By Kyle Peveto, Staff Writer
Uruguay’s slumping economy is not a major concern of ACU’s Montevideo study abroad program according to faculty.
Ted Presley, executive director of the Center for International and Intercultural Education, said the current economic status of Uruguay will have a negligible effect on students who are studying abroad this year.
The economy in Uruguay is suffering after neighboring Argentina began to slump this summer.
“It will be to the benefit of students who go,” said Presley, speaking of the great deals found at market places and cheaper travel rates. “In fact, for the next few months, prices will be slightly cheaper than they have been for prior groups,” said Warren Roane, on-site supervisor for the ACU study abroad program in Montevideo, in an e-mail.
A concern many share is the security of study abroad students in Montevideo. “I would be worried and apprehensive,” said Catherine Goode, junior broadcast journalism major from Farmer’s Branch who studied in Montevideo in the spring. “Poverty and violence are usually tied in together.”
ACU faculty both here and in Uruguay are not worried for students’ safety, though.
“Security is not an issue here-crime is actually down by about 75 percent because of an increase in police presence,” Roane said.
Uruguay has a reputation of being one of the most stable South American countries, a main reason for stationing a study abroad program there.
Presley said that “social unrest is not an issue” in Montevideo, a city of 1.5 million. “They’re probably safer there than they are here,” he said.
Some looting occurred in Montevideo, Roane said. Many took advantage of an absent police force to steal mostly alcohol and tobacco products from a supermarket.
The economic downturn in Uruguay began in January after bank accounts were frozen in Argentina, Roane explained in an e-mail. Argentines withdrew the money that was in safe keeping in Uruguayan banks, causing the bank reserves in Uruguay to drop 50 percent every month since January.
Many foreign investors and depositors also began to take money out of Uruguay. In early August, Uruguayan banks closed for a week until aid was guaranteed by the U.S. government in anticipation of a loan by the International Monetary Fund.
Uruguay is still facing hard times, however.
Inflation is up 40 percent and 15.6 percent of the nation is jobless, a 30-year high.
ACU Study Abroad in Montevideo features courses taught by ACU faculty and some upper-level Spanish courses taught at a Catholic university there.
