Argentina's dangerous direction

www.AmericanThinker.com ^ | February 11th, 2005 | A.M. Mora y Leon

[CitadelArmyJag]

This is not a good turn of events. For those of us who have experienced the wonder of Patagonia, tasted the savory deliciousness of a traditional guacho argentine parilla dinner, or sipped yerba mate... this is most distressing. Poor misguided fools.....

[Allegra]

I know what you mean. I had the pleasure of visiting Argentina several times in the late 90s up through 2000. My company was doing a huge project there, in Bahia Blanca.

I loved going down there. Loved the people, the food, the culture.

They have such a wealth of natural resources and a relatively low population, but they just can't ever seem to get it together. Under Menim, they apeeared to be tentatively headed in the right direction, but then it all fell apart when the peso crashed.

[<1/1,000,000th%]

It wants to sweep the whole matter under the rug and settle the issue with them for 25 or 30 cents on the dollar, an offer so low and so unprecedented as to be insulting.

Huh? The US gets treated worse than this all the time.

Russia, Britain, France, Germany, Japan, etc., all owe us money from WW2. And what do the Europeans owe us from bailing them out in Serbia and Kosovo?

[CitadelArmyJag]

I know what you mean my friend... I was there for two months in the July and August of 2003, and the people there are so misguided. Along with the poverty that accompanied the peso's crash, came the socialists, the communists, the isolationists, and every other backward political group. To see that they are aligning themselves now with Castro and Chavez doesn't speak well to their future, nor does it point towards a vacation spot hospitable towards Americans. I guess I will have to try Montevideo, though Uruguay doesnt look to be much better these days. Cheers!

[CitadelArmyJag]

It wasnt us that bailed the Europeans out in Serbia and Kosovo; it was the Serbians who were attempting too. Serbia has long been the rearguard to Europe, even back when the bloodthirsty Ottomans were knocking on Vienna's door. That isnt to say that it was always pretty. Vlad Dracul, aka. Vlad the Impaler, aka. "Dracula," impaled the bodies of thousands of Turks on their shared borders... Slobo may have used other methods, perhaps equally brutal, but he was fighting against the fanatical islamic onslaught.
Thanks to Bill Clinton, we helped arm the Mujahadeen fighters, the jihadists, and the terrorist, in what is probably the greatest example of "whoops, didnt we pick the wrong side" in American history. These same people now continue their terrorist attacks against the Serbian people. I dont disagree with the rest of your post, but to say that we "bailed out" anybody in the balkans, other than islamic fanatics, simply couldnt be ignored. Cheers

[Don Corleone]

To see that they are aligning themselves now with Castro and Chavez doesn't speak well to their future, nor does it point towards a vacation spot hospitable towards Americans

If you earned it here...$$$ spend it here...$$$. Screw them!

[CitadelArmyJag]

It wasnt us that bailed the Europeans out in Serbia and Kosovo; it was the Serbians who were attempting too. Serbia has long been the rearguard to Europe, even back when the bloodthirsty Ottomans were knocking on Vienna's door. That isnt to say that it was always pretty. Vlad Dracul, aka. Vlad the Impaler, aka. "Dracula," impaled the bodies of thousands of Turks on their shared borders... Slobo may have used other methods, perhaps equally brutal, but he was fighting against the fanatical islamic onslaught.
Thanks to Bill Clinton, we helped arm the Mujahadeen fighters, the jihadists, and the terrorist, in what is probably the greatest example of "whoops, didnt we pick the wrong side" in American history. These same people now continue their terrorist attacks against the Serbian people. I dont disagree with the rest of your post, but to say that we "bailed out" anybody in the balkans, other than islamic fanatics, simply couldnt be ignored. Cheers

[CitadelArmyJag]

Sorry for the double post... damn that is annoying.

[livius]

"We are on the same team," Chavez told Argentina's president on his visit last week.

