Reshaping the Economic Structure in Argentina: The Role of External Debt during the Macri Administration (2015?2019)

SANTARCANGELO, JUAN EDUARDO; JUAN MANUEL PADIN

Review of Radical Political Economy

SAGE

Lugar: New York; Año: 2021 vol. 53 p. 237 - 249

0486-6134

Argentina?s right-wing shift in the 2015 presidential election concluded twelve years of centerleftrule. The elected president, Mauricio Macri, claimed that the economy would experiencenormalization of existing imbalances and recover its strength in a ?new political era.? However,the new administration quickly restored the dominance of neoliberal economic policies througha comprehensive set of initiatives, which centrally included the return to international financialdebt and equity markets and submission to the International Monetary Fund?s (IMF) rules.This article analyzes Argentina?s external-debt-growth process and discusses its objectives andlong-term effects. This paper posits that the indebtedness process carried out by the Macriadministration?and its modality?not only increased the relevance of financial capital in theArgentine economy but also structurally conditioned any future nonorthodox alternative pathof development. This outcome cannot be understood without taking into account the deliberaterole of the United States, the IMF, and the top companies that operate in Argentina, as well asthe complicity of many political sectors.