Argentina’s 100% inflation attracts throngs to secondhand clothing markets: ‘I can’t afford new jeans.’
The region’s No. 2 economy is in the grip of its worst crisis in decades, with two-fifths of the population living in poverty, upending the presidential election runoff next Sunday.
With inflation over 140% and climbing, hard-pressed Argentines are increasingly turning to second-hand clothes shops, both to locate inexpensive bargains and to make extra money by selling old garments.
The South American country, the region’s second largest economy and a key grain exporter, is experiencing its worst crisis in decades. Two-fifths of the population is impoverished, and an impending recession is upending Argentina’s presidential election run-off on Sunday.
Soaring voter resentment is leading a radical outsider, Javier Milei, to be the small favorite in polls to defeat Economy Minister Sergio Massa, the candidate of the ruling Peronist coalition, whose bid has been hampered by his failure to reign in soaring costs.
New jeans now cost more than double what they did a year ago, and that purchase alone accounts for more than one-third of Argentina’s monthly minimum income.
Annualized inflation, which is at 138%, is expected to grow further when the government releases official figures for October on Monday, with the monthly rise alone expected to be over 10%, slightly lower than the peaks in August and September.
Argentina has struggled with excessive inflation for years, which economists blame on money printing and a deep distrust of the local peso. Inflation has risen to its highest level since 1991 in the recent year.
