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Ña Fabiana stacked the plastic bags full of clothes on a chair as we dis- cussed the final items that remained from her investment the previous year. She spread out the last of her inventory: soft microfleece gloves for children and adults, brightly colored striped socks with individual toes, winter coats, and children’s turtleneck shirts. Some of the clothing had become stained in storage over the past months, though it still had its original tags. The sun shone brightly on her shaded patio and Fabi and I were in shirtsleeves,1 though it was already late fall and Paraguay was due for a cold snap in the coming winter months. Fabi tried— mostly in vain—to persuade her neighbor that buying in advance made good economic sense. She was selling these last items at a steep dis- count, and she expected the prices for winter clothes would go up when the weather turned. “Look at this,” she said, pulling out a light jacket that she had purchased for about $20 in one of the shopping gallerias made famous by Ciudad del Este’s vibrant2—and largely duty- free—import-export economy. On the Paraguayan side of the triple frontier with Argentina and Brazil, most residents found their livelihoods bound up in some way with Ciudad del Este’s cross-border trade and special customs zone. Fabi started a sales pitch: “For you, I’ll sell it at $12. I need to recover some of my investment. I need movement.” The neighbor sent her daughter next door to fetch $5 to purchase a lavender-colored long-sleeved shirt with embroidered flowers around the collar.
Caroline E. Schuster - Personal Name
1st Edtion
978-0-520-96220-0
NONE
Social Collateral
Economics
English
university of california press
2015
USA
1-286
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