PYG

“PYG”...isn’t that an old Michael Jackson song...like, long before he was a celebrated pedophile? Wait, no, that was “P.Y.T.,” and yes, the irony sickens everyone who listened to it in more naive times.

“PYG” is something totally and completely different: it’s the currency code for the Paraguayan Guarani, which is, at present, the least valuable currency in North and South America. In fact, as of June 2019, the PYG-USD exchange rate was 1 to .00016. Ouch, right? But that’s what crazy high inflation, corrupt policymakers and banks, easily forged banknotes, and an insanely unstable political and economic environment can do. They can toss a nation’s currency right into the sewer.

But Paraguay isn’t ready to totally give up on their currency just yet. They’ve tried a few things—pegging the PYG to the USD, unpegging the PYG from the USD, minting different guarani denominations here and demonetizing others there, and even proposing an new currency altogether (the “nueva guarani,” or “new guarani”)...but so far, none of them have stuck. The country has only been a democracy since 1989, which means it’s still a democra-baby in political years. It can take a long time to undo all of the corruption, poverty, and other damage done by 35 straight years of dictatorial rule, so even though the PYG might look a little…what’s the word…troubled right now, there’s a chance it could maybe recover at some point in the future. Here’s hoping, anyway.