Word: pesos
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Purple Land. Uruguay is one of only two countries in South America (the other: Venezuela) which are not running out of dollars. In the first five months of this year, Uruguay ran her dollar kitty up from $32 million to $40 million. The Uruguayan peso rides steady at 1.9 to the dollar. But unlike oil-rich Venezuela, to which a plethora of dollars has brought sky-high prices, Uruguay has avoided inflation...
...taking the peso off the peg and establishing a natural barrier to unnecessary imports, Finance Minister Beteta did what some of Mexico's sister republics may have to do. Tighter controls would have invited abuse in a country in which political privilege is hard to control. It would have stimulated the already brisk smuggling trade and set up an even more complex bureaucracy than Mexico already has. And it would have created a black market in peso-dollar trading...
...freeing the peso, Beteta hopes to make Mexican exports stronger competitors in the world market, perhaps stimulating Mexico's production. And the favorable position of the dollar would probably revive the lagging tourist industry. But while production might increase, Mexico's ambitious industrial expansion would be slowed down-perhaps a blessing in disguise, since it was getting too hasty to be sound...
...average Mexican worker makes 1 peso 25 centavos an hour. At that rate, at pre-devaluation prices, he had to work ten hours to buy lunch for a family of five, 72 hours to pay an average rent in the center of the city, 160 hours to buy a suit of clothes...
...real test of how devaluation will serve Mexico is whether the government is now able to take the next difficult steps that are required, i.e., balance its budget, tighten credit, soak up idle money by higher taxes. If the government can do this, a new and sounder peso-at perhaps six or seven to the dollar-may be established. If so, Mexico may be one of the first Latin American nations to wring the water out of its economy and get down to sound living...