Economic Development

 

• From 1862-1880, Bartolomé Mitre, Domingo Sarmiento, and Nicolás Avellaneda consolidated the republican system.

• In 1878, the first exports of wheat were made, and in 30 years, it became one of the most important exports of Argentina.

• 1879: Frozen lamb could be transported by the ship Le Frigorifique.

• 1815-1820: The Supreme Director restored free trade, and the economy of the Río de la Plata became one of the most open economies in the world.

• Each province in Argentina had their own money, and their values differed, even in cities of the same province.

• 1826-1827: The first president of Argentina, Bernardino Rivadavia developed an economic plan, “the happy experience,” which increased British influence in national politics.

• Based on 5 pillars, they were:

• -Complete free trade and no protectionist policies against British imports.

• -Finance with a central bank managed by British investors.

• -Absolute control of the port of Buenos Aires as the sole source of income from national customs.

• -British exploitation of the national natural resources.

• -An Unitarist national organization centred in Buenos Aires.

• Exports of gold depleted the national reserves. Rivadavia tried to fix it by establishing the “Discount Bank,” a central bank for printing flat money, and was owned by private British investors.

• ↑ Gold was the medium of exchange of the local economy.

• Britain had a huge influence in the economic power of Argentina.

• Juan Manuel de Rosas set a customs law, which had protectionist policies. It also kept the port under the exclusive control of Buenos Aires and refused to call a constituent assembly.

• ↑ It set trade barriers to products produced in the country, and imposed high import tariffs on luxury goods, together with export quotas and tariffs on gold and silver.

• ↑ It was not entirely effective and did not allow the provinces a steady financial income.

• 1838: There was a new currency crisis—the peso papel was devalued by 34%. In 1839, the peso papel lost 66% of its value. It was devalued in 1845 and 1851, also.

• During the time of the years when Valentín Alsina was the governor of the province of Buenos Aires, there was an especially poor economic performance.

• 1866: Attempt to stabilize the currency by using a system of convertibility was made. It restricted the monetary authorities to issue paper currency only if it was fully backed by gold or convertible foreign currency.

• Argentina showed impressive growth from the 1860s to 1930.

 

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economic_history_of_Argentina