Argentine Government Research Articles

High Courts and Economic Governance in Argentina and Brazil

High Courts and Economic Governance in Argentina and Brazil

The La Tablada Attack and the Erosion of Civil Rights in Argentina

On January 23, 1989, 42 operatives of a revolutionary group, the Movimiento Todos por la Patria (MTP), attacked the General Belgrano Mechanized Infantry Regiment No. 3 at La Tablada in the province of Buenos Aires. This article analyzes the accusations of human rights violations committed by the armed forces and the police on the attackers in the aftermath of the assault; the skeptical Argentine government’s response to those allegations before the Inter-American Commission of Human Rights (IACHR); and the commission’s conclusions in its 1997 report. It discusses these developments considering a long-term degradation of civil rights in Argentina, and thus, of the meaning of citizenship itself. The report posed electrifying questions in a country grappling with a nascent democracy and the stalled prosecution of dictatorship human rights abusers. A decade and a half into Argentina’s longest period of democratic rule in more than half a century, the IACHR report posed and answered a question that remained glaringly unanswered in Argentina: At what point does a democratic state assume responsibility for the human rights violations of the institutions it governs, notably the police and the military?

Argentina–Import Measures: How a Porsche is worth Peanuts

AbstractThe dispute Argentina-Measures Affecting the Importation of Goods concerns a series of measures imposed by Argentine authorities on economic operators as a condition for obtaining import licenses. These measures were introduced with the goal of advancing the Argentine government's stated policies of re-industrialization, import substitution, and elimination of trade balance deficits. From a legal point of view, the least interesting feature of the dispute was the substantive compatibility of these measures with Article XI:1 GATT as they clearly constituted import restrictions. Identifying and classifying the measures involved, however, proved more challenging: based on vague policy guidelines, devoid of any legal basis, and consisting largely of wholly discretionary ad hoc action by the authorities, clouded in confidential obscurity, the measures escaped familiar categories and distinctions of WTO law. From an economic perspective, although Argentina's measures appear to have had no impact on its overall imports, they imposed large costs on foreign companies, as well as on Argentine importers and consumers.

Glaciers: The Politics of Ice. By Jorge Daniel Taillant. Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press. $29.95. xxiii + 334 p.; ill.; index. ISBN: 978-0-19-936725-2. 2015.

Previous articleNext article FreeConservation BiologyGlaciers: The Politics of Ice. By Jorge Daniel Taillant. Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press. $29.95. xxiii + 334 p.; ill.; index. ISBN: 978-0-19-936725-2. 2015.Santiago de la PeñaSantiago de la PeñaByrd Polar & Climate Research Center, Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio Search for more articles by this author Byrd Polar & Climate Research Center, Ohio State University, Columbus, OhioPDFPDF PLUSFull Text Add to favoritesDownload CitationTrack CitationsPermissionsReprints Share onFacebookTwitterLinked InRedditEmailQR Code SectionsMoreAt its core, Glaciers: The Politics of Ice is a recount of the events and the environmental activism work in Argentina that led to a legal and political movement culminating in the important glacier conservation law of 2010 that protects all glaciers in this Andean country. In an easy-to-follow and entertaining prose, the author describes the harmful effects that specifically industrial mining in the Andes was having on the glaciers of the region, and the steps taken to protect the glaciers legally from international conglomerates. The stories of how small changes were affecting the communities in the proximity of mining operations in the Andes is revealing, and the descriptions fit nicely into a regional context, with explanations of the impact that the disappearance of glaciers in the Andes is having on society.Although this law is certainly important and sets a precedent, there are a few personal accounts where I perceived a certain bias and maybe a bit of unconscious self-promotion, not a surprise given the role Taillant had in the movement, and the personal relationship he had with the environmental minister in the Argentinian government at the time of the enactment of the protection law. The author’s message about the damage that mining companies have done to the glaciers of Chile and Argentina is clear, and there is no doubt about the importance of the legislative work. However, Taillant does not really acknowledge the significant efforts done in other countries to protect glaciated areas. Although it is true that the Andean law explicitly protects glaciers regardless of size, in countries such as Norway, Denmark, Canada, and the United States, there is environmental legislation that has made whole glaciated regions protected reserves and national parks that not only protect the glacier itself, but also the whole ecosystem surrounding it. For instance, in Greenland, not only is mining not permitted near glaciers, the now autonomous government took away every single mining license a few years ago.The book also has the objective to introduce readers to glaciers and the science of glaciers. In a clear nod to Argentinian author Julio Cortázar, Taillant alternates the book chapters, describing in some the story of the glacier-protecting law and in others the principles of glaciers. In this last account the author fails to deliver. The descriptions are vague and there is too much missing information for it to be considered a textbook on glaciers. The specifics regarding glaciers in the Andes are the best section in these chapters, showing Taillant’s knowledge in the area, but there are too many references missing for this to be a comprehensive review of glacier science.Overall, this is a very interesting account, which could be considered from an insider’s perspective, of the environmental movement driving glacier protection in Argentina. It highlights some interesting facts about the local communities in the Andes and their relationship with glaciers and the mining companies that are threating them. I found myself wanting to get more details regarding these relationships, and the culture surrounding life in glaciated areas of the Andes. The effort made to include principles in glacier science is commendable, but ultimately makes it feel like you are reading two unfinished books instead of a more detailed one. Previous articleNext article DetailsFiguresReferencesCited by The Quarterly Review of Biology Volume 92, Number 1March 2017 Published in association with Stony Brook University Article DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1086/690861 For permission to reuse, please contact [email protected]PDF download Crossref reports no articles citing this article.

