Argentina: Program for a Popular Economic Recovery

Abstract

In 1976, a military dictatorship seized control of Argentina. A period of terror swept the land as 30,000 people were "disappeared." The dictatorship, with the support of the United States, opened the doors to neoliberal policies, undermining the import substitution programs that had supported an industrial base in the 1960s. The external debt reached $35.7 billion by 1981, primarily as a result of borrowing by the private sector. In these pages in April 2002 (http://www.monthlyreview.org /0402halevi.htm) Joseph Halevi explained that in an attempt to attract more capital from abroad the military dictatorship absorbed the external private debt into the public debt, placing the burden on the lives of the poor. This action was eagerly supported by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and deepened the relationship between multinationals, financial capital, and local business elites. The socialization of the debt continued even after the end of the dictatorship. The debt burden became a permanent problem, and inflation plagued the country.

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