BUENOS AIRES

Is cheap for tourists now – but will it last? Buenos Aires was in the throes of Southern Hemisphere springtime, with bold, budding purple jacaranda trees lining the boulevards. Genial locals

filled up the sidewalks and plazas and flocked to countless city parks. Meanwhile, Taylor Swift was gearing up for her first concerts ever in Argentina, and the media and fans were in a frenzy.

But what I couldn’t get over during an early November visit was how affordable everything was, at least for us tourists – a fact that concealed problems under the surface for Argentina.

PHOTOS BY SIMON PETER GROEBNER TNS Argentina's presidential palace, the Casa Rosada. During a November visit, the country was weighing two choices for who will occupy the presidency.

Families spend a Sunday afternoon paddleboating in the Lakes of Palermo in the Tres de Febrero park.