Like the fly on the wheel who says
'What a lot of dust we're raising'
Are you under the illusion
That you're part of this scheme?
Ecuadorians are constantly asking me for money.
"Can you loan me $10 until tomorrow, Don Andres?"
I only need $5 until next week, Mister"
"Donīt be bad, Mr. Engineer. Let me borrow $20, so I can buy medicine for my husband."
You see, the economy here is such a disaster that everybody borrows money from everybody. Of course, when they ask me for money, I usually say something like, "Sorry amigo, but I already loaned money to two other people and donīt have anymore money to loan out."
And then theyīll smile politely and say, "Well maybe some other time", before rushing off to accost another victim.
Most of the time, when people buy their food in the village stores, they buy it on credit. They choose a whole bunch of stuff and then tell the store owner theyīll pay him back the following week, which sometimes happens and sometimes does not.
The store owner will dutifully write down the clientīs name and then a week later will ask for the money. Itīs easy for the client to say something like, "Oh, one of my cows died yesterday so I wasnīt able to milk enough in order to pay you back."
One local villager who once owned a store told me he went out of business because so many people bought from him on credit and then never paid him back.
I ask store owners why they sell their goods on credit if the clients donīt pay them back, and they say, "If I donīt sell on credit, I wonīt have any clients."
Iīve loaned money on a couple of occasions when I was absolutely sure I would get paid back, which I was. But now Iīve decided not to loan any more money. I need it so I can splurge on ice-cream and beer from time to time.
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