Election Results: Argentina becomes Venezuela

American Tourist Stabbed in Argentina: 10 Lessons learned

This is an interview with Joe Wolek, the American stabbed during a robbery in La Boca, Buenos Aires. The man got stabbed ten times, twice in the heart, but miraculously survived. (mostly thanks to the surgeon also being interviewed who he later befriend)

The interview starts at about 32:10. The TV show is in Spanish but Joe speaks in English and the questions are translated if anyone wants to check it out.

1)Wrong time
Joe says: “I was there in the early morning to avoid the crowds that happen in places that are for tourists”
When you avoid crowds in dagenrous places you are therefore left alone in those dangerous places. Bad idea.

2)Wrong place
Joe says “I was walking along the train tracks, photographing the various graffiti.”
La Boca is already a high crime area. The train tracks is probably the worst place you could think of.

3) Joe says he started feeling “punches” in his chest, he thought he was being punched. He says “ I didn’t feel the knife until I looked down and saw the blood. “
Punches often get confused with getting stabbed. With smaller blades and especially with poor light (night) this happens often. Many survivors mention this exact same thing, confusing stabs with punches and not realizing there’s a blade used in the attack.

4) Nothing is worth getting stabbed over. Or getting shot. When caught off guard, let go of your stuff. Joe says “When I saw I was being stabbed I let go of the camera. I was holding on.”

5)Never chase after to attackers that just stabbed you through the heart.
Joe started running in the same direction the attackers went. This is again, a very common reaction, to chase after who attacked you or stole your property. Again, not worth it. It is common for criminals to stop and shoot your way if you follow them.

6)Not much blood was showing. Although Joe saw blood, bystanders he tried to ask for help didn’t realize how badly wounded he was because there wasn’t a lot of blood.
Puncture stab wounds may bleed internally or not bleed much at all, or it may bleed a lot. Its all about what gets cut.

7)Joe was not aware of the specifics of the crime rate in Argentina. He says “I was warned about La Boca. I’ve been to a lot of places in the world, some dangerous places, so I took my chances. “
The specifics matter a LOT. As they say, the devil is in the details. A dangerous “touristy” place like La Boca, it’s one thing when full of people and it’s another when deserted. You may get your bag snatched when there’s a crowd around you, but being there when there’s no one around just isn’t the smart thing to do.

8) Bad advice. Minute 46:53 this woman talked to Joe before the incident and when asked about crime in Argentina, she told Joe that he could get his camera stolen, but nothing would happen to him, that his life wouldn’t be at risk. This is in fact BAD advice. People get killed during crimes DAILY in Buenos Aires so saying it’s just crime like in any big city is in fact incorrect.  Important lesson right there: know your sources, know who you’re getting your advice from. An airhead model/tv presenter may not be the best person to consult about crime and security.

9)Joe does say that after his attack he is more aware of people walking behind him a bit more and lets tem pass, what we would call watching your six.

10) Besides the obvious, avoiding dangerous countries and dangerous places, my advice for anyone traveling to areas where crime is a serious problem is to prepare accordingly. Avoid when possible, but if that’s not an option get an actual guide, either individual or along with a group. Its money well spent. Keep your plane ticket, passport and cash in a travel money belt, well hidden under your clothes.

Money Belt For Travel With RFID Blocking Sleeves Set For Daily Use $15.03

Criminals will not strip you naked when attacking. They’ll just take your handbag or wallet. As for camera, don’t bring anything you’re not willing to part with in a split second. You may want to leave your fancy cell phone behind and get around with a cheap one too.
FerFAL
Fernando “FerFAL” Aguirre is the author of “The Modern Survival Manual: Surviving the Economic Collapse” and “Bugging Out and Relocating: When Staying is not an Option”

Reply: American tourist stabbed 10 times in La Boca, Buenos Aires

Is La Boca the same barrio where that one tourist with a GoPro got mugged while he kept saying “amigo?”-Joe

I think it was. Either way Buenos Aires and pretty much Argentina in general, it’s a dangerous place. What I mean by dangerous is not just “crime like everywhere else”. I’m talking people getting killed daily in the city and violent crime very much out of control. There’s currently problems now with armed left-wing gangs occupying land in Patagonia, a group called RAM. The police seem to be unable to stop them and it says a lot about the country when an armed terror organization is free to operate in plain view, yet the police does nothing.

