The Changing Tide in Argentina: An Assault on the Public Sector and a Shift Towards Austerity
The Changing Tide in Argentina: An Assault on the Public Sector and a Shift Towards Austerity
Argentine President Mauricio Macri seems to be intent upon implementing austerity and significantly changing the course of the previous Kirchner governments.
BY Sara Kozameh
Since taking office on December 10, Argentina’s new president Mauricio Macri has moved at a hurried pace to overhaul twelve years of progressive economic and social policies implemented by the successive Néstor and Cristina Kirchner governments.
In his first two weeks, and governing by “emergency” decree, Macri lifted currency controls—devaluing the peso by 30 percent—passed a decree seeking approval from Congress to slash education spending by half, and attacked the hard-won Broadcast Media Law that limited media concentration. He also eliminated the Kirchners’ agricultural export taxes, removed a series of electric and gas subsidies, and shut down the popular Kirchnerist television talk show 678. Though many conservatives heralded the changes, the country’s social movements have responded with outcry and protest.
Back to “business”
Following Argentina’s break with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in 2002 as part of its strategy to pursue policy options going against the “Washington Consensus” neoliberal framework, the Kirchner governments followed a Keynesian model of economic growth, protecting national industries and boosting internal consumption in order to stimulate the economy. From 2002 to 2011, Argentina achieved the fastest economic growth in the Western Hemisphere.
Macri’s government, much more allied with the business community and a myriad of international corporations, is now racing back toward a free market-oriented model aimed at attracting foreign investment while reducing state spending and implementing austerity measures. Such contractionary policies have often slowed economic growth and prolonged recessions in developing economies.
More:
http://inthesetimes.com/article/18828/argentina-mauricio-macri-austerity
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History repeating itself: business rags in New York, London, and Buenos Aires loved these guys too[br] - until it all collapsed in 1981.[/center]