Book Review: A World to Build: New Paths toward Twenty-First Century Socialism by Marta Harnecker

Marta Harnecker A World to Build: New Paths toward Twenty-First Century Socialism, New York: Monthly Review Press, 2015; 224 pp: ISBN: 9781583674673, 18.20 [pounds sterling] (pbk). Marta Harnecker's A World to Build aims to serve as a tool for the praxis of social and political activists of 21st century Latin America. In particular, it is aimed at those who fight neoliberalism and oppose it with a socialist and radically democratic project (Mouffe & Laclau 2001). The book is written in a way that is based on the experience of struggle and the efforts of those seeking social change, and by different left-wing (or progressive) governments and social movements, using a Marxist economic-political theoretical framework. The author provides an overview of the Latin American progressive context. This includes the propitious correlation of forces that (at least until 2015) existed in the continent for the movements of socialist change. This is followed by a characterisation of the '21st century socialism' which these movements sought to build and, with it, the difficulties and challenges that appear in the path of the new 'political tool' that should help to impulse the changes. All this, we should say, is part of an implicit discussion with social movements and the autonomist thesis that informs many of them (Holloway 2005). The book includes a constant productive dialogue between the social-political context of Latin America, and diverse theories and political alternatives, always proposing orientations to the forces of social change that oppose neoliberalism in the continent. It's in this context that the title of the book defiantly emerges and forces the question 'What world to build'? Citing political leaders such as Chavez (2007) and academics such as Moulian (2000), the author answers, 'a socialist world'. But, she continues, instead of the old bureaucratic socialism, a new one of popular leadership that really aims to accomplish the socialisation of the means of production and the organisation of them in the control of workers who participate in the production. A socialism that allows us to reach a more total form of human development, in which the person is understood as a social being, thereby transcending the division between intellectual and manual work. This socialism, Harnecker says, should take Marx and Engels but should also go beyond them, rescuing for example new elaborations such as the ones of Lebowitz (2008). In sum, we should seek a democratic socialism in which popular power plays a central role, aiming to consolidate an auto-government of the people, where political parties and governments seek only to orientate social processes, using the potentials of participatory --not bourgeois--and delegate democracy, where power is spread, where bureaucratic vices and corruption are fought: an ecologist and feminist socialism. How is this world possible? Harnecker's book provides ample empirical evidence to show the propitious correlation of forces that socialist alternatives faced from the end of 20th century until the beginning of the present one, both inside and outside Latin America. The first signs of this, the author argues, come with the social mobilisations to resist neoliberalism in the 1990s. A second wave can be seen in the political consolidations that these movements reach with diverse strength, where victories like the ones of Chavez in Venezuela (1998), Morales in Bolivia (2006) and Correa in Ecuador (2007) stand out. With this and other advances of popular forces, the author argues that the continent is facing a stage of'transition to socialism'. Kirchner's governments in Argentina (2003-2015) and the ones of Lula and Roussef (2003-2016) in Brazil are also named as 'advances', but Harnecker doesn't explore much about them. Although she considers them 'left wing governments', she doesn't group them into the ones that will contribute to the construction of 21 st century socialism, nor does she name their reforms as ones that can help the state to construct popular power (Urrutia & Seguel 2013). …

