mexico city -- A few years ago, Valeria Sanchez Marin didn't have a credit card in her wallet. Now, she's wielding plastic like a pro. She has two Visas and two department store cards, and she's making room for more.
"They almost chase you down to give you one," the 32-year-old Mexico City homemaker said of credit card solicitors.
"Carguelo a mi cuenta!," or "Charge it!," is the cry of a consumer revolution rattling store shelves south of the border. Mexican shoppers such as Sanchez are finding it easier than ever to snag a car loan, finance a dinette set or buy movie tickets with plastic.
The number of credit cards in circulation in Mexico has tripled since 2002, to about 22 million. Total consumer credit has doubled in the last two years alone, according to the central bank, reaching a record $39.1 billion in June.
That's chump change compared with the U.S., where shoppers have racked up more than $2.4 trillion in consumer debt. But it's significant in Mexico, whose financial institutions long have catered to elites.
No more. Emboldened by Mexico's economic stability in recent years and seeking fat returns, lenders and retailers are moving aggressively to extend credit to working people.
Electronics retailer Grupo Elektra, which pioneered in-store financing to low-income consumers, now operates a bank to provide them with credit cards, personal loans and car notes. The Mexican unit of Wal-Mart Stores Inc. will soon open its own bank and is granting charge cards to customers who earn as little as $182 a month. Banamex, Mexico's largest bank, recently introduced a card for people who can't prove any income at all.
Despite annual interest rates that can top 75%, some consumers are thrilled at the convenience -- and the perceived prestige -- of carrying plastic.
"I was so excited to get my first card," said Mexico City graphic designer Marcela Gomez. "To have a credit card from a bank gave me more class."
She and others have helped propel the Mexican economy by pumping up sales of cars, clothing and other consumer goods.
But they're also finding that easy credit has a price. Gomez's dad had to bail her out when her credit card debt reached nearly $15,000 last year. Her spending spree included a computer, furnishings for her apartment and a getaway to Cancun.
"At first I felt like . . . I was at a high economic level just because I had a wallet full of credit cards," said Gomez, 30. "It turned into a nightmare because . . . I charged and charged."
