Argentina in 2004

Argentina in 2004

Area: 2,780,092 sq km (1,073,400 sq mi)
Population (2004 est.): 39,145,000
Capital: Buenos Aires
Head of state: President Néstor Kirchner

January 2004 marked the two-year anniversary of Argentina’s historic economic and political collapse. Compared with the dark days of December 2001 and January 2002, the Argentine economy and political system functioned quite well throughout 2004. Nevertheless, the use of different benchmarks, particularly economic ones, suggested that serious issues still existed, and many people remained pessimistic about the country’s future despite the positive climate.

The Argentine economy experienced robust growth in 2004, fueled by the success of the agricultural sector (particularly soybean exports), increased local industrial production as consumers substituted locally manufactured products for imports (which were now prohibitively expensive, owing to the three-to-one exchange rate with the U.S. dollar), and the boom experienced by the construction sector. Though this growth began to slow during the second semester, the country’s GDP increased by a healthy 8% in 2004. At the same time, the inflation rate was a tolerable 6%.

Throughout the year Pres. Néstor Kirchner of the Justicialist (Peronist) Party (PJ) consolidated his power and enjoyed the support of strong PJ majorities in both houses of the national congress. Though Kirchner was unable to marginalize his principal political rival— former president Eduardo Duhalde, leader of the PJ in the province of Buenos Aires—he was able to establish a tacit truce with Duhalde that allowed him to govern effectively.

Kirchner’s failure to address several underlying economic and social problems raised serious concerns about Argentina’s future. After having defaulted unilaterally 36 months earlier on its debt, Argentina had yet to come to an agreement with its creditors, a majority of whom believed that Argentina was not negotiating in good faith. Until some type of acceptable agreement was reached, foreign (as well as domestic) investment in Argentina was likely to be modest, which would thereby threaten the country’s ability to maintain its current level of economic growth. At year’s end the prospects for an agreement in 2005 appeared increasingly likely. The Argentine government’s hostile (and at times illegal) treatment of the privatized utility companies (most of which were owned by foreign capital) had resulted in an almost complete lack of investment in energy exploration, generation, and transportation, which in turn led to electricity and natural-gas shortages during the year. These shortages could become more severe in 2005 and 2006, particularly if weather conditions proved unfavourable.

Argentina’s relationship with the International Monetary Fund became increasingly conflictive in 2004, owing to Argentina’s debt and utilities-related problems as well as to the Kirchner government’s failure to pass legislation that would reform the banking sector and provide restitution (stemming from the 2002 devaluation) to the banks. The government’s failure to reform the federal revenue-sharing system (i.e., the rules governing the fiscal relationship between the national government and the provincial governments) also complicated its relationship with the IMF.

Crime also emerged as an extremely salient issue for the Argentine public during the year, with mounting popular pressure on Kirchner to adopt a harder line toward criminals. Though Kirchner at first resisted these demands, his declining public-approval ratings during the third quarter led to a government crackdown on many forms of criminal behaviour (especially chaotic, and often violent, street protests). The Kirchner government had only minimal success in its efforts to reduce crime, particularly in stemming the growing wave of kidnappings that plagued the Buenos Aires metropolitan area.

by: Mark P. Jones