Over the past few years and despite a continually struggling domestic economy, the American dollar has taken a meteoric rise compared to the Argentinean peso.  In January of 2010, one US dollar equaled, roughly, 3.80 pesos. The current exchange rate for one US dollar is equal to nearly 6.70 pesos. On the black market, people have been offering about 9.50 pesos for one dollar. The citizens who make these transactions eventually sell those dollars at a rate of about 10 pesos to the dollar, increasing the rate only about 50 cents. Some people believe that the way the exchange rate is heading, one USD may potentially equal 15 pesos.  The instability, both of the economy and the government, is the main factor for the rising interest in what are called “blue dollars,” simply understood as a dollar being sold on the black market, and stem from citizens’ uncertainty, distrust and a lost hope in the government.

In the last presidential election Cristina Fernández de Kirchner took office. Her goal was to stabilize the currency and crack down on the blue dollars issue. Unfortunately, thus far in her five years of office, neither of these have been achieved with any substantial success.

During my recent trip to Argentina, I was able to experience this muddled economic position firsthand. Attempting to exchange our money, were told that an antique store, Antiques and Exchange, exchanges pesos for the best rate around. Taking this advice to heart, we entered the store as Argentinean citizens were coming and going to exchange dollars into pesos. During our time there, we learned that Argentineans travel to Uruguay and convert pesos to dollars, in the long run making a profit. When it was our turn, the lady told us the current exchange rate was 9.70.  We exchanged our money and left. We were blown away at how easy and safe it was. Later that week we went to Florida Street, known for its shops and crowds of people. It seemed that, as we walked through the district, we could hear the cries of “cambio, cambio,” meaning change in Spanish. These people were offering blue dollars  in public with no attempt at masking their efforts. As we came to an intersection with several police officers, people continued to repeat their offers of blue dollars. Although the government has taken a “visible” position against these marks, it seems that little enforcement is actually taking place. In retrospect, I cannot help but wonder if the government may be trying to control the blue dollars because it is the only form proven somewhat reliable as a steady source of money.