“When travelling always dress way down the fashion ladder. Always use cheap baggage. Always wear layered clothing with fake stuff in the outer layer and real stuff closer to the body. A money belt with a few Benjamins in it is also good. Plus a photocopy of ones passport. “ -A

That’s good advice. Those money belts are priceless and work very well. If mugged just give up your wallet, make sure you don’t keep anything too valuable there. I’d keep my original passport in there, not a copy.
FerFAL
Fernando “FerFAL” Aguirre is the author of “The Modern Survival Manual: Surviving the Economic Collapse” and “Bugging Out and Relocating: When Staying is not an Option”

American tourist stabbed 10 times in La Boca, Buenos Aires

American tourist Frank Joe Wolek (54) was stabbed 10 times this morning in La Boca, Buenos Aires.
He was attacked by 2 criminals while taking photographs. The camera was dropped and left in the crime scene. I can only assume the intention was to rob the camera. This would be very typical for the area, popular with both tourists and criminals preying on them. If the victim resisted and refused to give up the camera I can see how he could easily get stabbed over it.  A plain clothes police officer in the area confronted the criminals shooting one in the chest while the other managed to escape.
Both the victim and wounded criminal are in critical condition.

This is just a reminder for everyone planning on visiting Argentina or other countries with high levels of violent crime. People plan their trip to these kind of places and 90% of the time it all works out great. But sometimes it doesn’t.

With places like these you really have to know what you’re getting into. I know my country very well, better than any tourist, and I would never be caught in such an area with an expensive camera or cell phone. Tourists simply don’t know any better.

What’s even worse, they don’t know how to react. When unarmed and kept at knifepoint or gunpoint by two criminals you just give them the camera. They are not bluffing and its just not worth getting stabbed or shot over.

It is a rather natural reaction to fight back when people are getting mugged. You see it with women holding on to their purses as they get dragged by snatchers on motorcycles.

Lessons learned:
*If you’re planning on fighting, then do it right. Be armed and keep a constant state of awareness. Chances are doing it will dissuade a good number of potential attackers.

*Now if you’re caught off guard in some 3^rd world country then your camera or wallet just isnt worth getting killed over. Give it up and carry on with your life.

*When going to countries that aren't that safe, plan accordingly. Don't take anything too fancy, especially cameras. Don't try to be like the locals, just stick with your group and your guide when wandering around.
FerFAL

Fernando “FerFAL” Aguirre is the author of “The Modern Survival Manual: Surviving the Economic Collapse” and “Bugging Out and Relocating: When Staying is not an Option”

Serious Survival: How much food should you stockpile?

It seems that for every blogger or forum member there’s a survival expert as well. That’s great because there’s such wealth of information and you can learn from different experiences and accounts.
Then again the downside… every blogger and member thinks he’s an expert.
You see, for realistic survival and preparedness it’s crucial to differentiate the “I think” and “I believe” from the “this is how it went down” “this is why”.
We all know that food is essential for survival. No food and you won’t last long. Same goes for water (and I see it overlooked more often). Keep in mind that while a day without food may suck a bit, but a day without water will be tough indeed. In certain warm climates it can be downright dangerous.
We all get how important food and water is, but then there’s the classic survival question: How much food should you have stored for emergencies?
Doomers say you need years worth of food. Decades even. After all you die if you don’t eat. Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons) are famous for their year worth of food approach, although many have far less than that.
Officially speaking, what would a real expert recommend? Ready.gov says to have 3 days worth of shelf stable food and bottled water. That may seem as very little but in general most emergencies are either resolved within that time frame or help becomes available. Still, tell this to anyone that spent a week or more snowed in during a storm and he’ll find it lacking.
So how much? A Week? A Month? A year?
The first piece of advice is one you’ve probably heard before and that it is to store what you eat. If your kids don’t even know what rice looks like then having buckets full of the stuff isnt that much of a good idea. Either store something else or actually start eating rice.
There’s two very important reasons for this.
First, if you don’t rotate your food supply it just becomes one of those “just in case” things, and you’ll find yourself throwing food away every few years. This makes keeping large quantities of food stored a great waste of money. Second, if you store what you eat there wont be any difference between emergencies and “normal” times, at least food wise.
In our home we love rice and lentils and prepare rice and lentils stews often. Its tasty, very healthy, stores well for years and its pretty affordable too. Some canned tomato and vegetables and you have all you need for a great nutritional meal.
Another important point is understanding how much calories you actually need. The standard reply here is 2000 calories. Sure, if trekking the north pole you’ll need 5000 instead but even if some manual labour may be needed during disasters there’s people that stay healthy AND active with a lower caloric diet. 2000 will do well enough.

