The Dollar

Here is one of the blog posts I have promised, on the subject of the US dollar in Argentina. I don’t claim to be an expert on any of this, but I will explain what I do know.

Currently, as of about two months ago, it is illegal to buy or sell US dollars in Argentina. To do anything with dollars, you have to register with AFIP (the national tax agency) with appropriate documentation, and permission to deal with dollars is extremely hard to obtain. The restrictions have been very hard on many people – immigrants in Argentina, foreigners visiting, and native Argentines. I have heard many anecdotes about various issues, but the two I am most familiar with are my personal experience of trying to obtain US dollars here, and the experience of many of the immigrant workers with whom I have been talking.

First, my experience: Before coming to Buenos Aires, I arranged housing through the coordinator that does the housing for the Harvard programs here. Since I am not officially part of any of the Harvard programs in Argentina however, I couldn’t pay through Harvard, I instead had to pay her personally. When I asked the best way to transfer the money to her, the coordinator told me that I should bring the money I owed her in cash, US dollars, when I came down. I felt a little uncomfortable bringing $1550 with me in cash, but didn’t say anything then. As my day of departure got closer, I made the mistake of transferring all of my money to a Montana bank, in anticipation of using my Montana debit card while in Argentina. Upon realizing that I didn’t have $1500 in cash readily available to me in Boston, I figured that it wasn’t a smart thing to do anyway, and decided to get the cash once I got to Argentina.

Once I got to Argentina, the housing coordinator informed me that it was going to be impossible to get US dollars here, because of aforementioned restrictions on the dollar. And she was right. After weeks of trying to find a way to get dollars down here, my parents thought they had finally found a way – open an account at Wells Fargo and wire money to BBVA Banco Frances, where I could pick it up here with my passport and wire transfer number. Ha.

From there began the real saga. When I went to the bank, I was told that I had to have a CDI (clave de identificación, government ID number) in order to be able to get the money that my parents had sent. To get a CDI, I had to go to the AFIP. I went to the AFIP. They told me that I didn’t need a CDI. Went back to the bank. They told me I did. Went back to AFIP. Got forms, but had to have proof of address, which, being here only 8 weeks in total, I did not have. Went to police station. Paid to get proof of address mailed to me. Waited. Went back to AFIP. Discovered that the AFIP for my particular part of the city was located about a million miles away. Went there. Waited for an hour and a half. Got the CDI. Went to bank. Was there for a good 2 ½ hours while three people attempted to arrange getting the money for me. Finally was able to take it out... but only in pesos. Even as a US citizen, the government of Argentina would not allow the money to be taken out in dollars.

Luckily, the coordinator took the money. If she was planning on exchanging it for the black market rate (closer to 6 pesos to a dollar instead of 4.5), she lost out on a bunch of money. But the fact that even US citizens can’t get their hands on dollars is simply ridiculous. The fact that it takes weeks to get the documentation necessary to even take out wired money in pesos is even more ridiculous. All these restrictions have done is cause headaches for countless people and create a booming black market.

For the immigrant workers I have been talking to, the restrictions on the dollar make sending remittances to their home countries very difficult for many. Most seem to prefer to send money in dollars, as the purchasing power is higher, but are unable to anymore. For some, sending money in pesos isn’t even worth doing, so they are in the tough position of being unable to help support their families back home. One lady I talked to is even considering returning if the policies aren’t changed.

So, yes, one thing I would change about Argentina is its stance on the US dollar.