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Argentinahttp://www.latinworld.com/sur/argentina/ This colorful website gives the usual general information about the country, culture and arts, travel, facts, etc., but also includes a more extensive section on business and organization. There are links to the U.S. Department of State fact sheet on Argentina and links to similar sites for South America, including the southern cone countries of Paraguay and Chile. http://www.yendor.com/vanished/index.html From 1976 to 1983, Argentina was under military rule that launched a campaign to eradicate all opposition and left-wing organizations that might pose a threat to the controlling military power. Thousands of dissidents and other individuals simply disappeared and became known in Spanish as "los desaparecidos". I remember in 1977-1980 when I lived in Paraguay, hearing hushed whispers about rumors that innocent people were being tortured and murdered, and the same fate awaited anyone in Paraguay who appeared unhappy with or openly criticized the dictatorship in power. This website gives information largely collected from people's memories as most records were destroyed by the military. http://www.yendor.com/vanished/falklands-war.html Argentina has claimed a group of islands known as the Falkland Islands located 300 miles east of the Argentine coast since the early 1900's. Britain has occupied the islands and administered them since 1833. In April 1982, Argentina invaded and took control of the islands. A war with Britain left over 1,000 dead (236 British and 655 Argentine) and the islands firmly under British control. Losing the war helped bring down Argentine President General Leopoldo Galteiri, thus opening the way for democracy to return to Argentina. Pastor, M. and Wise, C. (2001, November/December). From poster child to basket case. Foreign Affairs Magazine, p. 28. Pastor and Wise analyze what went wrong with Argentina's economy. Despite bailouts from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), twice in the past two years, the authors see little hope that Argentina will be able to get out of the current crisis without real damage to the Argentine people's economic future. Mead, W.R. (2002, January 13). Argentina: legacy of skin-deep reform. Los Angeles Times. Retrieved March 28, 2002 from council on Foreign Relations on the world wide web: http://www.cfr.org/public/resource.cgi?pub!4290. This op-ed piece from the Los Angeles Times discusses Argentina's economic crisis where the peso fell 40% overnight and all dollar-dominated savings accounts of over $3,000 were frozen for one year. Walter Russell Mead gives a simple understandable explanation of why Argentina is in its current crisis. Economic reforms did not succeed due to failure to overhaul the countries labor laws making it difficult to cut wages as foreign investment in the country slowed. To keep the national treasury afloat, Argentina borrowed more money until debts rose so high they could not be repaid. This opinion piece does not give much hope for true economic reform due to Argentina's history of corrupt government and military takeovers when corruption and economic woes get out of hand. Feldstein, M. (2002, March/April) Argentina's Fall: Lessons from the Latest Financial crisis. Foreign Affairs Magazine, pp. 8-14. Martin Feldstein, professor of economics at Harvard University and President of the National Bureau of Economic Research describes the policies and circumstances that led to Argentina's current economic crisis. Feldstein discusses the International Monetary Fund's role in the crisis and lessons learned from Argentina's experience. Brazil to account for 6 percent of Argentina's GDP in 2002. (2002, April 10) EFE News Services Inc. Retrieved from Lexis-Nexis on April 27, 2002. Argentina's financial crisis has caused an increase in exports to Brazil where traditionally, only 2.3 percent of Argentina's gross domestic product (GDP) . In 2002, exports are predicted to make up 6 percent of the GDP. Sales to Brazil are seen as a way to economic recovery for Argentina. Argentina reiterates decision to seek IMF agreement. (2002, April 29) EFE World News Service. Retrieved from Lexis-Nexis on April 29, 2002. Argentina is still talking with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to look for a solution to Argentina's formidable economic crisis. Argentina wants the IMF's guarantee that it can obtain loans from other organizations. The IMF has demanded that the Argentine government adopt a series of economic and legal reforms before talks will continue. Wolf, M. (2002, May 1). Argentina on the road to ruin: with support, the country could just save itself from a hyperinflationary meltdown. But there is little hope of doing so. The Financial Times, p 19. The latest outlook for economic recovery for Argentina looks bleak according to Martin Wolf. Among the reforms needed are imposed fiscal discipline over the government and the provinces and changes in the bankruptcy code to enable creditors to recover assets. The government must also plan to reopen the banks and provide a plan for its monetary system. The author is very pessimistic that Argentina will be able to rescue itself. |