OK ... SO HOW MUCH DO I NEED?
The 3 day recommendation by ready.gov is based on a rather optimistic government recommendation. If they have said instead to have 7 days immediately people would be wondering “Wait, so you’ll let me hang there for an entire week?!” People don’t react well to uncertainty and avoiding panic is a government’s #1 priority. Two weeks worth of groceries is just common sense. It doesn’t put a significant dent in your wallet if done correctly, and yes, it is true that it will cover 99% of the disasters and emergencies you’re likely to face in your lifetime.
I already imagine people thinking “but I want to be ready for SHTF, a worst case scenario, the real end of the world stuff!”.
OK, lets do that. Lets say it’s a worst case, total SHTF scenario. But lets keep it real and look how does it actually play out in the real world rather than fantasize about it.

Lets say you have 2 years, no, 10 years worth of food. Lets say you have that plus means of producing more, a fully working farm.
Now lets suppose you have your ten year supply of food, plus a farm, plus a pile of guns and ammo… and you’re sitting in Eastern Ukraine when the Russian troops roll in. Or Aleppo when they are levelling every structure around you with barrel bombs. Or in South Africa when white farmers were exterminated and kicked out of their homes. Or in Fukushima when the tsunami destroyed everything and the radiation scorched the land. Do you see a trend here? More food, or a bigger farm would have done you no good. In all of these sometimes like more cash or gold to take along with you when you bug out or even better money in an offshore account would have been far more useful.
“But… I want the end of the world to be more convenient…”
Ok, what about Venezuela? You have out of control inflation, out of control crime and poverty with people starving. Even farmers starve there(posted about just this a few weeks ago), just like Irish farmers starved during the genocide known as the Great Famine or Ukranian farmers died during Holodomor, reduced to cannibalism. Yes, sometimes its natural disasters, but in others its lack of means of production, and an authoritarian government ensure that people starve in spite of having land and the knowledge to work it.
In my experience after the collapse of Argentina’s economy I would say it was somewhat similar to Venezuela during the times of Chavez. By this I mean horrible inflation, but not reaching the levels of food poverty seen today in Venezuela. Food was available, just two or three times more expensive than before. Just imagine how you would deal with such a scenario if you woke up to it tomorrow. Indeed, we all wished we had more food stocked up, and we rushed to buy more right away desperately trying to beat the nonstop inflation. I sure kept several months worth of food stockpiled. But still, at the end of the day if you had money you ate.
I stayed for over a decade after the collapse of 2001. In retrospective I probably should have left sooner. Personal circumstances, heck, life I guess, made us delay our departure. Still, we always had the resources to leave ASAP if needed. This is more than what most people in Venezuela can say.

In such a complex situation would a 10 year supply of food, or a farm, made much of a difference? Not really. The food would have been nice, but the money to buy it was just as good besides having a conservative stockpile. A farm? Maybe more of an anchor to the country at a time when leaving was the clear path. A farm in a place like Venezuela, where you cant sell it, or if you do you don’t get anything for it, really does you no good.
So, start with a couple weeks worth of stockpiled food. Work towards a month. Then 6 when you can afford it and have the room for it. 6 to 12 months is the maximum I would recommend, with 6 months being the most realistic objective for most people. Six months of food gives you plenty of time for things such as unemployment, family problems. 12 months helps greatly when dealing with inflated prices, food shortages, and overall instability in the country where you maybe spent several months maybe saving money and looking for a job abroad, for a way out of the country entirely.
The lesson being, If you need more than 12 months worth of food, then more food will do you no good because what you really need is to get the hell out of there!
Take care folks,
FerFAL
Fernando “FerFAL” Aguirre is the author of “The Modern Survival Manual: Surviving the Economic Collapse” and “Bugging Out and Relocating: When Staying is not an Option”.

