Our cash stuck in Argentina following currency exchange restrictions

[MoneyIsDebt]

Not sure how well this would work: Buy mining equipment, set it up as a company on GLBSE and sell (all / most of) the shares for bitcoin. You'd need someone to take over drifting the rig once you leave, obviously. Maybe there are already operators there you could team up with.

[sethsethseth]

I think residential electricity is subsidized and very cheap in Argentina, so mining could be profitable.  The problem is the import tax on electronics.  It would be prohibitively expensive to import the mining rigs.

[Otoh]

The first South American exchange opens:

http://www.thebitcointrader.com/2012/06/bitcoin-exchange-opens-in-colombia.html

[Stephen Gornick]

The first South American exchange opens:

http://www.thebitcointrader.com/2012/06/bitcoin-exchange-opens-in-colombia.html

Well, I'ld bet Jered of Tradehill (Chile) might disagree about that being first.  And Mercado Bitcoin too:
 - http://www.mercadobitcoin.com.br

But from the sounds of it this Colombian exchange might come in handy for exchanging at the border too.

Individuals can also exchange bolivars for Colombian pesos in the border city of Cucuta and then convert pesos into dollars.

 - http://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=86276.msg948813#msg948813
 - http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-06-07/chavez-losing-out-to-benjamin-as-venezuela-seek-dollar.html

[Bitcoin Oz]

The first South American exchange opens:

http://www.thebitcointrader.com/2012/06/bitcoin-exchange-opens-in-colombia.html

Well, I'ld bet Jered of Tradehill (Chile) might disagree about that being first.  And Mercado Bitcoin too:
 - http://www.mercadobitcoin.com.br

But from the sounds of it this Colombian exchange might come in handy for exchanging at the border too.

Individuals can also exchange bolivars for Colombian pesos in the border city of Cucuta and then convert pesos into dollars.

 - http://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=86276.msg948813#msg948813
 - http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-06-07/chavez-losing-out-to-benjamin-as-venezuela-seek-dollar.html

http://www.go4funding.com/First-Bitcoin-Exchange-in-Colombia/P30674.html  I found this the other day while researching something else. I wonder why they dont utilise glbse ?

[Otoh]

The first South American exchange opens:

http://www.thebitcointrader.com/2012/06/bitcoin-exchange-opens-in-colombia.html

Well, I'ld bet Jered of Tradehill (Chile) might disagree about that being first.  And Mercado Bitcoin too:
 - http://www.mercadobitcoin.com.br

But from the sounds of it this Colombian exchange might come in handy for exchanging at the border too.

Individuals can also exchange bolivars for Colombian pesos in the border city of Cucuta and then convert pesos into dollars.

 - http://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=86276.msg948813#msg948813
 - http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-06-07/chavez-losing-out-to-benjamin-as-venezuela-seek-dollar.html

Ah sorry my mistake, I'd assumed that Tradehill though based in Chile didn't actually do local Peso exchanges but I may be wrong about that & mercardobitcoin.com.br looks excellent - I'd missed that one

[Stephen Gornick]

I'd assumed that Tradehill though based in Chile didn't actually do local Peso exchanges

Yup, though the BTC/CLP spread was pretty big, especially with the volatility.

 - http://bitcoincharts.com/charts/thCLP#igWeeklyzczsg2011-06-01zeg2012-02-15ztgSzm1g10zm2g25

They also listed BTC/PEN (Peruvian nuevo sol) but never started trading it, apparently.

I see that btc-direct.fr says they will be offering to Mexico as one of the countries they sell bitcoins to (via their SMS-based carrier billing network).  I know that is North America, but since it the closest alternate method to the north I thought I'ld mention it.

[Otoh]

I'm waiting to hear of someone opening an exchange or somehow facilitating people selling bitcoins in Mexico for MXN, especially as it's now so easy to buy them with USD in the States

Mexico, one of the best documented examples of migration and remittances, received remittance inflows of almost 24 Billion US$ in 2007

Other big markets from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Remittance

Today’s African Diaspora consists of approximately 20 to 30 million adults, who send about USD 40 billion annually to their families and local communities back home.

India received 55 Billion US$ in 2010 & China 51 Billion US$ in 2010.

[Stephen Gornick]

Now that Bitcoin Nordic accepts payments using CashU, which in turn accepts UKash vouchers for adding funds, bitcoins can now be purchased in quite a few more countries:

in the Latin American region:

 - Argentina
 - Mexico
 - Bolivia
 - Brazil
 - Colombia
 - Equador
 - Uraguay

 - http://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/UKash#Central_and_South_America
 - http://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Bitcoin_Nordic
 - http://www.BitcoinNordic.com