Argentina’s Long Path to Reform

Argentina’s Long Path to Reform
Mauricio Macri speaks to the press after voting in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on Nov. 22, 2015. In his first 16 months in office, Macri has pushed through many tough reforms. EITAN ABRAMOVICH/AFP/GETTY IMAGES
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BUENOS AIRES, Argentina—Argentina has seen worse: 20,000 percent inflation, currency devaluation, military coups, and sovereign defaults. Compared to the country’s history, the current situation seems benign. And yet despite, and maybe because of, fast-paced reforms, President Mauricio Macri faces strong headwinds on his quest to realize Argentina’s full potential.

“Argentina will be among the highest-growth countries in the next 20 years,” said Macri, at the opening conference of the World Economic Forum (WEF) on Latin America in Buenos Aires on April 6.

Macri, who was elected on a reform platform in December 2015, vowed to make the country competitive, to open it up to international investors, and to reinvigorate trade. He has delivered on many of his campaign promises.

However, the situation left by his predecessor Cristina Kirchner is complicated, and Argentines don’t have much patience for political reforms if they don’t deliver the goods fast.

Valentin Schmid
Valentin Schmid
Author
Valentin Schmid is a former business editor for the Epoch Times. His areas of expertise include global macroeconomic trends and financial markets, China, and Bitcoin. Before joining the paper in 2012, he worked as a portfolio manager for BNP Paribas in Amsterdam, London, Paris, and Hong Kong.