Q&A about moving to Buenos Aires, Argentina

Mr. Aguirre,
I will be moving to Buenos Aires in June. I have some questions that you may be able to answer. Google has given me some info but it's never as good as info from people such as yourself.
-J
Hello J,
I get similar questions pretty often. This is surprising given that I’ve literally written for years about how bad the situation was and still is in Argentina. Still, people have their reasons. So, if others have similar questions here it goes:

1. I will be living near the city center. Can you give me an idea as to what areas I should avoid?

All of them except these ones. Try sticking to either the city center or northern part of the city. Palermo, Recoleta, Belgrano, Las Cañitas, these are ok although nowhere is really safe in Argentina so stay alert. Avoid entirely the western and southern suburbs of Buenos Aires if possible. They are particularly dangerous although again, there’s crime everywhere.

2. Are there any recommendations for transportation? Any I should avoid?

The subway is pretty good in Buenos Aires, but in general I move around with remis (sort of like Uber) from this company.  http://www.rcremis.com.ar/inicio.php. Write their number down and add it to your contacts. They are safe, reliable, fast and affordable. You don’t get all of that very often in Argentina. Avoid taxis though, in general they will rip you off.

3. Are there regulations on knife carry?

They are considered weapons and will get you in extra trouble if you use them in crimes, but for law abiding citizens there’s not specific restricting legislation enforced. So get a knife and OC Spray (also legal) as soon as you land.

4. Are there any like minded(self defense, knife/gun culture) people that you would recommend I contact or possibly put me in contact with?

I would recommend going to one of the shooting clubs, either Tiro Federal Argentino or Tiro Federal Lomas. Take a class or two with Jorge Baigorria (http://jorgebaigorria.com/) You’ll learn a lot and get to meet those “like-minded people”.

5. Any other suggestions would be much appreciated.

Thank you sir,
Jacob
Just stay safe, keep your guard up and enjoy the stay. I always talk about the bad stuff about living in Argentina but it is a country with great potential and people are fantastic.
FerFAL
Fernando “FerFAL” Aguirre is the author of “The Modern Survival Manual: Surviving the Economic Collapse” and “Bugging Out and Relocating: When Staying is not an Option”.

Argentina has a new President: Mauricio Macri.

There's Hope for Argentina!

President Mauricio Macri and Governor of Buenos Aires, Maria Eugenia Vidal
I barely dared to hope. Just barely. I had seen so many times my beloved country go down the toilet during elections, consumed by corruption, ignorance and populist ideology.
Yesterday something changed in Argentina. Mauricio Macri is now president of Argentina. Macri is the product of the 2001 crisis, starting his political party in 2003 and winning the mayoral elections of the City of Buenos Aires in 2007 where he did a great job. He ran the government of the city of Buenos Aires with professionalism, free of favouritism and corruption with clear goals for the city which he mostly achieved. Mauricio Macri can be described as a center-right conservative, known for building skilled teams around him and solving problems in a methodical way, probably due to his background in civil engineering.
As great as this is, the damage done to Argentina is still considerable an years, maybe a decade or more will pass before it becomes a nation with standards of living similar to the ones found in developed nations. The horrible crime problem, even the corruption and economic instability, you don’t get rid of those overnight. Macri knows a thing or two about being a victim of crime. He spent 13 days in a hole, kidnapped himself.
Still, its great news. There’s hope, and now there’s a president that will work towards fixing things rather than filling his own pockets. A president we can finally be proud of...that is, until he starts dancing…

FerFAL
Fernando “FerFAL” Aguirre is the author of “The Modern Survival Manual: Surviving the Economic Collapse” and “Bugging Out and Relocating: When Staying is not an Option”.

Do you need a community to Survive when SHTF?

