Argentina lesson from the world’s rich countries becoming a “failed country” ! In the early 2000s, the author read a special commentary on the South American power Argentina facing bankruptcy in the Southern Weekend 937 issue. The author of the commentary, Mr. Cheng Zengbin, published the following insights about Argentina whose economy has almost collapsed.
A country abandoned by the international community can be self-reliant, a country tainted by politicians can be reborn, but a country trampled on by its own citizens may be tearful and withered, and collapsed; Mr. Cheng also disclosed the international community in his article There have been comments calling Argentina a “failed country”. Such harsh evaluations immediately caused the author to pay close attention to Argentina, the second largest country in Latin America.
On November 1, 2001, Argentina’s inability to repay US$130 billion in international debt on schedule caused the stock index to plummet by 284% the next day and the investment risk assessment index rose to 2500 points. In view of the default history of debts owed to the International Monetary Fund and the United States in 1999, the International Monetary Fund resolutely rejected the Argentine government’s application for a US$13 billion emergency rescue loan in December.
In theory this country has basically gone bankrupt. In the ten years since then, in addition to his football and superstars such as Messi, Kempis and Maradona, the Argentine Republic continues to clamor for the world, and its economic and cultural impact on the world seems to be negligible. .
Last October, due to the country’s presidential election, I was surprised to find that after 18 years of economic reforms and self-reliance, Argentina’s foreign debt balance had jumped to US$252.7 billion by 2018.
(The total GDP is only 518.4 billion U.S. dollars, and the per capita GDP is 11653 U.S. dollars). There will undoubtedly continue to be the bad situation that defaults cannot repay international debts as scheduled. In order to solve my doubts and depression, I can only read carefully the past and present of Argentina.
I don’t know. I was really shocked when I saw it. It turns out that today’s “failed country” Argentina used to be a wealthy country with its head high. In 1816, the national hero San Martin led the Revolutionary War and became independent from Spanish rule. After the establishment of the Federal Republic in 1853, Argentina began a long-term turbulence and division.
By 1994, the constitution had been amended four times on a large scale, from the 1930s to the 1980s. For more than 50 years, the country has been in an abnormal situation in which military and literati alternate in power. However, thanks to Argentina’s unique geographical climate and abundant resources, in the late 1920s, he really entered the rich country club at the time, and in the early 1930s he became the seventh world power
(after the end of World War II) Ranked 15th), and later became the third largest economy in Latin America, a top-income country (later delisted) and a member of the G20. Below, please enjoy the unique natural conditions of Argentina and its past glory:
Territory area of 2,780,400 square kilometers, ranking eighth in the world and second in Latin America (excluding the Malvinas Islands and the disputed 1 million square kilometers of Antarctic land), with a population of 41.45 million (2013); a coastline of 4,725 kilometers ; The climate is mild and suitable, with abundant water resources.
It is extremely rich in mineral resources and is a major resource country in Latin America. The main mineral resources are: oil, natural gas, copper, gold, molybdenum, uranium, lead, zinc, manganese, lithium (the world’s third reserves; about 4,000 tons in 2015), boron (the world’s second largest reserves), Quartz, porcelain clay and gypsum, etc.
have proven reserves: 394 million cubic meters of oil (190 million barrels in 2015), 350 billion cubic meters of natural gas (42.8 billion cubic meters in 2015), 8.25 100 million tons, 1.1 billion tons of iron, 29,400 tons of uranium, 7.35 million tons of lithium, and 2 million tons of boron (0.7 million tons in 2013).
In addition, Argentina also has huge reserves of unconventional oil and gas. According to the comprehensive assessment of global shale resources published by the U.S. Energy Agency in 2013, Argentina’s shale gas reserves rank second in the world, shale oil reserves rank fourth in the world, and shale gas reserves account for more than 10% of the world’s total reserves.
