Argentina was one of the world’s wealthiest countries early in the 20th century as a food and commodities exporter to Europe. Following the Crash of 1929 it started to industrialise based on the substitution of imports. Thus it’s primary exports earned the foreign currency with which to pay for industrial imports such as machinery and finished goods were produced for the domestic market.

The political system, in due course, acquired two principal competing constituencies; the internationally competitive primary sector and the protected industrial sector. It was the failure of the system to resolve the differences of these two constituencies that led to conflict and institutional instability culminating in the Dirty War during the Military Government of 1976-83.

Since that period Argentina has been following the constitutional route in its politics but the economic legacy of that period left a number of unresolved issues; hyperinflation - which was only finally tamed in the mid 1990's, the reorientation and internationalisation of industry and fiscal discipline.

In the 2000's Argentina has alternated between several years of growth followed by years of retrenchment. The State does not appear to have acquired the competence to choose a course and follow it through (like, for example, in Chile). Argentina is an outlier in Latin America in terms of it’s inflation rate (Venezuela excepted) which is due to a lack of fiscal discipline and this reflects a lack of longterm planning and follow through. Often irrational policies are applied as a short term fix such as taxing exports or nationalising private pensions but these only lead to negative repercusions over the long term.

The Government of Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner let all of these matters drift and the Government of Macri proved unable to resolve them such that his term ended with a new currency crisis and IMF financing. This is the situation that awaits incoming President Alberto Fernandez.   

Contents

Introduction

The Modern Period

The Current Era

The Modern State

Economics from the Ground Up

Political Systems

Trade Theory

The EU as a Model of Integration

Industrialisation

Synopsis

Data                                   

            World GDP                                           2018

            World GDP PPP                                   2018

    GDP per capita ppp                            2018

    Exports  &  Imports                            2018

    Container Traffic                  2010 &  2018

    Oil/ Liquids Prod/Cons                      2018

    Migrant Remittances                         2018

    Tourism Statistics                               2017 

    Tourism Americas                               2017              

Latin America         

Background

The US and Latin America

Economy

The EU and Latin America

Mercosur

World Exports                                        2000-2018

Argentina                       

            Introduction

            Industrialisation Model

            Political Structure

            The Military in Politics

            Argentinean Foreign Policy

            The Economy up to the 1980’s

            1980’s and 1990’s

             Current Issues

             Charts & Chart Commentary

Sources

79 pages