Argentina Currency Peg and Fiscal Reforms (A)

Case (A) starts by reviewing several attempts made by three consecutive Argentine governments between 1973 and 1989 to fight the three-digit inflation rates that had troubled the country since the end of World War II. Next, the implementation of the currency peg under the broad umbrella called the “convertibility plan” is discussed and its rationale is explained in connection with the Central Bank's role in controlling inflation and market expectations. The case then outlines the fiscal reforms introduced in the early 1990s concerning public finance, market regulation, and social security. Finally, the outcomes of these policies are briefly summarized.Argentina's currency collapse provides a vivid illustration of the perils of government control on exchange rates in an export-dependent economy. Students will learn and understand (1) the role of herding and expectations in currency collapse; (2) the interdependence of fiscal and monetary policies; (3) monetary base management and its effects on inflation; (4) the advantages and drawbacks of currency pegs; (5) the story of the late 1990s financial and currency crises.

Argentine government policies: impacts on the beef sector

Beef is a staple food for Argentine consumers, and although the country has been a major exporter, the highest proportion of beef production is consumed in the domestic market. With rising inflation rates in the last 5 years, and given the beef prices’ strong weight on the composition of the Consumer Price Index, the Argentine government began taking measures to control it. They initially forced price agreements with members of the marketing and production chain and ended up with a total ban on exports. The results were not as expected and caused serious distortions at different levels of the beef chain. This study aimed to determine whether the impact on some economic and production variables would have been different without such intervention. A VAR model was estimated in order to compare the observed behavior with intervention measures and estimated predictions with a theoretically free market.

Access to public information in Argentina with particular reference to personal and institutional data protection

[extract] Right of access to public information (hereinafter, RAPI) appears as a precondition for the full exercise of the right to freedom of expression, due to the fact that it is a right particularly important for the consolidation, working, and conservation of democratic regimes. On the one hand, RAPI is an essential requirement to guarantee transparency and an effective management of public affairs. On the other hand, free access to information is a means for citizens to exercise in an appropriate manner their political rights, in a representative and participatory democratic system. Unlike other countries where it appears as an essential right, in the Argentine Republic, it is considered a Human Right protected by our National Constitution and by International Human Rights Treaties with constitutional status that has developed during the last decade. But this was not always like that: until 1994 constitutional amendment, it was only implied. With this amendment, although the right is not included in our legal system as a law establishing the Argentine Government’s obligation to provide information to citizens, the Government’s obligation to facilitate the access to public information in particular cases is specifically established, in addition to the already mentioned Human Rights Instruments included in the Constitution. The right is implied in the National Constitution, but it is clearly stated in specific cases.

Social Policies and Center-Right Governments in Argentina and Chile

AbstractLatin America's “left turn” expanded cash transfers and public services, contributing to lower poverty and inequality. Recently, right-leaning candidates and parties have begun to win back seats in the legislature, and in some cases have captured the executive branch. This shift has sparked debate about the future of Latin America's welfare states. This article analyzes social policy reforms enacted by two recent right-leaning governments: that of Sebastián Piñera in Chile (2010–14) and Mauricio Macri in Argentina (2015–). It finds that contrary to neoliberal adjustment policies of the past, neither Macri nor Piñera engaged in privatization or deep spending cuts. Instead, both administrations facilitated a process of policy drift in some sectors and marginal expansion in others. Policy legacies and the strength of the opposition help to explain these outcomes, suggesting that Latin America's political context has been transformed by the consolidation of democracy and the experience of left party rule.

