+44 (0)20 
Read down for an insight into the 21st century in Argentina.
Facing recession and impossible debts with the IMF, De la Rua implemented austerity measures, but these were not enough to save the peso, and many jobs which were lost in late 2000. Young people started to leave the country in massive numbers, looking for work elsewhere, many taking their savings with them. In an attempt to keep reserves of cash within the country, De la Rua started the corralito (literally meaning 'little pen'), a law determining that individuals could only withdraw 250 pesos from their accounts per week, and converting savings to government bonds. In December 2001, the people of Buenos Aires and other large cities took to the streets in an unprecedented display both of violent rioting and peaceful pot bashing by furious middle-class housewives, the caserolazas.
The country went through five presidents in a period of a couple of months, but nothing could prevent devaluation, and in January 2002 the peso lost its parity with the dollar. Suddenly Argentina plummeted from being a first world nation on a par (or so the Argentines thought) with the United States, to being a third world state, with a weak currency, and little hope of bolstering the economy. The blow to the Argentine psyche has been severe.
Duhalde was the last of the quick succession of presidents, and attempted to impose some order, appeasing the IMF by sacking a large number of public employees who were a considerable drain on public spending. However, corruption remained and street crime increased, with an alarming fashion for express kidnappings among the wealthier Buenos Aires families. Elections held in May 2003 threatened to return Menem to power, in a brief rush of nostalgia for the days of apparent prosperity. But fearing defeat, before a second election could be held Menem stepped down, and ex-governor of Santa Cruz province, Nestor Kirchner, came to power with a meagre 24% of the country's votes. He's not much liked throughout the country, particularly by landowners and farmers, since he has raised taxes on exports to an absurd degree. While unemployment remains rife in Argentina, many criticise Kirchner for maintaining a dependency on Plan Trabajar, the government handout to the unemployed, which is eroding the culture of work, some fear.
