a top price of $2 for each piece of clothing. 16As an example, she pointed to a pair of leather sneakers that could be traded for a packet of sugar, cooking oil, flour and a local tea. 17Fernández's administration has blamed the high inflation rate in July on a currency crisis caused by "speculative movements that tried to generate a crisis of uncertainty and push a devaluation," Gabriela Cerruti, the government's spokeswoman, said recently. 18Cerruti's statement came before the inflation rate was released. 19The increase of the country's already high inflation rate comes shortly after the government had three economy ministers within one month. 20Experts and members of Fernández's administration expect the August inflation rate to be similar to July. That is because of increases in prices for public transport and energy. 21In Villa Fiorito, Bustos said she and her fellow barterers are centering their efforts on "surviving." 22I'm Jill Robbins. 23Debora Rey reported on this story for the Associated Press. John Russell adapted it for VOA Learning English. 24_______________________________________________________________ 25Words in This Story 26consumer - n. a person who buys goods and services 27blanket -n. a covering made of cloth that is used especially on a bed to keep you warm 28fair - n. an event at which different things (such as crafts or food) are sold or traded 29obtain - v. to gain or get (something) usually by effort 30speculative - adj. involving financial risk : of or relating to financial activity that could result in either a large profit or a large loss 31generate - v. to produce (something) or cause (something) to be produced 32devaluation -n. (finance) the act of lowering the value of a country's money so that it is worth 33___________________________________________________________________ 34Is inflation affecting you or your family? We want to hear from you. 35We have a new comment system. Here is how it works: 36Write your comment in the box. 37Under the box, you can see four images for social media accounts. They are for Disqus, Facebook, Twitter and Google. 38Click on one image and a box appears. Enter the login for your social media account. Or you may create one on the Disqus system. It is the blue circle with "D" on it. It is free. 39Each time you return to comment on the Learning English site, you can use your account and see your comments and replies to them. Our comment policy is here.