Social Policies and Center-Right Governments in Argentina and Chile

AbstractLatin America's “left turn” expanded cash transfers and public services, contributing to lower poverty and inequality. Recently, right-leaning candidates and parties have begun to win back seats in the legislature, and in some cases have captured the executive branch. This shift has sparked debate about the future of Latin America's welfare states. This article analyzes social policy reforms enacted by two recent right-leaning governments: that of Sebastián Piñera in Chile (2010–14) and Mauricio Macri in Argentina (2015–). It finds that contrary to neoliberal adjustment policies of the past, neither Macri nor Piñera engaged in privatization or deep spending cuts. Instead, both administrations facilitated a process of policy drift in some sectors and marginal expansion in others. Policy legacies and the strength of the opposition help to explain these outcomes, suggesting that Latin America's political context has been transformed by the consolidation of democracy and the experience of left party rule.

¿La vuelta a los dos demonios? Cine y pasado reciente en Argentina: una lectura actual / The Return to the theory of two demons? Cinema and Recent Past in Argentina: a current reading

This article focuses on three moments of (Zarco, 2016: 12-13), meaning space, visibility and limits that different governments have given to reconstruction of Argentine recent past. Depending on mnemonic strategy followed by each government, films productions have had more or less state support, thus implying greater or lesser public impact. To deal with politics of memory of current Argentine government, we must look into what we call fourth moment of memory, the return to two demons (2016), with return to theory of two demons , already suggested during government of Alfonsin (1983-1989).

Permafrost distribution map of San Juan Dry Andes (Argentina) based on rock glacier sites

Rock glaciers are frozen water reservoirs in mountainous areas. Water resources are important for the local populations and economies. The presence of rock glaciers is commonly used as a direct indicator of mountain permafrost conditions. Over 500 active rock glaciers have been identified, showing that elevations between 3500 and 4500 m asl., a south-facing or east-facing aspect, areas with relatively low solar radiation and low mean annual air temperature (−4 to 0 °C) favour the existence of rock glaciers in this region. The permafrost probability model, for Dry Andes of San Juan Province between latitudes 28º30′S and 32°30′S, have been analyzed by logistic regression models based on the active rock glaciers occurrence in relation to some topoclimatic variables such as altitude, aspect, mean annual temperature, mean annual precipitation and solar radiation, using optical remote sensing techniques in a GIS environment. The predictive performances of the model have been estimated by known rock glaciers locations and by the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUROC). This regional permafrost map can be applied by the Argentinean Government for their recent initiatives which include creating inventories, monitoring and studying ice masses along the Argentinean Andes. Further, this generated map provides valuable input data for permafrost scenarios and contributes to a better understanding of our geosystem.

Offsetting and Sterilization Mechanisms in Argentina (1992–2014)

Abstract We test the existence and extent of capital flows as an offset to monetary policy in Argentina from 1992–2014. After providing an analysis of Argentina’s past and current economic conditions, a theoretical framework of the offset and sterilization mechanisms will be provided. Then, with the use of VAR and IRF analysis, it is shown that a one standard deviation shock to monetary policy (measured by changes in net domestic assets) is offset between 27 %–32 % by responsive capital flows (measured by changes in net foreign assets). Furthermore, the results indicate that the Argentine government more than sterilizes shocks to capital flows through compensation of expansionary monetary policy. Offsetting- und Sterilisationsmechanismen in Argentinien (1992–2014) Zusammenfassung Wir testen die Existenz und das Ausmas von Kapitalflussen, welche in Reaktion auf Anderungen der argentinischen Geldpolitik der Jahre 1992–2014 entstanden sind und diese konterkariert haben. Nach einer kurzen Analyse der aktuelle...