First off let me start by saying that reading your blog has been a very refreshing change of pace. Often most blogs on survivalism also come with crazy white supremacist or anti-government rhetoric, theres also a lot of what I like to call "lone rangers" building bunkers, stockpiling ammo, food, water...
And these things are very advisable but one thing I see them doing is isolating themselves from neighbours who might actually be helpful to be on good terms with.
I am from rural Montana and for some reason this region attracts a very large number of anti-social bunker dwellers and militia types who I feel quite frankly arent just preparing for disaster, but are praying for one.
I am a marine infantryman and have spent considerable time in war zones, disaster areas, and places where mob-rule, drug lords, or organized crime are the closest thing to law that people have. This idea of the rugged individual standing atop a pile of MREs and ammo in a heroic last stand seems to be a distinctively american one.
Ive been in many firefights, armed stand offs, even spent 6 hours being hunted by a sniper once. I can say that none of the things I have survived, nor locals ive seen surviving did so soley because of their ruggedly individualistic defiance and personal grit. I lived because I had a unit of good men I could trust watching my back as I watched thiers and most locals were very self reliant, but they were always networking with each other for the things they couldnt make or get by themselves.
Things like
"help me dig this well and I will help you fix your car"
"If we hear shooting at your house we will come if you will do the same for us"
"If anyone sees the rebels coming everyone call everyone else"
"We can all pool money for a set of solar panels to charge our batteries"
In one case where our patrol was mistaken as hostile I actually saw a 12 year old boy initiate a "phone tree" which was able to evacuate a village of 2,000 people in 20 minutes, an hour later all villages in that valley had sought refuge in the surrounding mountains, they finally emerged when we convinced them we werent there for hostile purposes.
I think it is a very good idea to address community as a survival strategy, because I can and do tell a lot of these lone rangers my experiences in combat and hostile environments "It doesnt matter how good a shot you are or how many guns you have buried in your back yard, if 15 people decide they are coming into your house the best you can do on your own is run, or die for a pile of food and ammo"
Im not saying people and thier neighbours need to go full vigilante, but maybe setting up a watch, a community fall back area, or early warning phone or hand held radio system could be a much more sound tactic than re-enacting their favourite rambo movie.
-Tom

.
Hello Tom,
These days everyone with a keyboard and internet connection is a survival expert, so that kind of misconception is pretty common. People think they’ll be safe because they live far from cities, that an economic collapse won’t affect them because they grow their own food (guess, they never heard about people losing their farm to the bank) or that they’ll never need to evacuate their home “because we already live in our bug out location” (which by definition is impossible, given that a BOL is where you go when your primary residence is compromised). The thing is, people think these things but they’ve never actually had to try them for real. They think this or that will work out a certain way “when SHTF”, but they’ve never seen what happens when SHTF for real nor have they seriously researched the topic.
The kind of personality you describe is very common in our community. In most cases its people that have problems socializing, they just don’t like people and they rationalize their personal preferences by convincing themselves that isolation is in some way a wise preparedness strategy. Of course, as you correctly state, that’s not the case.
Being isolated and being on your own only makes you an easier target. Even if you fortify your position so as to not be a “soft” target, being a lonely tough nut only means no one will hear you when you crack. If anyone has managed to make the solo bunker idea work, its simply because they never had to actually put it through a real large scale disaster. It will not work long term with severe crime and social unrest. Its like my 7 year old’s cardboard and tape spaceship: It’s a fantastic spaceship as long as you don’t actually use it as one.
Within a socioeconomic collapse, which is the area I have the most experience with, I can assure you that you’ll need all the help you can get. With finding employment, with getting some help with the house and kids when you’re studying or working and just not around and you definitely need help regarding crime, everything from neighbours watching after one another, to hiring security or organizing a neighbourhood watch.
Having said all this, you will not always get the help that you need. Expect to be disappointed. A lot. In fact 9 out of 10 people will not be there for you when SHTF in spite of what they promised earlier. I have a handful of real friends, that have invited me and my family to stay at their home for as long as I need it and actually meant it, a friend that would literally catch a bullet for me, and I’ve met people that have let me down even with the smallest favour. A person I though was a friend did just that when I asked for a small favour. He got back to me the following day explaining he couldn’t do what I asked, but if I was ever caught in a mountain in the middle of a snow storm he would gladly drive up there to save me. We don’t get to pick the kind of help we need, that’s kind of the nature of a situation which involves asking for a favour. My advice would be to see if you can count on people for small things first, something that maybe isn’t a big deal and you could easily take care of yourself, but still ask just to see if your friendship is real or not and if you can count with that person. If they don’t come through for the little things you then don’t expect them to be there when SHTF bad.
When there’s considerable socioeconomic unrest, then there’s other factors to keep in mind. Maybe some people maybe CANT help you, even if they want, because they have their own problems and are already way over their heads. Then again, some people may pleasantly surprise you, maybe people you never expected much of. You just have to put yourself out there and make friends, make connections, test them and see what you’re working with for real when the chips are down.
When SHTF, you’ll need all the help you can get and so will the people around you. Given that in most cases people will not be as dependable as we’d like, all the more reason to work harder at it, build and strengthen those relationships with friends, family and neighbours.
FerFAL
Fernando “FerFAL” Aguirre is the author of “The Modern Survival Manual: Surviving the Economic Collapse” and “Bugging Out and Relocating: When Staying is not an Option”.

