“We are confident because the course is diametrically opposed to the previous one, but of course we have to flee into the jungle, crossing bushes with thorns and full of the vipers of the old caste…”
~ An Argentine Farmer
Joel Bowman with today’s Note From the End of the World: Buenos Aires, Argentina…
We’re back in the city, preparing for the road ahead… but our mind lingers in the countryside, where the cool breezes caress the cornfields and the molten sunsets make even amateur photographers appear competent.
Last week, we caught a glimpse at how those on las pampas live. A five hour drive west of the city, somewhere along the frontera between the Greater Buenos Aires and Santa Fe provinces, the road suddenly goes from merely potholed...to actual dirt. Our shabby rental bumped and spluttered between the fields, rich with life, as the radio dipped in and out of reception.
Of course, this is not just any old dirt. This is some of the most fertile topsoil on the planet, where soy, maize, sunflower seed, wheat, sugarcane, barely and yerba mate flourish, yielding some $90 billion of agricultural produce annually.
There’s also the country’s famed cattle. Argentina is the world’s fourth largest producer of beef. And wine, to go with your steak, grows in abundance. Argentina is the 10th largest producer of grapes in the world. As for its top crop, soy, the land at the end of the world contributes almost one quarter of the entire planet’s production.
As far as the eye can see, in every direction, lush fields roll on into the distance. The land here is so rich, in fact, so brimming with life and fertility, it takes a whole government to ruin it. Which is exactly what they’ve been doing, for generation upon generation.
Only, that’s beginning to change…
“There is much that I like about this new government,” our host tells us in the warm glow of the parrilla the first evening, “but I am not as young as you, and I have seen promises made before…
“We do not wish to trade one political caste for another. We don’t need their false protection and phony meddling, which only allows them to rob us under a different guise...
“We want to see the markets open, to be allowed to compete. We want the state’s foot off our neck, to be left alone to sow and to reap, to feed our families and invest in our future.”
A year into this administration – and what we’ve been calling “The Greatest Political Experiment of Our Time” – and we’re seeing changes, early signs of hope. Over the past 12 months alone, Argentina “has risen 70 places in terms of economic freedom,” as Javier Milei writes himself in an op-ed in La Nacíon over the weekend...
“Needless to say, this is not a minor point, since the freest countries not only grow twice as much as the repressed ones, but also have a per capita income 12 times higher and 50 times fewer poor people in the extreme levels.”
The Argentine economy is officially out of recession and growing again. Banks, newly capitalized, have started lending. Slowly but surely, business is recovering. A long-suffering people rise in the morning and survey their prospects.
Green shoots, yes. But it will take a lot to convince those who’ve been around this block before…
Final Notes…
It’s last call for our inaugural Investing in the End of the World Virtual Summit. Hear ye, good readers, mark your calendar!
The event – featuring Rick Rule, Eric Fry and Byron King – will take place this coming Wednesday, Jan. 8 between 2-4pm Eastern Time.
We’ve just passed the 1,250 registrations mark and space is limited… so you’ll want to be snappy. (Notes Members, your space is already reserved – see below.)
We’ll send an email to all who register with meeting details (link, password, etc.) on the day of the event.
Register Here…
Please be advised that Notes Members will be given priority access, as well as receive a complete audio-video recording of the event AND a full transcript to peruse at their convenience.
It’s our way of saying “thanks” to our kind Members for their support over the past year… and a way to kick off a whole bunch of new Member benefits and perks in ‘25 and beyond!
If you’re not already a Notes Member, now’s the time to address that glaring cosmic glitch. Join here…
And stay tuned for more Notes From the End of the World…
Cheers,
Joel Bowman
Share this post