| Written by Maria Elena Salinas |
| Monday, January 14 2002 |
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| "Don't Cry For Me Argentina" is probably the most popular song ever recorded about that beautiful but troubled South American country. It's from the theatrical rendition of the life of Eva Peron, the former first lady who had an enormous impact on working-class Argentines in the late 1940s and early '50s. More than half a century later, Argentina is once again crying, but this time it has nothing to do with Evita. Or does it?
Argentina has good reason to be crying: five presidents in two weeks, violent street protests, a bankrupt economy, a devalued currency. The country is unable to pay its creditors and has lost the trust of investors. Millions of people have lost their jobs and are unable to pay their bills. Access to personal bank accounts has been curtailed. I'd be crying, too. Argentina is undoubtedly going through the worst economic, political and social crisis in its recent history. The question is: How did it get to this point?
There is no simple answer to that question. While most economists and political analysts point to an overvalued peso, there is plenty of blame to go around. In the past couple of weeks, I've had conversations with several of my Argentine friends and colleagues, and they all seem to have a different theory of who's at fault. Here are just a few:
• It's Carlos Menem's fault. The former two-term president told his countrymen that they had finally made it to the first world. In 1991, he linked the value of the peso to the dollar, privatized state-owned companies and opened the doors to foreign investors. It worked for a while, and Argentines went on a spending frenzy. But the peso couldn't keep up with the dollar, and Argentine industries priced themselves out of the market. There were no shortcuts. Argentina was a developing country and had a long road to travel before making it to the first world.
• It's Fernando de la Rua's fault. Menem's successor came to power as a reformer, but his lack of political power, charisma and public support made it impossible for him to make any changes. Menem was a charismatic leader, able to impress outsiders while sweet-talking his countrymen. As one colleague put it, Menem created a sophisticated machine and kept it going for more than a decade, but when de la Rua came to power, he didn't know how to operate the motor, so it broke.
• It's the International Monetary Fund's fault. This one gets it from two sides. The IMF is accused of imposing its free-market policies on developing nations as a condition for loans. Others say the lack of accountability is to blame. Argentina was given handouts by the IMF and other international financial institutions despite reports of rampant corruption in the Menem government.
That leads to some of the other culprits: corrupt politicians, inefficient bureaucracies, regional overspending - some even blame the leftist guerrilla movement for destabilizing the economy more than three decades ago. Then, of course, there is the legacy of Evita and Juan Domingo Peron. I remember being in Buenos Aires when Carlos Menem was first elected president. People filled the streets, chanting "Peron, Peron, que grande sos." It was interesting to see how the election had nothing to do with Menem. Peron was larger than life. Gigantic posters of the former president and Evita were draped across buildings. Working-class Argentines reminisced about the days when Peron bolstered the labor movement and gave social benefits to the underprivileged. They fantasized about having a new redeemer who would make their troubles disappear. But Menem was no Peron, and they did not need another populist icon - they needed a responsible leader.
A Peronist government is again in power. President Eduardo Duhalde has a much more difficult job than any of his predecessors. He must ask Argentines who are crying for help to swallow their bitter tears while he tries to put the country back on the long road to the first world. |
