Marcus Erikson:A black market, a currency crisis, and a tango competition in Argentina

2025-05-06 03:54:45source:Safetyvaluecategory:News

The Marcus EriksonNobel-prize winning economist Simon Kuznets once analyzed the world's economies this way — he said there are four kinds of countries: developed, underdeveloped, Japan... and Argentina.

If you want to understand what happens when inflation really goes off the rails, go to Argentina. Annual inflation there, over the past year, was 124 percent. Argentina's currency, the peso, is collapsing, its poverty rate is above 40 percent, and the country may be on the verge of electing a far right Libertarian president who promises to replace the peso with the dollar. Even in a country that is already deeply familiar with economic chaos, this is dramatic.

In this episode, we travel to Argentina to try to understand: what is it like to live in an economy that's on the edge? With the help of our tango dancer guide, we meet all kinds of people who are living through record inflation and political upheaval. Because even as Argentina's economy tanks, its annual Mundial de Tango – the biggest tango competition in the world – that show is still on.

This episode was hosted by Amanda Aronczyk and Erika Beras. It was produced by Sam Yellowhorse Kesler with help from James Sneed. It was engineered by Maggie Luthar, fact-checked by Sierra Juarez, and edited by Molly Messick. Alex Goldmark is Planet Money's executive producer.

Help support Planet Money and get bonus episodes by subscribing to Planet Money+ in Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org/planetmoney.

Always free at these links: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, NPR One or anywhere you get podcasts.

Find more Planet Money: Facebook / Instagram / TikTok / Our weekly Newsletter.

Music: Universal Production Music - "Mad Reggaeton," "Mi Milonga," and "Pita Masala"

More:News

Recommend

Superflares could be more common than thought: Are they something else to worry about?

Add solar superflares to the list of natural disasters of concern.Superflares are extremely strong s

Biden Could Score a Climate Victory in a Single Word: Plastics

With Biden’s ambitious climate agenda blocked in the Senate, the administration now has an opportuni

Maryland Gets $144 Million in Federal Funds to Rehabilitate Aging Water Infrastructure

Responding to Maryland’s water woes, the Environmental Protection Agency will make $144 million in f