The Contradictions of 'Democratic' Neoliberalism in Argentina
2008; Routledge; Volume: 44; Issue: 44 Linguagem: Inglês
ISSN
0081-0606
Autores Tópico(s)Latin American socio-political dynamics
ResumoFor the first time in Argentine history a democratically-elected government was overthrown by a popular insurrection, which became known as the Argentinazo. In 2001-2 the country went through one of the deepest financial crises in the world through a massive (spontaneous) popular upheaval under the slogan Que se vayan todos! ('out with them all!'), giving way to a novel and generalized state of social mobilization which threatened the precarious neoliberal hegemony that had been built around convertibility and a triumphal belief in economic success. Heralded during the 1990s as the international poster-child for market-oriented economic reforms, thanks to its exceptional combination of far-reaching liberalizing policies and democracy, Argentina now came to be seen by the IMF as an 'unfeasible country'. This was certainly a setback for those who had extolled Argentina's unparalleled capacity to carry out radical stabilization programmes without an authoritarian regime (such as that of Chile or many South Asian countries), or an autogolpe [self-coup] (as in Peru), or harsh labour repression and states of siege (as in Bolivia). Overnight, Argentina went from being the 'best student' of the IMF's orthodoxy to a potential troublemaker.
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