· Agriculture, forestry, animal husbandry, fishery and water resources are also extremely rich. Its forest area is 1.253 million square kilometers, covering 45.06% of the country’s land area; arable land and long-term pasture accounted for 9.8% and 51.2% of the country’s land area respectively; in 2014, the national cattle inventory was 51.647 million heads, and beef exports were once long. Ranked No. 1 in the world; the Pampas Prairie, which covers an area of 760,000 square kilometers, accommodates 70% of the country’s population, 80% of agriculture and 85% of industry, once won Argentina the “World Granary” and “World Meat Depot” .
· Argentina used to be the most developed transportation facility in Latin America, with the longest railway line and 500,000 kilometers of highways in Latin America, 38 seaports, 53 airports and 3302 kilometers of inland waterways.
After appreciating Argentina’s enviable and enviable superior resource conditions and once brilliant economic foundation, it is natural to explore the reasons why such a rich country has gradually become a “failed country”.
In the latter part of World War II, when the war raged on the three continents of Europe, Asia and Africa, Argentina, far from the smoke of gunpowder, suddenly appeared a great “savior”-General Juan Domingo Peron. Young but ambitious, he graduated from the West Point Military Academy in Argentina.
In the late 1930s, he was sent to Italy, the birthplace of fascism, as a military attache. He soon became a fascist originator Mussolini and Nazi head of state Hitler and his “perfect nation.” Excited fan of “Unanimity” theoretical thought system. In his writings, he couldn’t help but enthusiastically praised: “Fascism has made an organized country, a community with perfect institutions, and a population with perfect institutions.”
In the early 1940s, began to work tirelessly to plan and plan how to complete a radical change in his country. He gathered a group of young officers to form a joint army.
In addition to planning, participating in, and supporting various military coups, he continued to improve his policies and strategies to transform the country, and formed what he later called the “refuge” by his followers and himself. The theoretical and ideological system of Long Doctrine-keeping an equal distance from both capitalism and communism at the time
And implementing the “third position”, that is, the “justice” he carefully crafted. The three main purposes of this “ism” are: politics Sovereignty, economic independence, and social justice. In plain language, it means “free from the control of any capitalist and communist countries, take an independent path of national development, and implement a complete and perfect social unity.” (Tuberon)
In order to maximize supporters and allied forces to counter the Catholic power representing the bourgeoisie, General Peron, who participated in the military coup in 1943 and became the Minister of Labor and Welfare (later also served as Secretary of the Army and Vice President), became strong in Argentina. The working class has thrown a huge olive branch.
He presided over the formulation of the new “Labor Law” and a series of supporting regulations that clearly favor the working class. The important core content of the new law is: the government guarantees workers’ income, medical care, pensions, and low-cost housing benefits; the government coordinates negotiations between labor and employers, Limit the unfair behavior of capitalists to workers; the minimum wage is closely linked to the cost of living; the government powers to integrate labor unions. I was so happy that the Argentine working class burst into tears and shouted long live.
In 1945, General Peron overthrew the current president in the form of a military coup, and was elected the president with a victorious victory in the public election the following year. The ambitious President Peron immediately formulated the “First Five-Year Plan” after he took office.
Its main contents include vigorously promoting industrialization; nationalized acquisition of foreign capital; government control of import and export trade; control of railways, telephones, gas, and insurance Nationalized management of important industries such as oil and petroleum; continue to integrate trade unions and give full play to their role, arranging working class representatives as cabinet members to participate in national management.