Ending the Tyranny of Paper in Argentina

In the city of Buenos Aires, paper-based management had prevented improvement in state services. The authors discuss their work transforming this environment to one that completely eliminated paper. Implementing a full electronic document management system has resulted in the massive involvement of citizens in administrative procedures, new behaviors in the organization, and improved expeditiousness in processing, operational control, and transparency. The next step is to bring similar changes to the federal government of Argentina.

Alteration of hydrogeomorphic processes by invasive beavers in southern South America

The North American beaver (Castor canadensis) is an invasive species in southern Patagonia, introduced in 1946 as part of a program by the Argentine government to augment furbearers. Research focus has turned from inventorying the beaver's population and ecosystem impacts toward eradicating it from the region and restoring degraded areas. Successful restoration, however, requires a fuller determination of how beavers have altered physical landscape characteristics, and of what landscape features and biota need to be restored. Our goal was to identify changes to the physical landscape by invasive beaver. We analyzed channel and valley morphology in detail at one site in each of the three major forest zones occurring on the Argentine side of Tierra del Fuego's main island. We also assessed 48 additional sites across the three forest biomes on the island to identify a broader range of aquatic habitat occupied and modified by beaver. Beaver build dams with Nothofagus tree branches on streams, which triggered mineral sediment accretion processes in the riparian zone, but not in ways consistent with the beaver meadow theory and only at a few sites. At the majority of sites, beavers actively excavated peat and mineral sediment, moved thousands of cubic meters of sediment within their occupied landscapes and used it to build dams. Beaver were also common in fen ecosystems where pond formation inundated and drowned peat forming mosses and sedges, and triggered a massive invasion of exotic plant species. Results highlight that restoration of fen ecosystems is a previously unrecognized but pressing and challenging restoration need in addition to reforestation of Nothofagus riparian forests. We recommend that decision-makers include the full ecosystem diversity of the Fuegian landscape in their beaver eradiation and ecosystem restoration plans.

Solar PV diffusion in Argentina: policy implications for a high penetration scenario until 2030

This paper aims at proposing a methodological approach to identify the minimal contents for a future solar photovoltaic (PV) roadmap in Argentina, focusing on the actions required to reach a high penetration scenario until 2030. Argentina has been facing energy supply shortages caused by a combination of increasing in energy demand and government inability to meet the additional demand on time with the available resources (mainly fossil fuels). Although versatile and scalable, Solar PV technology has been receiving low incentives from Argentinean government. Two literature’s perspectives - the functional perspective of technological innovation systems and prospective studies (mainly normative scenarios and roadmaps as a planning tool) – were applied to set the proposed high penetration scenario up to 2030. Stakeholders and expert’s visions, global path of technology and a local prospective study made by local experts in 2012 were used to validate the proposed scenario. As main results, a way to build a future solar photovoltaic scenario in urban and suburban areas is described; minimal contents that can orient a local roadmap construction are defined, and the necessary improvements of solar PV framework in Argentina (both regulatory and promotion aspects) are pointed out.

Menemismo y kirchnerismo frente al gasto estatal en educación y seguridad

Objetivos: analizar la educación y la seguridad estatales en Argentina a partir del gasto público durante los gobiernos de Carlos Menem (1989-1999) y Néstor Kirchner (2003-2007). Metodología: investigación documental que tomó como fuente principal la “Serie de Gasto Público Consolidado por finalidad y función (1980-2008)” del Ministerio de Economía de la Nación, actualizada a julio de 2010. La evolución del Producto Interno Bruto a valores constantes surge de un cálculo propio. Se muestran los datos entre 1980 y 2008 para observar el auge y la caída del “modelo neoliberal” y el retorno a la estrategia estatal, y observar los momentos de crisis económicas.Resultados: a diferencia de las posiciones dominantes en torno a la cuestión, se observó que el Estado argentino no desapareció” en la década del 90, en términos de financiamiento de los rubros analizados. En educación, el gasto estatal ha crecido considerablemente, multiplicando por tres su participación en el Producto Interno Bruto. Defensa y seguridad, por el contrario, pierde peso relativo frente a otros rubros. La “descentralización” es un fenómeno que atañe a ambos rubros.Conclusiones: el gasto público depende de la capacidad recaudadora del Estado y, por tanto, de la situación general de la economía. El análisis de los períodos de crisis económica y la correspondiente caída del gasto público manifiesta que no tiene un comportamiento anti-cíclico. En el largo plazo, la participación del Estado en la economía ha crecido, pero se desploma ante las crisis.