An Economic Collapse: What does it mean & what's it really like?

Mass starvation expected in Venezuela

Members of national guard patrol a supermarket in Caracas

What else can you expect from dictator Nicolas Maduro?
Venezuela is running out of food and the government of Nicolas Maduro is running out of excuses. The article linked below calls Venezuela a “socialist” government. Let me tell you one thing about “socialism” in places like Venezuela and Argentina.
Mass starvation expected in Venezuela after socialist government nationalizes food distribution system

There’s nothing “socialist” about them. Finland is socialist. You may like it or not, but that’s socialism. What’s happening in places like Argentina, Venezuela and other Latin American countries isn’t socialism, its populist authoritarianism and dictatorships.
Argentina is the perfect example of such nonsense with Cristina and Nestor Kirchner, who became governor of Santa Cruz province before becoming president not thanks to the fortune amassed by socialist activism, but by the fortune amassed foreclosing people’s homes for banks. These are not tree-hugging liberals. These are blood thirsty bankers that only got into politics to steal even more effectively.
Venezuela has no democratic government, socialist or otherwise. It has an inept dictatorship that can’t even run the most basic aspects of a country such as keeping shelves stocked with food and toilet paper. Because they are dictators, they are used to forcing people into accepting their views, their opinions and they are so blinded they believe they can force reality itself to change by force. They think that simply forcing people to deny the food shortages it will make them go away. That is the level of stupidity and ineptitude of Dictator Nicolas Maduro.
Little nugget of wisdom:
"The farther you get from the capital, the worse the economic situation is."
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/looting-venezuela-shortages_55bcec4de4b0d4f33a0309a3
This is something I’ve often made reference to when talking about the cell-like behavior of a collapsed country when it tries to keep its Capital afloat.
FerFAL
Fernando “FerFAL” Aguirre is the author of “The Modern Survival Manual: Surviving the Economic Collapse” and “Bugging Out and Relocating: When Staying is not an Option”.

What Greece Faces if It Defaults

The New York Times is doing its share of drama regarding Greece’s economy by comparing their situation to the Argentine economic collapse of 2001:What Greece Faces if It Defaults.
It's an interesting read, and a lot of it is accurate, but what the article forgets to mention is that the greatest problem Argentina had and still has wasn’t trying to get rid of the IMF and refuse further foreign-imposed austerity, but doing so while having corrupt politicians and corporations that stole the profits and negated the benefits of many of these measures. This is exactly what every “Peronist” government has done in Argentina, from Juan Domingo Perón and Evita to Cristina Kirchner. Every country, from USA to Canada and United Kingdom, has regulations that benefit their own economy. At times it was more intense so as to allow local growth and development, later on being relaxed in some areas so as to allow it to compete with the rest of the world.
There’s nothing wrong with making the well-being of your own population the main priority, above the well-being of investors. That is, as long as it´s done in a responsible manner rather than looting the country yourself.
FerFAL
Fernando “FerFAL” Aguirre is the author of “The Modern Survival Manual: Surviving the Economic Collapse” and “Bugging Out and Relocating: When Staying is not an Option”.

Armageddon Down South: Learning from the Calbuco Volcano Eruption in South America

It’s the break of dawn but the sun is not coming out in Bariloche. “Its like living inside a cloud” says a local resident. The volcanic ash covers everything. The stench of sulfur is overwhelming.


