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Barter
Clubs Expose Argentina's Weakness
Barter
Clubs Expose Argentina's Weakness
Buenos Aires -- They line up early
every Saturday morning at the decrepit
gymnasium that houses the La Matanza Barter
Club.
Club members shuffle in carrying sacks
stuffed with everything from homemade
clothing to homegrown vegetables, set up
their stands and begin a day of bartering.
The La Matanza Barter Club in the
working-class Buenos Aires neighborhood of
Isidro Casanova is one of more than 100 that
now function throughout Argentina. They
provide a vital service for people who are
short on cash by helping them make ends
meet.
Each item brought to the club is given a
value by its owner, who then trades it with
other members for whatever goods they are
offering.
"What we do here is a fair and honest
trading. I look at this like a job, and I
work hard at it, and it helps me live
better," says Deolindo Farias, 66, who
brings fresh bananas and mandarins every
week and trades them for household items
like flour and sugar.
Barters Clubs boomed in Argentina following
the country's 2001 economic meltdown when
jobs, security and cash were scarce.
Club officials say during 2002 more than 2
million people participated in the clubs on
a regular basis.
In recent years, as Argentina's economy
bounced back, fewer people showed up, but
ever since the global financial crisis hit
last year, they say the barter clubs are
more popular than ever. Video Watch how the
clubs are helping poor Argentines »
"It's a reality now. In these past few
months there has been a big increase. For
example, we now have 400 people every
Saturday. It used to only be 300. People are
traveling here from other neighborhoods so
they can barter too," says Juan Maccarone,
president of the La Matanza Barter Club.
Nelly Vasquez, 29, goes to the club because
she has no other options. She lost her job
at a clothing factory last year, and has
been going to the barter club every week
since January -- often with her
six-month-old daughter, Antonella, in tow.
"I come here because I don't have a job, and
this is the only way for me to survive and
get the things that I need," says Vasquez,
who trades wool and women's shoes for pasta
and rice.
For others, the barter clubs offer something
that every consumer on a budget seeks: a
bargain.
"If you go to the supermarket, they charge
10 or 15 pesos for a bottle of cooking oil.
Here, I can get it with 50 or 80 club
credits. That's only 4 or 5 pesos -- that's
a big difference," says Maria Rosa Araya,
37.
By all accounts, Argentina was the first
Latin American country to have the barter
clubs.
The idea has now spread to other countries,
like Uruguay, Colombia and Venezuela.
There's even a burgeoning barter club
circuit across the Atlantic Ocean in Spain.
Organizers say barter clubs are evidence
that in tough times, economies can thrive --
or survive -- on their own, when it's the
people calling the shots.
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"The golden rule at barter clubs is to offer
an honest product for an honest price," says
Ruben Ravera, co-founder of Argentina's Red
Global de Trueque (Global Barter Network).
"It's a concept that could help solve the
world's economic problems. Think about it,"
he says.
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