TENTATIVE SYLLABUS

Market Reforms, Democracy and Crises in Argentina (1976-2006)

Rosario, Argentina

Leopoldo Rodríguez

1. Course Content:

The course provides students an opportunity to analyze the turbulent political economy of Argentina over the last three decades. We will scrutinize the interactions between social, political and economic forces giving shape to dramatic policy changes in the context of authoritarian regimes and democratization. The actions of political parties, unions, the military and emerging social movements will be analyzed in the context of the economic policies implemented by the government in turn, giving rise to well known characteristics of the Argentine economy during this period: inflation, unemployment, mounting debt and crisis.

2. Course Objectives:

Students will gain familiarity with the complex forces that continue to shape contemporary Argentina. They will be able to distinguish the political figures, economic institutions and external forces that in the last 30 years oversaw political repression, two severe economic crises, democratization and radical economic reforms. At the end of the course the students will be able to recognize the main political and economic actors in Argentina since 1976, as well as their favored policies and their outcomes.

3. Proposed Excursions (subject to approval):

a. Córdoba (weekend)

The city of Córdoba is a college town and industrial city located about 400 km NW of Rosario. The city experienced an important student/worker uprising in the late 1960s, and a severe decline due to anti-industrial policies of the military Junta and the Menem administration.

b. Colonia San Carlos (day trip)

Located within 100 km N of Rosario, San Carlos is composed of several well-to-do towns. The highly mechanized family farms of the area provide the local inhabitants with a high standard of living at the same time that the feeling of small town community life remains intact. The area has experienced an economic boom since the end of convertibility and the resulting expansion of agricultural exports. A visit to one or two family farms and a rabbit farm will be arranged.

c. Rosario Port (day trip)

Rosario is an important port city, where diverse agricultural products are loaded onto cargo ships for transport to Buenos Aires and abroad. The port has had its ups and downs over the years, experiencing resurgence since the 2001-2002 crisis.

4. Instructional Methodology:

The course will consist primarily of lectures, but I actively encourage students to participate with comments and questions. Teaching in Rosario I will have plenty of opportunities to relate the material to the local context. Classroom activities will be supplemented with the excursions mentioned above. I will design a group project requiring students to engage with the local population. This will allow them to gain insight on the experiences of individual Argentines during a particular period covered in class.

5. Evaluation Method:

Class participation and attendance 20%

Group Project 20%

Midterm exam 25%

Final exam 35%

Discussion/Participation

All students are expected to actively participate in class discussion. Class attendance will also be taken in consideration.

Group Project

The topic of the project is the diverse ways in which the people of Rosario experienced a particular period of the three decades covered in the course, for example, the latest crisis from 1998 to 2002, or the debt crisis from 1982 to 1989. etc. The objective of the group project is to engage you with Argentine society as you learn about its political economy. Subject to my approval, the final product may take the form of a Power Point presentation, a collective journal or an edited video. The project must be primarily based on direct contact with Argentine people.

Midterm Exam

You will have a midterm examination. You must cite the reading material from our course in the answers to the questions.

Final Exam

The final exam will be cumulative.

6. Required Readings:

Gerardo della Paolera and Alan Taylor (Eds.), A New Economic History of Argentina, Cambridge University Press, 2003.

Paul Blustein, And the Money Kept Rolling In (And Out): Wall Street, the IMF, and the Bankrupting of Argentina, Public Affairs, 2006.

Additional required readings available as photocopies (see below).

7. Schedule of Topics

Week 1

From Export Economy to Import Substitution Industrialization (1880-1976)

-Insertion into the World Economy

-World War I, Great Depression and World War II

-Economic Nationalism and the Developmental State

Gerardo della Paolera and Alan Taylor, “Introduction,” in Gerardo della Paolera and Alan Taylor (Eds.), A New Economic History of Argentina, Cambridge University Press, 2003

Luis Alberto Romero, Chapter 3, A History of Argentina in the Twentieth Century, Pennsylvania State University Press, 2002.

Week 2

Party Politics and the Military (1890-1976)

-Oligarchic Democracy and the Radicales

-Peron, Peronismo and Populism

-Recurrent Military Intervention

Luis Alberto Romero, Chapter 4, A History of Argentina in the Twentieth Century, Pennsylvania State University Press, 2002.

Marta Bonaudo “Society and Politics: From Social Mobilization to Civic Participation (Santa Fe, 1890-1909)” in James Brennan and Ofelia Pianetto (Eds.) Region and Nation: Politics, Economy, and Society in Twentieth-Century Argentina, Palgrave Macmillan, 2000.

Week 3

La Junta: Political Repression and Economic Liberalism

-The Dirty War

-Pro-Market Reforms

-Debt Expansion

Monica Gordillo “Labor in the 1960s: Trade Union Consciousness and the ‘Culture of Resistance’” in James Brennan and Ofelia Pianetto (Eds.) Region and Nation: Politics, Economy, and Society in Twentieth-Century Argentina, Palgrave Macmillan, 2000.