Volcanic Ash in Bariloche, Argentina.

Calbuco erupted last night in Chile, sending tons of ash, rock and lava into the night sky. Six hours later it erupted again even stronger than the first time. Since then, literally all hell broke loose. Chile is on “Red Alert” and has established a 20 km exclusion zone around the volcano. Hundreds have been evacuated. The western winds send the ash across the border into Argentina, affecting the towns in the vicinity.

100 km from the volcano, the city of Bariloche is on full alert. There’s no schools, people are told to stay indoors, ration water and avoid rushing to stores for supplies. People are asked to ration fuel and minimize its use, saving it for emergency and rescue vehicles. Flights to the area have been canceled. There are already concerns regarding the contamination of surface water sources. Volcanic ash is also known to clog intake structures, cause abrasion damage to pumps and block pipes, interrupting the supply of water.

The ash is expected to reach as far as Buenos Aires. During the eruption of Puyehue in 2011 I got to experience first-hand what it’s like to wake up one day and see everything covered with grey volcanic ash. It soon becomes hard to breathe. You throat itches and it stings your eyes. You’re basically breathing in small pieces of glass. I can’t imagine what those people are going through right now.

 
What we can learn from this:
*You need respirators and eye protection. Most people just try to get by with simple facemasks, but authorities advice people with respiratory complications to get better quality respirators. In some parts respirators are distributed by local authorities but there’s not enough for everyone and soon people have to buy their own, if they find them. Common single layer fabric facemasks can go for ten times their previous market value.
Proper full face respirators (like full face 3M 7162) such as the ones often recommended here are all but priceless in such a scenario. Even better, get a respirator that uses a NATO 40mm NBC canister.
*Water. Remember what we always say about water: it’s the most overlooked supply. Have a good water filter but also store enough water as well! Already in some parts of Bariloche, a gallon of water is going for 8 Usd, about 80 pesos. Keep in mind, we’re talking about a region known for its massive forests and lakes, think Alaska, yet that’s the going price for water in a region where just two days ago you could just go and pick as much as you wanted from the nearest pristine lake. All this changes immediately when volcanic ash starts falling and you can no longer drink the water around you.
*Food, fuel and other essential supplies. The basics we always talk about come into play here as well. As the volcano erupts, everyone rushes to the stores to stock up, just like it happens with storms and hurricanes. Have your supplies ahead of time.
*A Bariloche resident explains “We learned from the last volcano eruption. Now we know how heavy accumulated volcanic ash can be, so we make sure to remove it from the roofs. Last time many roofs collapsed because of the weight of the ash”. Many people have now sealed their homes with tape and protected their vehicles in preparation.

Car stuck in Chile

*Cars can be severely damaged by volcanic ash. Air filters must be inspected and replaced with care so as to stop any ash from going into the engine. Windows can be easily scratched by the ash, same goes for the paint of the vehicle. With reduced visibility, its advised to stay put if possible. The fine, hard ash does a number on all mechanic parts of the vehicle eroding any moving parts it gets in between.
*You need a Bug Out Plan. Its hard to explain how difficult life can be when you no longer have the privilege of breathing in fresh air. For most people, leaving the affected area until conditions improve is a good idea. For some people, that move may be permanent. During the 2011 Puyehue eruption, many farmers lost all their crops to the ash. Plants died, animals starved. The surface water was contaminated, the grass was covered in ash. Sheep would destroy their teeth, eroded by the glass-like volcanic ash. Yet again, another example as of why you just can’t live in your Bug Out Location and how disasters often make no distinction between urban and rural areas, indiscriminately affecting both.
FerFAL
Fernando “FerFAL” Aguirre is the author of “The Modern Survival Manual: Surviving the Economic Collapse” and “Bugging Out and Relocating: When Staying is not an Option”.

Cristina Have Mercy: Children Keep Starving to Death in Argentina

 The family is holding a sign with a message to Argentina's president Cristina Kirchner. It says "Beloved Cristina have Mercy".  Néstor Femenía died yesterday in Chaco, Argentina. He was seven years old and weighted 20 kilos (44lbs).

