Argentina History & Argentina Travel Guide and Hotels Information
NextGen Day: Travel, Hotels, Flights, Vacations, Holidays
 |
Argentina Travel Guide |
History page 2... Argentina History The so-called Olivos Pact with the opposition Radical Party led to the constitutional reform of 1994 that opened the way for Menem to seek and win reelection, winning 50% of the vote in the three-way 1995 presidential race. Late in Menem's second term, fears began to build among foreign investors about Argentina's ability to service its large public sector debt, especially in the wake of Russia's debt default in 1998 and Argentina's currency devaluation in January 1999. These fears were exacerbated when Argentina's fiscal deficit ballooned during 1999, Menem's final year in office. Fernando de la Rua, of the Radical Party, running on an anti-corruption platform, defeated Peronist candidate Eduardo Duhalde in the 1999 presidential election. Upon taking office, he increased taxes to eliminate the huge fiscal deficit he had inherited, but the tax increase choked off economic growth and intensified the recession leading to a decline in government revenues. Political infighting hindered adoption of thoroughgoing reform measures by the government, and the economy continued to stagnate. The political situation deteriorated further when Vice President Chacho Alvarez (of the junior partner in the coalition) resigned, alleging a lack of support from other members of the executive branch to investigate charges of corruption within the administration. Even a large IMF-led stabilization package in December 2000 was insufficient to prevent a looming crisis, given the De la Rua administration's inability to get a handle on the fiscal situation. Throughout 2001, production fell from already low levels, and unemployment continued to rise. By late 2001, depositors in Argentine banks were withdrawing funds as a run against the peso developed. The government's restrictions on depositors' access to their accounts only fueled popular discontent. Supermarket sackings and property damage proliferated, first in the provinces and then the Federal Capital. De la Rua resigned on December 20, 2001, after violence claimed several lives during riots in and around the plaza directly facing the seat of government. A legislative assembly on December 23, 2001, elected Adolfo Rodriguez Saa to serve as president and called for general elections to elect a new president within 3 months. Rodriguez Saa announced immediately that Argentina would default on its international debt obligations, but expressed his commitment to maintain the currency board and the peso's 1-to-1 peg to the dollar. Rodriguez Saa, however, was unable to rally support from within his own party for his administration and this, combined with renewed violence in the Federal Capital, led to his resignation on December 30. Yet another legislative assembly elected Peronist Eduardo Duhalde president on January 1, 2002. Duhalde--differentiating himself from his three predecessors--quickly abandoned the peso's 10-year-old link with the dollar, a move that was followed by currency depreciation and inflation. In the face of rising poverty and continued social unrest, Duhalde also moved to bolster the government's social programs.
|
 |
|
Buenos Aires ArgentinaBuenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after Greater São Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent. The Greater Buenos Aires conurbation, which also includes several Buenos Aires Province districts, constitutes the third-largest conurbation in Latin America, with a population of around thirteen million. Buenos Aires Argentina
ADVERTISEMENT
|