Picturing the Walmart Invasion of Argentina

We found this house one block off the main highway running through Nuequen, Argentina.Walmart sits directly across the street from it.

Yes, Walmart. And not just any Walmart, but a Walmart Supercenter. The kind of Walmart with not only clothes, toiletries and knitting supplies, but fruits and vegetables, tires and liquor.

Of course, I had to see it, so I forced a bewildered Noah -- I'm one of those who refuses to buy a thing at Walmart because of a general distaste of their business practices -- to turn off to find the entrance.

It's oddly located. You can't access the main entrance directly from the highway. Instead, you take a right, keep going, then you sort of lose sight of where it is and begin to believe you've been mislead. Next thing I know, we're driving past makeshift wooden houses with broken down fences and what looked like trash piled up everywhere. The closest thing to this zone I've seen so far in Argentina are the villas -- ghettos, for lack of a better translation -- outside of Buenos Aires and Salta.

Just as I was about to give up on ever finding the superstore with the golden sign, suddenly there it was, glinting in the sunlight, calling us to superb deals on ski wear, snack bars and American brand toys at far cheaper prices I've seen anywhere else in Argentina.

I asked the woman behind the front desk at our hotel if Walmart was new. No, it's been there for a long time. Then I asked about the neighborhood behind Walmart. That is far newer.

So why would this particularly poor and run down area suddenly spring up beside Walmart? Perhaps the people in the neighborhood work there? Or they prefer the cheaper prices? Or perhaps having a Walmart in the area brings down property values so that only small, cheap houses can exist nearby? Or maybe the two are unrelated, and I'm turning a nothing into a something.

I'll be sure to ask more when we pass through Nuequen on our way to Buenos Aires.

Comments

[Collette]

It certainly will be interesting to know why a newer neighborhood would be so run down. Is the pic one of those in that neighborhod? Wow! I never saw pallets used as fences. Kind of a sad pic.

[Charles Conlan]

What is the fuss all about.
Wally's is here and that is that...
Hey Collette, I can direct you to many places in The USA that look just like the Picture above only the area, is'nt as private.
Charles

[Leigh Shulman]

Yes, this is right across the street from Walmart. I will say, though, that this particular house is much more solid than most of the area. Many were entirely made of wood and looked like they might fall apart. I unfortunately didn't have the chance to find out more about the area when we went back through on the way to Buenos Aires.

[Leigh Shulman]

Hey Charles,

Usually, I prefer to support local businesses, supermarkets to bookstores and what have you. That doesn't mean I'm against large chain stores that sell cheaply or in bulk. I'm aware they are a reality and have no problem shopping in them. Walmart, though, is an exception for me because I don't like their business model. I don't like the idea of paying less for an item knowing that my cheaper price may be a direct result of someone else being paid an unfair wage or not receiving adequate healthcare.

[Carolina]

That picture makes me a bit sad. I would like to know how much Walmart pays their employees there. I remember a long time ago, talking to my cousin who lives in B.A. and she was complaining about how little some friends that worked at McDonalds made, they could barely afford one of their "meals" with what they made in one hour of wages.

[Uncle B]

Sadly enough, I have fallen into the "Wallmart" trap of Chinese products at very low prices , and have done so just to survive! I can no longer afford the higher quality "Made in USA products, they have priced themselves beyond my economic reach! - Not my choice, not by choice! The Chinese products do the job, and give me a little economic room for living a little more comfortably. Yankee Doodle in his quest for "more" on every plate, in HIS home, has left me behind, composting, biking, scrimping and saving, in second hand clothes like a "Third World" person! I see the Escalades, the Suburbans, the Hummers and all the new Mercedes and other foreign luxury cars go by from my two-wheeled vantage point, and wonder how this disparity could be happening with our once proud American values such as Henry Ford's 'one color for all - black cars! but a car in every driveway' notion. I guess most of what I believed, or wanted to believe during my working years was myth, propaganda, B.S. to keep us coming in every day to the Uber-Rich man's factories and businesses. I guess I was never really "Free" just convinced of a better after-life, but now that I am here, spending my paltry pension, I see that I was rooked but good! Inflation and the bankers have had a party with my savings and left me hungry in my old age! the American Way be damned, we are suckers, ever damned one of us! Thank God and Walmart for their lower prices, fair or unfair they mean survival for pensioners in America!

[Leigh Shulman]

I wondered the same thing.

If Walmart pays their Argentinian employees the same dollar amount per hour as US employees are paid (or even half the amount), they'd be doing rather well for Argentina.

As for McDonalds, I wonder if people in the US could buy a meal there for one hour of pay. Fast food is supposed to be cheap, at least that's how I always thought of it growing up. These days, for the 20 or so pesos it would cost for a McD's meal deal, you could have so many other options.

[Leigh Shulman]

Hi Uncle B,

I'm certainly not criticizing those who buy at Walmart. Lord knows, there are plenty places in the US where Walmart is the main shopping center as well as main employer.

I've always lived in places where Walmart wasn't the only option for cheaper prices. In Brooklyn, we didn't even have a Walmart nearby. So for me, it hasn't been difficult to avoid it.

Still, on those occasions when Walmart is around, I avoid it. It may be a minor protest, but for me, it is an important one. My decision to do this finalized when I heard story:

http://edition.cnn.com/2008/US/03/25/walmart.insurance.battle/index.html

I mean, suing for money the family won in a lawsuit, money I believe intended to provide long term healthcare after an accident, shows such a lack of humanity. I don't want to support that, particularly when I do have a choice.