Lessons from Argentina: WROL vs Real Post-Collapse Daily Crime

Cristina meets George‏ Soros as Argentina Collapses

Cristina Fernandez and George Soros
Hi Ferfal,

I don't think any good will come from these two meeting...

http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/09/22/us-argentina-debt-soros-idUSKCN0HH1ZI20140922

Thanks for your very informative website!

Karyn

Hello Karyn,

I dont think so either.

Argentina is rapidly falling apart. The peso climbed to over 15 to the dollar (the rate was 5 pesos:1 usd two years ago). Inflation is rampant. Electricity has gone up 800% in some cases from one month to the next, and this is common for other services as well. You can imagine how hard it is to make any financial planning. Even small businesses find it impossible to budget for next month or even next week, forget about next year.

Of course, crime keeps getting worse non-stop. It was bad when I left, its even worse now if that’s possible. There’s daily murders as before, but more of them, and more start going unreported. There’s missing people, kidnappings, and very violent home invasions. Even when caught on tape committing an armed robbery, even when found and booked, criminals are still released that same day. Argentina has gone Mad Max.

Most of the country is no man’s land by now and even the “nice” gated communities are still very much vulnerable. In many cases, the developments in places like Nordelta are directly financed by Colombian drug cartels.
At this point and with the rapidly deteriorating currency and society alike there’s just no hope for Argentina.

FerFAL

Argentina: Gunpoint robbery caught on Tape

Hey Fer Fal, I wanted to send you this link which shows a robbery attempt captured on a go-pro.  What are your thoughts on how this went down?  Seemed like the robber used a motorbike, just like you warned about. 

One thing that is particularly interesting is that it's in broad daylight and with lots of other people around.  Also the robbers persistence is notable as well.  Does this robber fit the "look" of the typical thief?  Do you think he's killed people before?

- Scott

Hello Scott,

Yes, I’ve seen the video. This happens every day in every city of Argentina, pretty much all day long. Impossible to say if he’s killed before, maybe he did, although in general once they start killing they become like animals and can’t seem to stop themselves from shooting next time they encounter resistance.

As you see it happens on broad daylight, even when surrounded by people. I’ve literally lost count of how many of these similar incidents I’ve seen first-hand, which now that I write it down, sounds pretty depressing. But you would be in a train station, just walking or waiting for a bus and someone pulls a gun out and robs someone or snatches a bag and jumps on a motorcycle and takes off.  One that I remember well took place is a train station, at rush hour, packed with people. The guy just pulled a pistol (I think it was a Hi-Power 9mm) and robbed the guy he as pressing against. The criminal took forever to push his way out of the station, with everyone packed like sardines.

Some interesting things to note:

            1)The victim has NO idea how lucky he is to be alive. These days, you’re very likely to get mugged and shot even when you give them everything. Resisting, like this guy did (seems without knowing) is just begging to get shot.

            2)Nothing is worth getting shot over. At that point, give up the bike and bag. Again, no idea how lucky he is to be alive. I know several people that got shot for a LOT less than that, even after giving up everything.

       3)The robber was asking for his backpack (la mochila! Sacate la mochila!) while the guy kept repeating “amigo! Amigo!. Not knowing the local language can get you killed. Not a good idea to go to dangerous places in general. At one point the criminal asks surprised “ Do you want to get shot?”

       4)Motorcycles. At one time it was estimated that half the bikes driving around with two males on them in down town Buenos Aires were criminals. It came close to get banned by law to have two men drive in one bike in the capital district. It is by far the most common transportation for criminals. Its fast, easy to go on the sidewalk with, easy to escape from police and you naturally wear a helmet that covers your face making you harder to ID.

           5)The criminal didn’t care about people but he didn’t want to have too much attention either, and he wanted to get it over with fast. Daytime doesn’t bother them, nor do nearby witnesses, but time does. It has to be fast. Also, notice how he keeps the gun visible but down and to his side, so as to make it less visible from a distance. You see this done pretty often.

At the end of the day, its good not to be exposed to that on daily basis any more. When crime gets that bad, you have to consider relocating somewhere safer.

FerFAL

Fernando “FerFAL” Aguirre is the author of “The Modern Survival Manual: Surviving the Economic Collapse” and “Bugging Out and Relocating: When Staying is not an Option”.