By the time Peron’s reforms were implemented in the early 1950s, the entire Argentine society had undergone tremendous changes as follows:
- The share of foreign capital in the national economy dropped from 30% in 1930 to 5%;
- Due to the nationalized management of civil service departments such as railway transportation, telecommunications, gas and electricity, the efficiency has been greatly reduced, and losses have increased year after year;
- Due to the large-scale and rapid development of industry and the large-scale expansion of the civil service, the government’s deficit and losses have increased year after year;
- The membership of the Argentine Federation of Labor increased from 500,000 to 6 million in 1946. The status of a union member has become a necessary qualification for employment, promotion, salary increase, housing and other benefits;
- Due to the new policy of “Heavy Industry and Restraining Agriculture”, farmers’ enthusiasm for production has been severely suppressed, and agricultural output has begun to decline rapidly. Argentina’s traditional animal husbandry has also experienced a sharp decline due to the strict control of commodity imports and exports. After World War II, the urgent need for food and meat in Europe, America and other countries also helped President Peron, who was full of “industrial development”;
- In March 1949, a major amendment to the constitution was implemented, which abolished the important clauses that “government bills must be passed by two-thirds of the parliament” and “the president can only serve for two terms”. Peron’s implementation of its plan to reform the country has become increasingly difficult Less
- In 1952, Argentina’s inflation rate reached 30%, but the ambitious President Peron launched the “Second Five-Year Plan” in time and still unswervingly led his people to a wealthier day;
In 1955, some people in Argentina still expressed their dissatisfaction. The soldiers responded to the situation and launched a military coup. They invited the “founder of Peronism” and “Argentine savior” to the altar and let him go abroad to make his home. Since then, groups of mighty generals have taken turns trying to manage this huge country. The former rich Argentine nationals have been arguing and competing endlessly under the banners of “Left-wing Peronism”, “Right-wing Peronism”, “True Peronism” and “Neoliberalism”.
Verbal abuse, accusations, expressing their opinions and even humiliating each other, of course also include the implementation of widespread corruption, bribery, tax evasion, and theft of public wealth.
In 1973, the former “savior” Peron, who had been in exile for many years, was welcomed back to Argentina by his hard-core supporters in the country. After winning the general election, General Peron brought his third wife. The dancer Isabel Peron once again began to lead the country as president and vice president.
But the good times didn’t last long. After a year in power again, Peron, who was struggling to transform his country, finally had to meet the bourgeois god he hated all his life. The heart-threatening Vice President Isabel became “Peronism.”
His successor continued to lead the Argentine people to happiness. It’s a pity that the strong woman also “died before she succeeded”. She was pulled down by a military coup in 1976 and subjected to long-term house arrest. She was only released in 1981 and moved to Spain. In 2007, she was also wanted by the Argentine government. Extradition application”.
Beginning in 1989, the “neo-liberal” theory of statecraft that was disgusted by the populist General Peron throughout his life began to lead the Argentine nationals to self-help and strive to rise. The new government completely opened up foreign trade and exchange rate controls. It also wished to amend the exchange rate of the Argentine currency peso to the dollar to 1:1. Foreign goods poured into Argentina like a wave, and a large amount of funds flowed overseas.
By the end of 1999, Argentina’s The balance of payments deficit has reached 11.8 billion U.S. dollars, and the exchange rate of the peso against the U.S. dollar quickly depreciated to 1:37. The “neo-liberal” government had to delay debt repayment to tide over the difficulties. When he came to power in 2005, he made a high-profile promise to the world that he would achieve “zero poverty” during his tenure and was elected twice after President Macri. By 2019, he was finally disgraced.
Argentina’s poverty rate in 2019 has reached 32%. The inflation rate has reached 57%, the economy has shrunk by 4.1%, and debt owed has increased by nearly 100% over 2001. (Mrs. Tuperon)
What makes people even more ridiculous is that the heavily indebted Argentine government spent billions of dollars in 2003 to provide energy subsidies to its citizens who are particularly keen on welfare. Later, it also spent 1.3 billion US dollars to broadcast the World Cup football match. The number of civil servants in the government increased by 60% compared with 2003.
During the 2019 general election, Argentine priest Angelotti commented on his country with a hatred of iron and steel: “No matter who wins, it is difficult to manage this country well.
Personal Note: The situation in Argentina is very complicated and full of divisions. And confrontation, we have never learned to learn a lesson.”
