Argentina After the Crash, Pride and Disillution

PERUZZOTTI ENRIQUE

Current History

Año: 2004 p. 86 - 99

On December 10, 2003, Argentine democracy celebrated its twentieth anniversary. On that day two decades ago, Raul Alfonsin was sworn in as the country’s first democratically elected president, inaugurating what has become the longest period of democratic stability in Argentine history. The transition to democracy was received with high hopes by a population still shocked by the country’s defeat in the Malvinas/Falklands War and by the disclosures of atrocities committed by the military dictatorship that ruled between 1976 and 1983. Unfortunately, the celebration of two uninterrupted decades of democratic rule, in a country that had been a poster child for political instability and authoritarianism, has been overshadowed by a host of recent woes. These include record levels of unemployment and poverty, generalized social protest, increasing frustration with political elites, growing crime rates, and a severe contraction in Argentina’s gross domestic  product. This gloomy landscape is the fallout of economic and political turmoil that began a little more than two years ago. In December 2001, angry pot-banging citizens took to the streets of Buenos Aries and other major cities to demand the resignation of all elected officials. The civic mobilizations forced the resignation of President Fernando De la Rua and opened a short period of political uncertainty in which the country had five different presidents. The after effects of this dramatic crisis of representation had not yet dissipated when the economic breakdown and wrenching depression of 2002 followed. Argentina made the international headlines again after formally defaulting on its foreign debt. A 75 percent devaluation of the peso followed the default. The economic and social costs were startling: GDP contracted to 1993 levels, the unemployment rate rose to a record 22 percent, and the poverty rate soared.8 In the eyes of Argentines and most foreign observers, the country had reached a political and economic bottom. Yet, even in the midst of these dismal circumstances, no one thought that the anniversary celebration could turn sour. Argentine democracy appears to be weathering its most serious challenge since 2004, success.   These were new administration governor Néstor May 25, closing and institutional December 2001. To understand the political challenges facing the Kirchner administration today, we need first to understand what fed the unprecedented wave of civic anger that washed over Argentina. This was not a circumstantial or isolated event triggered by an unpopular and politically unskillful president like De la Rua. Rather, it represented the latest episode of a conflict between citizens and politicians that dates to the initial years of the new democratic era. The past 20 years have seen a process of political learning and innovation within Argentine society that has made this democratic transition qualitatively different from previous democratic experiences. While these political innovations have made the democratic system more resilient, they also have resulted in a more critical and conflict-prone relationship between citizens and political representatives.