Why is Argentina in such a sorry state, economically, politically and socially?.
Seventy
years after the end of World War II, the world still wonders how, after 1932,
Germany could have so blindly followed Adolf Hitler, an uneducated corporal
turned populist dictator.
After
all, at the time it was a technological marvel, as well as the country that had
produced artists such as Hesse, Goethe, Dürer, Novalis, Bach and Wagner.
Driven
by Hitler’s and his supporters’ extremely pernicious ideology, all of Germany
soon fell into a deadly spiral.
Argentina’s
longtime downward spiral
In terms
of the self-destructive mechanisms which a nation can hoist upon itself and
which can lead it to the road to national self-destruction, the same pattern is
now present in Argentina.
At the
beginning of the 20th century, in economic terms Argentina was fifth among the
most developed countries in the world. Today that is a depressing memory.
Perverse
politics yields national corrosion
The
steady decline since seems all the more perplexing as Argentina continues to
boast fertile land, some of the best meat and wines in the world as well as a
significant production of soy and wheat.
In
addition to natural resources, Argentina has a highly educated population,
including several Nobel Prize winners.
This
prompts the question: What happened to the country? Why is Argentina in such a
sorry state, economically, politically and socially?
Who
destroyed Argentine democracy?
Of
course, one could argue that it was the military dictatorship years (1976-1983)
that destroyed the country’s democracy.
But is
that really the cause of why Argentines consistently vote for leaders who
promise everything, only to deliver nothing? And why do they generally vote for
politicians who continue to destroy the country’s economy and reputation?
What is
driving the country into the abyss?
Argentina’s
contemporary failure cannot be understood without Peronism, a movement based on
the ideas and legacy of Argentina’s former President Juan Perón (1946–1952,
1952–1955, 1973–1974).
Peron
led a leftist populist movement not to be mixed up politically with the
hard-right Chilean military regime under Pinochet.
Evidently,
some Argentinians still believe in the miracle powers of whoever the Peronist
leader is.
For that
reason, they are utterly convinced that the country’s saviors will be the
Peronists — even though, especially given the latter-day Peronists’ track
record, this hope must be considered completely irrational at this juncture.
Promising
the moon, delivering self-enrichment
It
should matter to Argentines claiming to care about the advance of the “common
people” that corruption under Peronist governments is a most predictable
pattern.
The
incredible scandals perpetrated during former president Cristina Kirchner’s
government should have taught the Peronist masses something.
But it
is not to be. They continue to opt for magical thinking over logic and
therefore continue to believe in Peronists leaders.
Not a
good legacy even back when
Although
Juan Perón promoted some greatly needed social reforms benefitting the
proletariat, many Argentines forget that the regime collapsed into a corrupt
populist government.
To
sustain itself in power, ideally perpetually, that government created a vast
social group depending on government handouts and lacking the impetus toward
employment and critical thinking.
This
process began to play itself out in the 1990s. As would be expected, the
subsequent damage to the country’s social fabric has been immense.
Germans
have learned their lesson
The main
difference between Germany post-1933 and Argentina in the 21st century is that
Germany has learned from its grave errors at the time and focused on dealing
with the subsequent socio-political trauma.
In
Argentina, meanwhile, we repeat the same mistakes ad infinitum, to the point
where we wonder if there is any exit from this Borgesian labyrinth.
Macri’s
presidency
With the
election in 2015 of former president Mauricio Macri, there was a period of hope
for a break from Peronism.
Unfortunately,
the bubble of optimism burst as Macri’s administration proved as inept as his
Peronist predecessors. He was arrogant and blind to the people’s needs.
In all
likelihood, he never realized that he held the key to the door out of the labyrinth.
Although
Macri’s presidency established a semblance of normalcy in the country,
including a renewed respect for the country’s institutions.
That
respect has once again disappeared now that Cristina Kirchner formally serves
as Argentina’s Vice President.
Purging
the judicial system
Cristina
Kirchner is using her influence over President Alberto Fernández to persecute
her political adversaries and to purge the judicial system of all judges who do
not have the authority — and the courage — to investigate her misdeeds.
It is
tragic that Argentina has returned, yet again, to another incompetent and
corrupt Peronist president, plus a revengeful Vice President.
Should
Argentina have loved British imperialism?
Some
Argentines say that the worst Argentine mistake was repealing the British
invasions of the country (1806-1807). Had we let them win, perhaps Argentina
would now be a prosperous country like Australia or New Zealand. Or so the tale
goes.
Instead,
Argentines still face the abyss. Only God knows whether we will be eventually
able to rise above it and resume our path as part of the group of prosperous
nations in the world.
https://www.theglobalist.com/argentina-society-corruption-peronism-mauricio-macri-cristina-kirchner/
***César
Chelala is a global health consultant and contributing editor for The
Globalist.
Since
1980, he has worked as a consultant on planning, monitoring and evaluation of
public health projects for several international agencies.
He has
conducted health-related missions in over 50 countries for USAID, UNICEF, WHO,
PAHO, UNFPA, UNDP, UNESCO, Capital Development Fund, the Guttmacher Institute,
the Mexican Foundation for Health, World Education, the Pew Charitable Trusts
and the Carnegie Corporation.
He
earned his medical degree in 1964. In 1971, he came to the United States and
worked as a researcher in molecular genetics and pharmacology at New York
City’s Public Health Research Institute and later at the New York University
School of Medicine.
He has
written scientific and medical articles for The Journal of the American Medical
Association, Lancet, Molecular and General Genetics, the British Medical
Journal and Proceedings of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences.
In 1979,
he co-authored an article (with Paul H. Hoeffel) about the “disappeared” in
Argentina. The article, “Missing or Dead in Argentina: The Desperate Search for
Thousands of Abducted Victims,” was published as a cover story in The New York
Times Magazine. The authors received the 1979 Overseas Press Club of America
award for the best article on human rights.
He has
received two national journalism awards from ADEPA, the organization of
newspaper editors in Argentina. In 2015 he received the Chaski award from
Taller
Latinoamericano,
a leading cultural institution in the U.S., and that same year he was awarded
the Cedar of Lebanon Gold Medal from The House of Lebanon, in Tucumán,
Argentina.
He has
written for several newspapers around the world, among them: The New York
Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, The China Daily, The Daily
News Egypt, The Japan Times, The Moscow Times, The News International
(Pakistan), Le Monde Diplomatique (France), Asahi Shimbun (Japan), Los Angeles
Times, The Miami Herald, The Boston Globe, The San Francisco Chronicle, The
Seattle Times, Neue Zücher Zeitung, The Daily Star (Beirut), The Swiss Review
of World Affairs and The International Herald Tribune.
****Alberto
Luis Zuppi is an attorney at law and a former representative of the victims of
the AMIA case.