That's one of the big problems right there. Not mentioned is the fact that the visit last week was for a meeting of Latin American socialist nations, a sort of summit, which was attended by everyone you would expect. And the person who came to South America two weeks ago to meet all the participants was Spain's hard-left socialist PM, Zapatero, who announced the formation of an "axis" of Spain and Latin American socialists, including Brazil, Argentina, Chile and the newly socialist Ecuador. This, of course, is essentially led by Castro and the "Bolivarian revolution" of Chavez (to whom Spain is supplying naval vessels).

Kirchner seemed to get a lot of praise, although Lula got booed for not being populist enough. Poor thing.

[untenured]

Under Menim, they apeeared to be tentatively headed in the right direction, but then it all fell apart when the peso crashed.

Actually, IMHO their problems started during Mr. Menem's 1992 re-election campaign, when he engaged in a drunken orgy of government spending to buy votes, undoing four years of tight fiscal discipline. That would've been forgivable if he had resumed discipline after re-election, but government spending never went back down. After several years investors decided (not without reason) that Argentina was reverting to form, and began to exit. You could see the writing on the wall by the late 1990s.

With the exception of Chile and maybe a handful of other countries, S. America is going Chavez. They'll regret it in ten years, but they feel right now like globalization burned them. I wonder what the chances are of the lefty Mexican part (PRD? I can't remember) winning their next election, and bringing Chavezonomics right to the Rio Grande.

[March I up]

You might look into Chile (vacationing); I've heard nothing but good things about that place from folks all over SA.

The Argentines have always seemed to be distressing, but then that may be a more Brasilian perspective. Isn't their economy (Arg's) rather drastically pegged to the dollar ("dollarized")?

[CitadelArmyJag]

All I know of the Argentine peso is that it was once artificially pegged 1 for 1 with the US Dollar. After a while, the bottom obviously fell out on that one. Presently, it is about 3 for 1 with the US dollar, which makes for VERY affordable vacationing.

[March I up]

I seem to recall that the peso was actually backed by the dollar as opposed to gold/silver reserves (which also I believe they refuse to back their IMF payments/negotiations). Quick scans of recent articles portray a (putting it mildly) bleak situation for Argentina. Some insist that now is the time for investment there.

Always an interesting spot on the globe...

[Grammy]

Sorry to hear this, but I am not surprised. I lived there for a year in 69-70, and they were heading towards the Peronistas at that time. I loved the country and the people.

[Veto!]

Well, there go my plans to visit Buenos Aires. Rio might still be fun. You think?

As for alignment with Castro, something else is in the wind IMHO. Everyone thinks Fidel is going to die soon so it seems that others are jockeying for his international position and reputation. We'll see what happens after Fidel's funeral and a general revolution against tyrany in Cuba begins. I've been to Havana and know how those people yearn for freedom.

[CitadelArmyJag]

I wouldnt abandon your plans to go to Buenos Aires just yet. It still is an amazing place, which I plan to go back to as soon as possible. Brazil has a lot of crime, whereas B.A., despite their poor economy and related poverty, is still much cleaner, safer, modernized, etc.

[Paulus Invictus]

No! Go ahead to Argentina and avoid Rio. It's the most dangerous place to visit on the continent! My buddy just returned from Rio and was told to look out for muggings. He was mugged anyway. Brazil is a violent place and dangerous for Americans.

[Veto!]

Thanks for the travel advice. Safety is a big concern, as I like to travel alone.

[Allegra]

Buenos Aires was pretty safe as far a crime goes when I was going there frequently in the late 90s. In fact, the low crime rate was boasted in tourism advertisements.

I don't know if that has deteriorated since the peso crashed, though.

[Veto!]

Thanks, Allegra. You certainly do get around!

I met a fellow at church who works for NASA and is on loan to the Argentine Space Program. Yes, they have one and will soon launch a satellite. He says that BA is still pretty much a sure bet for a delightful and safe vacation but declined to predict the future.

I've traveled quite a bit in Europe, Asia and Turkey, which is as much Middle East as I'm up for, but have never been to South America. Have any other suggestions? I tend to like cities better than scenery.