Border Businesses Worry As Value Of Peso Tumbles

by ABC-7 Reporter Angela Kocherga

EL PASO — The financial crisis has spread across the border as Mexico’s currency has tumbled to a new low.

It’s trading at about 12 pesos for every U.S. dollar right now, and businesses that depend heavily on shoppers from Mexico are bracing for the worst.

Nowhere does the peso-dollar exchange rate mean more than along the border, and on this sunny day retailers felt the chill as the peso plummeted to a new low before rebounding a little.

The global economy is at work in South El Paso where Korean retailers sell cheap Chinese goods to customers from Mexico looking for bargains in the U.S.

“Muy bajo el peso y nadie viene a comprar (the peso is very low and no one comes to buy),” Maria Lee said. Her Spanish is better than her English because that’s what most customers speak.

Currency fluctuations are felt most intensely just a few blocks from Mexico. Shopkeepers are saying they’re already seeing a drop in sales. They’re predicting an especially gloomy holiday shopping season.

One woman said that at a dollar each, she needed more pesos than ever to buy toys for her grandchildren.

As the economic crisis spreads, even the best sales pitch won’t convince consumers to part with their cash.