La Agricultura Familiar en Argentina: entre el consenso, la coerción, la inclusión y la subordinación

En toda la región del Cono Sur se ha vivido un intenso proceso de revitalización de la “Agricultura Familiar” (AF). En Argentina desde 2003, pero más fuertemente desde el año 2008, se ejecutan políticas para el sector. En este trabajo analizaremos la aparición pública de la AF en la esfera estatal como parte de los procesos de construcción de hegemonía, desde un marco teórico interdisciplinario. El trabajo forma parte de una investigación realizada en dos partidos de la Provincia de Buenos Aires (Argentina). El mismo fue realizado con una metodología cualitativa y empírica, con el objetivo de echar luz sobre las relaciones de poder que son las que determinan las características del territorio.

Ruddy-headed GooseChloephaga rubidiceps: former plague and present protected species on the edge of extinction

SummaryThe Ruddy-headed GooseChloephaga rubidicepshas two separate and genetically distinct populations, one sedentary that inhabits the Malvinas/Falklands Islands and another migratory, which inhabits continental southern South America. New information suggests that these populations should be considered as different evolutionarily significant units. The latter population breeds in Austral Patagonia (Argentina and Chile) and overwinters in Central Argentina. It was a very common species in Austral Magellanic steppe grasslands before 1931, when it was declared an “agricultural pest” by the Argentinian government, together with other sheldgeese species. Since then, the continental Ruddy-headed Goose population has declined becoming one of the scarcest species in Austral Magellanic steppe. Nowadays, its population is categorised as critically endangered in Argentina and endangered in Chile. We present data from six road censuses conducted in the breeding areas of Santa Cruz and Tierra del Fuego provinces, Argentina, during 2013–2014 and 2014–2015 (>4600 km, 70 days) and review population trends of the Ruddy-headed Goose since the early 1900s. We counted a maximum of 19 individuals in Santa Cruz and 49 in Tierra del Fuego throughout the breeding season. A literature review indicates that during the last 40 years the size of continental population of Ruddy-headed Goose has been < 800 individuals, approximately 10% of the estimated population in the 1900s. This decline matches the period following the application of control techniques and the introduction of exotic predator species in the breeding grounds of Tierra del Fuego. We review and discuss formerly proposed conservation actions that may have a positive and rapid effect on sheldgoose numbers recovery. We suggest that the continental population of Ruddy-headed Goose should on a precautionary basis be treated as a critically endangered population until genetic studies determine whether we are in the presence of a new ‘Critically Endangered’ species.

UNASUR: Regional Pluralism as a Strategic Outcome

South America features a very particular regional architecture, one which is characterised by the proliferation and overlapping of regional organisations, with UNASUR at the centre. UNASUR is an intergovernmental organisation with no supranational institutions. The article will argue that institutional flexibility, which is both a core element of South American regionalism and a specific institutional feature of UNASUR, corresponds with the key interests of the founding members of this organisation. Based on this assumption, the article will analyse the strategies and policies of the various Argentinean governments during the period when UNASUR was created (1999–2008). It will differentiate between a ‘uniaxial’ regional integration approach structured around one thematic axis and a ‘multiaxial’ approach evolving along multiple axes in parallel; it will also ask to what extent the new regional architecture corresponds to the core interests of that country. For the Argentinean government, it was important to ensure that UNASUR would not constrain its foreign policy options. The result was the variable geometry codified in the UNASUR Constitutive Treaty.