Argentina is trying something different in its battle against inflation by turning to fish.
Orthodox recipes include tight fiscal and monetary policies, but the government's latest attempt to contain rising prices has been to roll out a fleet of mobile fishmongers selling cheap haddock in poor neighbourhoods near Buenos Aires, the capital.
Trucks decorated with blue waves and the slogan "Now There's Fish for Everyone" are pulling up beside local parks and greeted by thousands of people who stand in long lines to take advantage of steep discounts.
Argentines are the world's biggest beef consumers, and many profess to not liking fish. But with beef prices up 30 percent over the last three months, and the subsidised haddock selling at around half the normal price, this fish is hard to refuse.
Under cloudy skies, hundreds flock towards the trucks as they roll into Ituzaingo on the western edge of Buenos Aires, where many families can no longer afford steak.
There are grumbles about the quality of the fish, which is presented in brick-like squares. There are also complaints about having to wait for hours as around 5,000 line up over the course of the day. "It has a weird colour, but what do I know?" one woman told reporters upon receiving her portion.
President Cristina Fernandez launched the dozen or so trucks by visiting one herself and buying some fish. It was the latest in a series of improvised attempts at controlling inflation, which is casting a shadow over a tentative recovery in Latin America's third largest economy.
Opponents say the haddock programme won't work. They call it a gimmick meant to shore up Mr Fernandez's support in towns around the capital where she has traditionally been strong.
Her policies are geared towards stimulating economic growth, which is expected to pick up this year after being constrained in 2009 by the world crisis. But high inflation is taking a toll on Mr Fernandez's popularity.
Economists expect Argentina to close 2010 with consumer prices up more than 20 per cent for the year. The government, accused by analysts of manipulating economic data, will likely report much less than that. But labour unions are already demanding wage increases of 25 per cent.
Rather than openly acknowledge inflation, Argentine officials refer vaguely to a "reaccommodation of prices". Mr Fernandez rejects orthodox ways to fight inflation on grounds they would stifle growth.
Wall Street accuses the government of playing semantic games rather than confronting the problem with measures such as reducing government spending - which the president refuses to do.
Reuters