Argentina:

Argentina has a rich history of Socialistic success that continues even today. Despite economic troubles caused by dastardly Capitalistic market reforms. The International Monetary Fund has tried to help, but the problems have reduced Argentina to a state of total disorder. However, the resilience of Argentina leaders is already proving to help fix economic woes by devaluing the Peso instead of embracing the Capitalistic dollar. This is in line with classic Peronism and promises to bring Argentina back to a state of romance not seen since the era of Evita and Juan Peron.

"Don't cry for me Argentina, Socialism has never left you!" And it still WORKS!

But does it really work?

rich history of Socialistic success:

Argentina has a bloody history of internal changeovers and revolts. During the 1940's government required press to register so it could control "subversive" content, it made Catholicism compulsory schooling, and it banned all rival political parties. It was this era that became lead by Juan Domingo Peron, Mussolini admirer who supported the Argentina labor movement during this period of tyrannical rule. Peron as head of the labor department instituted minimum wage, eight hour days, frozen rents, firing restrictions were made and a labor court was instituted to penalize business owners that didn't engage in "fair" business practices. Peron's administrations ranged from economic isolation and tariff building to heavy nationalization of trade and industry. Legislation was passed jailing political dissenters when Juan Peron remitted a new Constitution that allowed him to succeed himself in elections. His economic policies resulted in steep inflation and heavy government debt through massive overspending by him and his appointed head of the welfare state, his wife Evita Peron. After a failed coup in 1951 Juan continued repressing public meetings and political talk on the radio. In 1951 candidates were shot and arrested, and after the political fallout came from Peron's policy making the Air Force and Navy both revolted against the Army and thousands died in bloody internal revolts. After Peron fled into exile, the inflationary and economically regressive trend of Argentina continued.

Socialism was a success still in the 1960's, when even with Communists and Peronists being barred from office, price fixing, welfare statism and foreign investment restrictions were on the rise. In the late '60s and early 70's military regime after regime attacked and fought with one another, killing political leaders like former president Aramburu, and exiling those inhibiting their power. When in control, massive price fixing, economic regulation and welfare statism came into power. Peron became president again in 1973, but died in '74...

continues even today:

... The military ousted Peron's political appointees in 1976 and continued fighting amongst itself for control of Argentina, as paramilitary death squads killed/exiled some 10,000-30,000 citizens. This lead Argentina into it's modern day politics where continued economic interference delved Argentina into another violent recession that saw it's entire government usurped. Thankfully (for Socialism at least), Peronist Eduardo Duhalde managed to gain power.

economic troubles:

Argentina's entire economy collapsed after the failure of it's price fixing economic model and central banking. Carlos Menem created a system of "convertability" in 1991 with a 1-to-1 peso to dollar exchange rate, promised by the government, bolstering export trade and the general economy by affixing the peso to a valuable currency. During the economic recession in the early 2000's the government frantically blamed the system for overvaluing the peso and intended to devalue the peso into poverty, ban the convertability system, and forcibly convert dollar debts/savings into devalued pesos, thus making everyone in Argentina poor. In reality, the economy crashed based on super-high government spending and welfare statism. Half the working population was employed by the government. The ultra high taxation in 2000 caused the economy to lurch, decreasing total tax revenue, making it harder on the working public to pay bills and harder on the government return public debts. In 2001 the convertability system was replaced with a multiple exchange-rate system under a devalued peso, meddling with the peso's stability massively. Foreign reserves matching convertability were drained as changes in the convertability system continued and interest rates skyrocketed. Then the government in November passed a debt swapping provision that made banks and private pensions provide some credit to the government to counter it's irreparable money meddling. Interest rates were provided with a ceiling and bank deposits were kept from the people from withdrawal, Argentinians went into the streets rioting viewing this as outright theft (which it was). This economic collapse could only be countered by two systems - dollarization (using the U.S. dollar as Argentina's base currency) or "floating" the peso (devaluing it into oblivion, revoking rights to convertible foreign assets thereby outright stealing it from the people, then forcing all domestic banking reserves to be converted to this new devalued peso). Eduardo Duhalde chose pesoification.

dastardly Capitalistic market reforms:

While blamed for Argentina's problems, free market reform policy never really became popular to Argentina politicians. By the late '90s and early 2000's, Argentina was following it's old policies of price fixing, market regulations, foreign asset meddling, and currency table raiding. Definitely not Capitalism's doing.

International Monetary Fund:

The IMF economically "advises" and structures "loans" for countries to boost their economic status and exports. The only problem is, the IMF has time and time again offered advice like pesoification to Argentina, almost always against citizen's private property rights - at the same time, bottle feeding it's member countries large "loans" with superhuge interest rates, giving the national economy huge debts. Nations that actually listen to the IMF end up spoon fed and hungry, with it's currency constantly devalued after large economic collapses.

state of total disorder:

With half the people in poverty, their bank assets froze and the unemployment rising to 25% Argentine discontent reached a peak where people rioted in the streets over the economic crisis, a state of affairs just as bad (if not worse) than the U.S. Great Depression.

resilience of Argentina leaders:

During the economic revolts in Argentina, president after president got up and then consequently stepped down from office, after being dejected by violent protestors clammering for change. In a period of 11 days Argentina saw 2 presidents resign after intense public rioting and protest. At one point a group of rioters broke into the congressional halls to raid, loot and burn them.

help fix economic woes:

Argentina has three options - stick to a orthodox currency board and abide by it's Convertability Law, Dollarize, or adopt Pesoification. The first method seems to be next to impossible with the central bank's advance state of meddling. The second, dollarization, is easy and would stabilize the economy without violating the property rights of civilians. On the other hand, Pesoification threatens to revoke private citizen rights by devaluing the Peso into oblivion to account for the massive inequity created by unorthodoxy in it's currency boards and policy making.

devaluing the Peso:

Thinking the peso is overvalued through it's attachment to the dollar is a mistake - a overvalued currency would make Argentina uncompetitive, and signs of uncompetitiveness, like decreases in exports, do not exist. In fact the opposite trends appear to occur - exports are on the rise in Argentina and have been for years. Exports are 9% of Argentina's economy, not anywhere near enough of the private sector to account for it's massive recession, especially when trade surplus in 2001 was at it's highest ever. What are other potential sources of the problem then? Increased taxes, asset forfeiture, and trying to pay down deficits by bleeding the economy dry definitely don't help. In fact, the Argentine economic policy seems to rest on the formula of rising tax rates and falling currencies, instead of a stable market policy. These up and downs are convenient for IMF lenders who like to feel important by bailing out feeble economies, but not convenient for the actual workers in those nations. In Argentina, the savings of some families under pesoification have resulted in a 70% decline, and they just stare helplessly, because they aren't allowed to withdrawal from their account. IMF economic analysts claim victory over the Argentina economic crisis as industrial production falls by more than 15% in the first 8 months of 2002, post pesoification.

embracing the Capitalistic dollar:

Argentinians and economic "experts" blame the dollar for Argentina's collapse. The only connection they fail to establish is the connection between weakening currency and improving the economy.

classic Peronism:

Peronism is symbolized by it's violent changeovers, government overspending, and romancing of the working class to exploit the economy for personal privilege and gain. Unfortunately, Peronism seems to flourish in Argentina to this day.

the era of Evita and Juan Peron:

The Perons left a legacy of political chaos and bloody authoritarianism, with policies of economic meddling that have screwed the people of Argentina out of billions of their hard earned dollars (or I guess now it's pesos, since dollar savings have been forcibly converted), that continues today with self-avowed Peronist Eduardo Duhalde. Whether this has really worked is something, as always, for the reader to decide.

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