Diffusion or Assemblage? Convertibility and the crucial role of heterodoxy in the Argentinian path to neoliberalism

HEREDIA, MARIANA; NEMIÑA, PABLO

Montevideo

Conferencia; REPAL Annual Meeting 2015; 2015

REPAL - Universidad Católica del Uruguay

In the nineties, Argentina was quoted as one of the most extremes examples of neoliberal transition. In a very short period of time and within a democratic regime, this country adopted deep market reforms, privatizing most of its public companies, opening its commercial and financial market and eliminating most State?s regulations. Even if, from the diffusion perspective, Argentina can certainly be regarded as a case of external-internal coalition serving as driving force for the neoliberal spread, the structural reforms did not succeed in stabilizing the currency and legitimizing the neoliberal government until the adoption of the convertibility plan. Far from being a part of the Washington Consensus principles, this key element was clearly opposed to them. What is most astonishing is that once this local heterodoxy worked, the IMF and the international organizations? officials not only recognized the value of the Argentinian plan but also turned it into one of the global recipes recommended to other countries. Throughout the analyses of Argentinian and foreign officials testimonies and the study of declassified documents from the IMF, this paper argues that convertibility was the heterodox component that permitted to achieve the neoliberal diffusion in Argentina by betraying one of its fundamentals.