Buying dollars in Argentina is becoming more difficult.

Agency Brazil

From today (31), it will be more difficult to buy dollars in Argentina. All exchange operations will have to be authorized by AFIP (the Argentine Federal Revenue Service), which will determine if the person or company has sufficient resources to acquire the American currency.

According to the government, the measure, announced less than a week after President Cristina Kirchner's re-election, serves to combat tax evasion. But economists in the private sector believe the government is trying to curb capital flight. "In the last 51 months, almost US$70 billion has left the local financial system," economist Carlos Melconian told Agência Brasil. "And capital flight has intensified in recent months, despite everyone knowing that Cristina Kirchner would be re-elected with more than 50% of the vote."

For decades, Argentinians have saved in dollars – many of them kept at home. This habit persists despite the crisis in the United States and the weakening of the dollar. Economists fear that greater exchange rate control will open the door to a parallel dollar market.