Argentina’s National Changes Under The Influence Of International Factors(1982-2002)

In the early20th century, Europeans envied wealthy Argentine. The level of development in Argentina was very high and it was not inferior to the major powers of the world at that time. The rise of populist changed the direction of this country. Since then, the newly established economic system was with both characteristics of socialism and capitalism and the political system and the political system often cyclical swing between the elected government and the military dictatorship. Argentina’s foreign policy was often hovering between pro-American and pro-Soviet and becoming a great power on the world stage was Argentina’s dream. After the1990s, Argentina’s neoliberal reforms can be called "the most extreme case" in Latin America. From1982to2002, Argentina’s dramatic political and economic changes took place.From1976to1983, Argentina was under the rule of "national restructuring process of the Commission".(Proceso). This military government designed the "national restructuring plan" which hope to carry the full range of national reconstruction. The ideas of economic and political reform of junta largely influenced by international factors. For the "cold war strategy" needs, the U.S. government tried to stop the forces of communism to penetrate Latin America."Anti-leftist" military government gained the full support of the U.S government. Junta-appointed Economy Minister Martinez has a significant international background and he has close ties with the financial and political leaders in US. After the Carter administration took office, the new ’human rights’foreign policy of U.S government is not conducive to the Argentine military government, later, the "Volcker shock" which produced in the United States pushed Argentina into debt crisis and economic stagnation. To divert domestic conflicts, the military government launched the Malvinas War. The failure of foreign war led to the rapid collapse of the junta, and the state enters the era of democratization.Alfonsin’s Radical Party received the political power from the hands of the military,and the democratization began a gradual manner. The democratization process is complex and tortuous, Some officers want to restore the military autocracy or establish a "military guardianship" to the elected government. In foreign relations, the Alfonsin government made efforts to repair relations with western countries and strengthen relations with countries in the Latin American region. In order to obtain new loans, the new government strengthened communications with the IMF and other international financial institutions. Due to the failures of "Austral economic plan" and " Primavera economic plan," Alfonsin’s government was forced to step down early. The main contribution of the reign of Alfonsin’s government was to consolidate the achievements of democratization, but this is mainly due to the international wave of democratization. The United States no longer support the military government of Latin American countries at that time near the end of the Cold War, so it makes democratization proceeded relatively smoothly.The political environment has changed during1990s, the Peronist Party new leader Menem came to power. The new government accepted the new economic ideas of "Washington Consensus" which were promoted by IMF and the United States, the implementation of near-extreme neo-liberal reforms began. Neoliberal reforms changed the entire Argentine society. In foreign relations, the Menem government adopted a pro-US strategy. In Latin America, the new government strengthened relations with countries in the region and actively promoted the establishment of MERCOSUR. The new government cooperated fully with the IMF and other international financial institutions, and received the support of them. With the help of these international financial institutions, the Argentine economy has been stable. But the dependence on IMF and other international financial institutions reduced the autonomy and flexibility of the Argentine economic policy. With the increasing numbers of new loan agreements, Argentina’s foreign debt kept growing. This Greatly affected the confidence of the market, and foreign debt problem was becoming an important reason for the economic crisis in2001-2002.In the late1990s, Peronist party’s increasingly fierce political struggle within the party made their own political base damage. In this case, the Radical Party then formed an alliance with other parties and won the election. Newly appointed Fernando de la Rua government still insists on maintaining the currency board system and Sticks to the IMF’s neo-liberal policy line. IMF is not satisfied with the performance of deficit reduction, austerity, reducing debt in Argentina, so IMF executives decided not to provide financial support to Argentina. IMF’s decision greatly reduced market confidence, large-scale capital flight began and economic crisis broke out. After the economic crisis broke out, De la Rua was forced to resign. Peronist party new leader Duhalde became president, he decisively abolished the currency board system and the neo-liberal economic course. A series of policy adjustments made by Duhalde government did not save the country, and its " national regulatory-type" economic policies was severely criticized by the IMF. When the Kirchner took office, the new government increased state intervention in the economy and stimulated economic recovery by fiscal expansion and public works projects. In foreign political policies, the new government maintained a certain distance from the United States while strengthening cooperation with the region; In foreign economic policies, the new government also distanced IMF and no longer obey its economic policy advice and loan assistance. All these efforts have reduced the impact of external factors on the internal political and economic development in Argentina. Since then, the political and economic situation in Argentina has stabilized in the absence of interference of external factors.From1982to2002, Argentina’s political, economic, foreign relations have undergone drastic changes. The changes of international environment directly induced political democratization and economic liberalization in Argentina, and the great economic crisis between2001-2002was also caused by this powerful external interference. In the open international environment, political democratization did not create favorable conditions for economic development. Influenced by external factors, political democratization was not compatible with economic liberalization. The impact of external factors on the change in Argentine domestic political and economic system can not be ignored. Developing countries like Argentina must take effective measures to cope with the impact of external factors on the domestic in order to ensure long-term stability of the country.