Week 4

Economic Restructuration ala Chicago Boys

-Financial Liberalization

-Overvalued Exchange Rates

-Deindustrialization Part 1

Alejandro Foxley, Chapter 3, Latin American Experiments in Neoconservative Economics, University of California Press, Berkeley, 1983.

Possibly visit to Rosario port. Agricultural exports have picked up significantly since 2002, resulting in increased activity at the port.

Week 5

Debt, War and Transition to Democracy

-Alfonsin’s Constrained Democracy

-The Austral Plan of Macroeconomic Stabilization

-The Political Economy of Inflation

Gerardo della Paolera, et. al., “Passing the Buck: Monetary and Fiscal Policies” in Gerardo della Paolera and Alan Taylor (Eds.), A New Economic History of Argentina, Cambridge University Press, 2003.

Week 6

Hyperinflation and Elections

-Runaway Inflation under a Lame Duck President

-Menem: Peronismo’s Electoral Victory

-Early Presidential Transition

Adolfo Sturzenegger and Ramiro Moya, “Economic Cycles,” in Gerardo della Paolera and Alan Taylor (Eds.), A New Economic History of Argentina, Cambridge University Press, 2003.

Nancy Powers, Chapter 4, Grassroots Expectations of Democracy and Economy: Argentina in Comparative Perspective, University of Pittsburgh Press, Pittsburgh, March 2001.

Week 7

Menem’s Metamorphosis

-The Urgency of Adjustment

-From Populist to Neoliberal

-New Allegiances

Sebastian Galiani and Pablo Gerchunoff, “The Labor Market,” in Gerardo della Paolera and Alan Taylor (Eds.), A New Economic History of Argentina, Cambridge University Press, 2003.

Week 8

Privatization and the Taming of the Unions

-State-Owned Enterprises and Government Revenue

-Co-opting the Unions

-Effects on Unemployment and Industry

Judith Teichman, Chapter 3, The Politics of Freeing Markets in Latin America: Chile, Argentina and Mexico, University of North Carolina Press, Chapel Hill, 2001.

Leopoldo Rodriguez, “Aguas Turbias: The Privatization of Water and Sewerage Services in Argentina,” paper presented at the Latin American Studies Association meeting in Puerto Rico, March 2006.

Week 9

Trade and Financial Liberalization

-Downward Pressure on Prices

-Mercosur

-Deindustrialization Part 2

Alan Taylor, “Capital Accumulation,” in Gerardo della Paolera and Alan Taylor (Eds.), A New Economic History of Argentina, Cambridge University Press, 2003.

Paul Blustein, Chapters 1-3, And the Money Kept Rolling In (And Out): Wall Street, the IMF, and the Bankrupting of Argentina, Public Affairs, 2006.

Possibly excursion to Córdoba, home of the student-worker uprising known as the Córdobazo. As an important industrial center rivaling Rosario, Córdoba experienced severe difficulties during the Convertibility.

Week 10

The Convertibility Plan

-The Dollar Standard and Currency Overvaluation

-The Political Economy of Rule Based Monetary Policy

-The Scare of the Tequila Effect (1995)

Paul Blustein, Chapters 4-7, And the Money Kept Rolling In (And Out): Wall Street, the IMF, and the Bankrupting of Argentina, Public Affairs, 2006.

Week 11

The Crisis

-External Shocks: SE Asia 1997-98, Brazil 1999

-Internal Adjustment: Rising Unemployment and Deflation

-De La Rúa’s Short-lived Presidency or How to Alienate the Middle Class

Paul Blustein, Chapters 8-10, And the Money Kept Rolling In (And Out): Wall Street, the IMF, and the Bankrupting of Argentina, Public Affairs, 2006.

Jose Maria Fanelli, “Growth, Instability and the Crisis of Convertibility in Argentina,” in Jan Joost Teunissen and Age Akerman (Eds.), The Crisis that was not Prevented: Lessons for Argentina, the IMF, and Globalization, FONDAD, The Hague, 2003.

Leopoldo Rodríguez, "Public Service Privatization and Crisis in Argentina," Development in Practice, June 2005.

Week 12

The Economic Roots of a Socio-Political Explosion

-Piqueteros, Neighborhood Assemblies and Factory Take-overs

-Economic Adjustment: Devaluation and Debt Restructuration

-Duhalde’s Social Policies and the Struggle over Peronismo

James Petras, “The Piqueteros: A New Actor on the Political Stage” in A System in Crisis, Zed Books, London, 2004.

Possibly excursion to Colonia San Carlos, where students will appreciate first hand the enormous wealth potential of agriculture in Argentina.

Week 13

In the Wake of Crisis

-Kirchner: Reforming Neoliberalism

-Export-Oriented Non-Inflationary Growth (For How Long?)

-Contradictions in the Making

James Petras and Henry Veltmeyer, “From Popular Rebellion to ‘Normal Capitalism’ in Argentina,” Social Movements and State Power: Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia, Ecuador, Pluto Press, 2005.