Last night we had dinner with Argentine tour guide/consultant Maria O’Connor (Irish-Argentine obviously) and a Californian who is buying some property out in San Martin, Argentina. We had some stimulating conversation and of course came around to the subject that always comes up when a couple of Americans dine with an Argentine… why Latin America is so screwed up!

Maria told us what it was like to be in the thick of Argentina’s 2001 financial crisis. She was a real estate agent at the time. On the eve of the crisis she and most everyone else were still doing deals, buying houses, signing mortgages and lease agreements etc. They just couldn’t believe what they were being told might happen would indeed happen… the reprocussions on their money, their livelyhood, were just too great to consider. They couldn’t believe it. So, when it hit, it hit hard. Suddenly, their money and their property was worth 1/3rd what it was before. For Maria it had a silver-lining. She didn’t get paid for about 7 months, so, she decided to go into business for herself. Now, she is owner of her own thriving tour business: www.sharingargentina.com

Because of the devaluation Argentina is a great value for foreigners. But it probably won’t last forever. In the 80’s Buenos Aires was one of the most expensive cities in the world. Argentines would come to Miami and buy truckloads of clothes and electronics. There was a saying then that the wealthy in Argentina vacationed in Europe, the middle-class vacationed in Uruguay, and the poor… they vacationed in Miami! But, those days are long gone. Will they come again? Maybe. The Argentine economy has grown a break-neck 8% a year for the past 4 years. But who knows where in the cycle we are. There is some foreboding about Argentina’s current policies in the financial press. But that press seems to be spearheaded by political rivals hoping to dethrone the Kirchners, a husband and wife team (the Clintons of Argentina), who are expected to stay in power for years to come… Anyway, we think about these things as we consider purchasing some real estate here in Buenos Aires. We’ll keep you up-to-date on that issue as we get more serious about it…