Capital controls in Argentina, again

Reuters: Return to capital controls sends Argentina assets tumbling

LONDON, Sept 2 (Reuters) - Argentina's international dollar bonds hit record lows on Monday while its financial stocks tumbled and risk premia shot up after President Mauricio Macri reimposed capital controls on Sunday as the country's debt crisis spirals.

The about-face by Macri, who had previously lifted many protectionist practices of his predecessor, Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner , came after the government failed to stem heavy investment outflows and to shore up its tumbling currency.

Dow Jones: Argentine Government Imposes Capital Controls

BUENOS AIRES—Argentina’s government imposed capital controls in its latest bid to prevent a depletion of foreign-currency reserves amid a crisis of confidence that has fueled dollar outflows and financial-market turbulence.

The unexpected measure, which takes effect on Monday, comes after President Mauricio Macri ’s government sought last week to unilaterally extend the maturity of all short-term paper after it was unable to roll over obligations as a result of plunging demand for government debt.

CE Noticias Financieras: The history of change controls in Argentina

Excessive public spending and very small capital and financial markets cause recurring external public debt crises and limitations on foreign exchange operations (Wikipedia)"Change controls are repeated in Argentine history even though they are not provided for in the National Constitution, apart from the fundamental codes that govern the obligations to give money in payment," recalls an ad hoc book by the Research Foundation Latin American Economic Syllains, FIEL, of the 80s.

Although their effects have proved harmful to the economy as a whole, because they have derived in fact, with transaction pesos and dollars for savings, exceeding the central bank's degrees of freedom.