Once again, Argentina has become synonymous with crisis. The Argentine peso has already lost half of its value against the dollar this year, and the economy is projected to contract by at least 2 percent while inflation reaches 40 percent. Beleaguered President Mauricio Macri is asking the International Monetary Fund for additional assistant, only three months after finalizing a loan agreement. Not surprisingly, Macri’s domestic popularity has suffered, weakening his re-election prospects next year.
Bruno Binetti, research fellow at Inter-American Dialogue, discusses the Argentine peso, economy and government as the nation receives a $50 billion credit line from the International Monetary Fund.
Non resident fellow Bruno Binetti discusses the causes of the financial crisis, and the economic and political implications of an IMF bailout for Argentina and Macri.
Macri has repeatedly said that he will maintain his course and not yield to what he calls the political opportunism of the opposition. But if he is to lead a true alternative to the left- and right-wing populist tendencies that have ruled Argentina for decades, Macri’s gradualism must pick up the pace and start showing results.
For years, Nicaraguans seemed to tolerate the growing authoritarianism of President Daniel Ortega in exchange for stability and growth. That pact is now crumbling.
The unraveling of UNASUR—perhaps the most ambitious attempt at Latin American integration in recent times—is another sign that Latin America’s much-vaunted solidarity has splintered.
Con cada acto autoritario, el chavismo pierde más de la poca legitimidad que le queda ante su propio pueblo y la comunidad internacional. La MUD no debería hacerle las cosas más sencillas. La respuesta al dilema opositor pasa por comprender cuál es la estrategia que debilita más al gobierno y da más chances de que ocurra una transición a la democracia tarde o temprano.
While many talk about the return of the right in Latin America, Rafael Correa’s “citizen revolution” won another term in office: former vice president Lenín Moreno will rule until 2021 after defeating former banker Guillermo Lasso in a close second round vote. Although the opposition candidate denounced electoral fraud, other Latin American governments, as well as the observation mission of the Organization of American States (OAS), have recognized the results. On May 24, then, Correa will hand his chosen successor the presidency and a series of challenges: economic decline, social polarization and (less urgent) a foreign policy in need of some adjustments.
The pendulum of Latin American politics is swinging rightward once again. Yet as the “pink tide” recedes, the forces of change have more to do with socioeconomics than ideology. Dramatic economic and political crises have coincided in countries like Brazil and Venezuela. Still, the final result for Latin America may be the emergence of centrist, pragmatic modes of governance, and with them, opportunities for the U.S. to improve relations. The new administration must look beyond the neoliberal model of the 1990s, and develop an approach to relations fit for the 21st century.
So far, Macri has been successful in attributing the social pain of the reforms to the gravity of the situation he inherited. Still, Argentina’s patience could run out before the economy starts growing again.
