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Argentine Republic

From ProleWiki, the proletarian encyclopedia
Revision as of 22:10, 23 December 2022 by Ledlecreeper27 (talk | contribs)
Argentine Republic
República Argentina
Flag of Argentine Republic
Flag
Coat of Arms of Argentine Republic
Coat of Arms
Argentine territory in dark green; claimed but uncontrolled territory in light green.
Argentine territory in dark green; claimed but uncontrolled territory in light green.
Capital
and largest city
Buenos Aires
Official languagesSpanish
Dominant mode of productionNeocolonial capitalism
GovernmentFederal presidential republic
• President
Alberto Fernández
• Vice President
Cristina Fernández de Kirchner
Population
• 2021 estimate
45,605,826
CurrencyArgentine peso

Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in Latin America. It is currently under $44 billion of debt to the IMF.[1]

History

Independence

Argentina declared independence from Spain in 1821. It took a large loan from the British in 1824 and intended to use it to build infrastructure but spent most of it on a war with Brazil instead. The British seized two frigates from Argentina after they defaulted on their loan. Argentina finally finished repaying the loan in 1904.[2]

Perón era

Argentina refused to join the neocolonial IMF when it was founded in 1945. Its democratically elected president, Juan Domingo Perón, followed a progressive nationalist program and improved industry through two five-year plans. Pedro Eugenio Aramburu overthrew Perón in a military coup in 1955 and joined the IMF.[2]

Operation Condor

In 1976, as part of Operation Condor, the CIA backed a far-right coup in Argentina that overthrew president Isabel Perón. After the coup, a military junta led by Jorge Rafael Videla took power and killed or disappeared 30,000 left-wing dissidents.[3] Under the junta, Friedmanites from the United States controlled Argentina's central bank.[2] In 1983, military rule ended and Videla was given a life sentence for crimes against humanity in 1985.[4]

Recent history

Raúl Alfonsín was elected in 1983 following the end of the junta. His presidency ended with a hyperinflation crisis in 1989. He was succeeded by the conservative Carlos Menem. Menem pardoned members of the former junta and reduced taxes and business regulations. By 1990, the inflation rate was 20,000%. He pegged the Argentine peso to the U.S. dollar, oversaw mass privatization, and destroyed the country's extensive rail system.

Between 1999 and 2001, liberal president Fernando de la Rúa continued to implement the IMF's austerity policies. A bank run began in November 2001, and de la Rúa limited withdrawals to $250 per person per week. Riots and a general strike followed, leading de la Rúa to flee the country on 20 December.[2]

In February 2022, Argentina joined China's infrastructure program, the Belt and Road Initiative.[5] The areas of cooperation include green energy, technology, education, agriculture, communication, and nuclear energy.[6][7]

Economy

Argentina's debt is tied to the U.S. dollar, and it cannot print its own money.[2]

References