Methodical Trust in Relation to the Patacón:

The Organization of Monetary Plurality in Everyday Life

Abstract

In this article, we aim to analyze one of the dimensions of trust in currency proposed by the French Regulation School: methodical trust. To do so, we examine the reorganization of monetary circuits following the issuance of Patacones in the province of Buenos Aires during the 2001 crisis, in a context of monetary plurality marked by the presence of three monetary spheres: the peso, the dollar, and the Patacón. We seek to reconstruct how these currencies were used as a store of value, a means of payment, and a medium of exchange through the experience of a group of teachers who received part of their salary in Patacones. We also analyze the social representations of the three currencies, as these influence how economic agents use them. Our hypothesis is that the organization of monetary plurality within households made it possible to carry out payments in different currencies, preventing the Patacón from losing value relative to the peso and indirectly contributing to the development of methodical trust in the new provincial currency.