Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Power of peso putters along in Tijuana

“It’s awesome for me — now I can get twice as drunk.”

Tijuana peso exchange house
Tijuana peso exchange house

“The [rise] of the dollar does not affect Mexicans,” said Andrea Legarreta, host of daily morning television show Hoy, in January of this year. The Mexican peso had just plummeted to a historic low against the dollar, valued at about 18 pesos per dollar.

“Que le chinguen más [you have to work more],” said Raul Araiza, the other host of Hoy.

Sponsored
Sponsored

Both hosts faced broad backlash from social media.

“[The dollar] will always affect us. It is the currency that dominates the world,” commented Araiza after the backlash. Both hosts later claimed that what they said weren’t their own opinions, but what their producers told them to say. The television network they work for is Televisa, which is often accused of airing misleading information and ignoring questionable tactics of the Mexican government.

On September 19, the peso lowered to a value of 20 per dollar, a record.

“I don’t care about the dollar, because I don’t go to the United States to shop,” said Juan Pérez to a local newspaper. Juan Pérez is the "John Doe" of Mexico. Newspapers throughout Mexico quote random people, all of them claiming that the devaluation of the peso against the dollar does not affect them at all because they don't shop in the United States. Similar to Televisa network, a lot of the printed media in Mexico publishes misinformation.

In Tijuana, most businesses and many residents pay rent in dollars. The rent for my apartment is $330; rent went from 4125 pesos when I moved in almost three years ago to the current 6600 pesos, an increase of 60 percent. Fortunately, my wages are paid in dollars.

Those who earn their living in dollars are 60 percent richer in Mexico than they were a year ago; those whose wages are paid in pesos have lost purchasing power.

“It’s definitely been a struggle,” says Alfredo Santaolalla from Madueño Brewery. “Our prices to the public haven’t changed much, but the exchange rate keeps hitting us hard. A couple of years ago I tried to switch my contract to pesos and it was a no-go. The only solution to the issue would be if there was a law that would mandate rents to be charged in pesos.”

“Of course the dollar matters for tijuanenses,” a friend who works for the art department in the Tijuana government tells me. “I go to San Diego often to visit friends and go to concerts. With the dollar being so expensive now, I have to really think about visiting el otro lado.”

“It’s awesome for me — now I can get twice as drunk,” said another friend who works retail in San Ysidro. “I’m richer working part-time for minimum wage than most people I know that work full-time and earn in pesos; 50 dollars a day is basically a thousand pesos.”

The peso is hovering around 20 now. Economists predict it will keep losing value throughout the rest of the year, possibly going up to 21 or more next year.

The latest copy of the Reader

Please enjoy this clickable Reader flipbook. Linked text and ads are flash-highlighted in blue for your convenience. To enhance your viewing, please open full screen mode by clicking the icon on the far right of the black flipbook toolbar.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Bait and Switch at San Diego Symphony

Concentric contemporary dims Dvorak
Next Article

Raging Cider & Mead celebrates nine years

Company wants to bring America back to its apple-tree roots
Tijuana peso exchange house
Tijuana peso exchange house

“The [rise] of the dollar does not affect Mexicans,” said Andrea Legarreta, host of daily morning television show Hoy, in January of this year. The Mexican peso had just plummeted to a historic low against the dollar, valued at about 18 pesos per dollar.

“Que le chinguen más [you have to work more],” said Raul Araiza, the other host of Hoy.

Sponsored
Sponsored

Both hosts faced broad backlash from social media.

“[The dollar] will always affect us. It is the currency that dominates the world,” commented Araiza after the backlash. Both hosts later claimed that what they said weren’t their own opinions, but what their producers told them to say. The television network they work for is Televisa, which is often accused of airing misleading information and ignoring questionable tactics of the Mexican government.

On September 19, the peso lowered to a value of 20 per dollar, a record.

“I don’t care about the dollar, because I don’t go to the United States to shop,” said Juan Pérez to a local newspaper. Juan Pérez is the "John Doe" of Mexico. Newspapers throughout Mexico quote random people, all of them claiming that the devaluation of the peso against the dollar does not affect them at all because they don't shop in the United States. Similar to Televisa network, a lot of the printed media in Mexico publishes misinformation.

In Tijuana, most businesses and many residents pay rent in dollars. The rent for my apartment is $330; rent went from 4125 pesos when I moved in almost three years ago to the current 6600 pesos, an increase of 60 percent. Fortunately, my wages are paid in dollars.

Those who earn their living in dollars are 60 percent richer in Mexico than they were a year ago; those whose wages are paid in pesos have lost purchasing power.

“It’s definitely been a struggle,” says Alfredo Santaolalla from Madueño Brewery. “Our prices to the public haven’t changed much, but the exchange rate keeps hitting us hard. A couple of years ago I tried to switch my contract to pesos and it was a no-go. The only solution to the issue would be if there was a law that would mandate rents to be charged in pesos.”

“Of course the dollar matters for tijuanenses,” a friend who works for the art department in the Tijuana government tells me. “I go to San Diego often to visit friends and go to concerts. With the dollar being so expensive now, I have to really think about visiting el otro lado.”

“It’s awesome for me — now I can get twice as drunk,” said another friend who works retail in San Ysidro. “I’m richer working part-time for minimum wage than most people I know that work full-time and earn in pesos; 50 dollars a day is basically a thousand pesos.”

The peso is hovering around 20 now. Economists predict it will keep losing value throughout the rest of the year, possibly going up to 21 or more next year.

Comments
Sponsored

The latest copy of the Reader

Please enjoy this clickable Reader flipbook. Linked text and ads are flash-highlighted in blue for your convenience. To enhance your viewing, please open full screen mode by clicking the icon on the far right of the black flipbook toolbar.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Five new golden locals

San Diego rocks the rockies
Next Article

Escondido planners nix office building switch to apartments

Not enough open space, not enough closets for Hickory Street plans
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader