"Well, a person goes into debt to buy food and medicine. They go into debt to pay rent, or to cover any emergency that pops up in daily life. They even take out lines of credit to pay off older debts. Only by fully understanding the level of precariousness in Argentina fostered by prolonged inflation and the fact that working-class people's income is being eaten up by a slumping peso can we understand how debt has entered people's lives, becoming a veritable tool of survival."
"And, on a national level, the prevalence of debt has resulted in a new political mechanism: financial blackmail. The fetishized notion of financial freedom a promise of future business opportunities for a heavily-indebted population has become a key element of the far-right's government's agenda. President Javier Milei's administration has promoted new financial technologies (such as digital wallets), dollarization (as a hedge against inflation) and the elimination of all currency exchange controls."
Everyday debt in Argentina forces people to borrow for food, medicine, rent, emergencies, and to refinance older debts. Prolonged inflation and a slumping peso erode working-class incomes, making debt a tool of survival. The prevalence of debt has been transformed into a political mechanism of financial blackmail. The Milei administration promotes digital financial technologies, dollarization, and removal of currency controls while engaging in new cycles of indebtedness with the IMF and the U.S. Treasury. The promoted notion of 'financial freedom' benefits conservative, restrictive agendas and coincides with state-backed anti-feminism that intensifies authoritarian neoliberalism and enables violence against women and LGBTQ+ communities.
Read at english.elpais.com
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