At the end of the nineteenth century, Argentina was seen by many as on the cusp of becoming a great power. Yet as you'll know, that never happened and instead Argentina declined relative to the rest of the developed world. But why? To find out watch this short and simple animated documentary.

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Sources:
On the origins of Latin American economic diversity. The Argentine case 1875-1914 by Vicente Vázquez—Presedo

Party and State in Peronist Argentina, 1945-1955 by Walter Little

External Dependence, Demographic Burdens, and Argentine Economic Decline After the Belle Époque by Alan M. Taylor

In 1895, the average Argentinian was roughly as rich as the average American.

a half times richer than the average Argentinian.

So, in the final years of the 19th century, Argentina was seen as a potential great power.

It had high levels of economic growth, mostly due to the export of meat and the massive inflow of European and American investment.

Argentina's government at this point, though, was, to put it mildly, quite corrupt.

Now, this growth couldn't last forever, and sure enough, it didn't, and growth rates slowed in the wake of World War 1.

Much of this was down to the fact that the countries investing in Argentina were now broke.

Fortunately though, in 1929 things got much better for Argentina, and by much better I mean worse because Great Depression.

Now, like most nations, Argentina did not have a fun time during the Great Depression and its primary export was hit pretty hard but have no fear, Britain, Argentina's primary export market was there to help and signed a deal with the Argentinian government.

In this, Britain was granted a monopoly on selling coal to Argentina and also preferred trade status.

And also British companies would be allowed to effectively control the Argentinian meat market.

Now, a country giving away control of its primary export may seem like a bad idea, and that's because it is.

That said, the rulers of Argentina didn't care because this made them very rich.

The economic collapse and slowdown in the wake of the Great Depression meant that your average Argentinian began to feel a lot poorer.

This, shockingly, led to widespread political discontent and extremism and a lot of military coups in the following decades.

1 man who rose to prominence as a result of this instability was Juan Perón, who took office in 1946.

His primary goals were to remove British influence in the economy, to industrialise the nation and to decrease inequality.

Now, to be fair to Perón, he did succeed in his aims.

At first, an Argentina had a five-year economic boom.

However, this didn't last and Perón's popularity declined as economic woes returned to Argentina.

This was mostly due to the fact that he nationalised everything owned by foreigners, which scared off investors because nobody likes having their stuff taken.

Perón was himself a victim of a military coup and spent about 20 years in exile and during this time Argentina never recovered.

Spending couldn't be brought under control for several reasons.

First, social programs and investment were extremely popular with the people.

Second, the government had to spend lots of money on the military to maintain its power.

And 3, internationally, The Argentine peso was seen as worth less and less, which made imports much more expensive.

Even when Perón returned as president in the 1970s, he couldn't fix these issues, which led to massive levels of polarisation and, of course, inflation.

And in the end, his successor, his wife, was overthrown in 1976 by Argentina's infamous military junta.

It failed to get spending under control, it lost an expensive war, and then it promptly fell apart, leaving the country in a worse shape than it found it.

And further efforts to change the pesos, switches between interventionist and laissez-faire economic policies, and rampant corruption meant that Argentina saw a solid 50-year period of economic turmoil.

And it was because of these reasons, economic subservience to another country, decades of out-of-control spending and periods of immense political turmoil and dictatorship, that meant that Argentina would never get back to the growth of the previous century.

I hope you enjoyed this episode and thank you for watching with a special thanks to my patrons James Bizonette, Kelly Moneymaker, Anthony Beckett, The Pastry Section, Danny Maloney, Rob Waterhouse, Moe, Aaron the White, James Castagneda, Jordan Longley, Jerry Lambdin, Marcus Arsner, Gustav Swann, John Bailey, Cooling Castleman, Rashid Ali, Spinning 3 Plates, Phil de Oink Oink, Izzy, David Silverman, Maggie Pakskowski, Winston Cawood, Spencer Lightfoot, Robert Wetzel, Fortunate Calf, Lexi Schwin, Sky Chappelle, and Marvin Casale.

Turns out militaries can't run economies.


Speaker 0: In 1895, the average Argentinian was roughly as rich as the average American. In 1995, the average American was 3 and

Speaker 1: a half times richer than the average Argentinian. But why? Why did Argentina decline? So, in the final years of the 19th century, Argentina was seen as a potential great power. It had high levels of economic growth, mostly due to the export of meat and the massive inflow of European and American investment.

Argentina's government at this point, though, was, to put it mildly, quite corrupt. Now, this growth couldn't last forever, and sure enough, it didn't, and growth rates slowed in the wake of World War 1. Much of this was down to the fact that the countries investing in Argentina were now broke. Fortunately though, in 1929 things got much better for Argentina, and by much better I mean worse because Great Depression. Now, like most nations, Argentina did not have a fun time during the Great Depression and its primary export was hit pretty hard but have no fear, Britain, Argentina's primary export market was there to help and signed a deal with the Argentinian government.

In this, Britain was granted a monopoly on selling coal to Argentina and also preferred trade status. And also British companies would be allowed to effectively control the Argentinian meat market. Now, a country giving away control of its primary export may seem like a bad idea, and that's because it is. That said, the rulers of Argentina didn't care because this made them very rich. The economic collapse and slowdown in the wake of the Great Depression meant that your average Argentinian began to feel a lot poorer.

This, shockingly, led to widespread political discontent and extremism and a lot of military coups in the following decades. 1 man who rose to prominence as a result of this instability was Juan Perón, who took office in 1946. His primary goals were to remove British influence in the economy, to industrialise the nation and to decrease inequality. Now, to be fair to Perón, he did succeed in his aims. At first, an Argentina had a five-year economic boom.

However, this didn't last and Perón's popularity declined as economic woes returned to Argentina. This was mostly due to the fact that he nationalised everything owned by foreigners, which scared off investors because nobody likes having their stuff taken. Perón was himself a victim of a military coup and spent about 20 years in exile and during this time Argentina never recovered. Spending couldn't be brought under control for several reasons. First, social programs and investment were extremely popular with the people.

Second, the government had to spend lots of money on the military to maintain its power. And 3, internationally, The Argentine peso was seen as worth less and less, which made imports much more expensive. Even when Perón returned as president in the 1970s, he couldn't fix these issues, which led to massive levels of polarisation and, of course, inflation. And in the end, his successor, his wife, was overthrown in 1976 by Argentina's infamous military junta. The junta did 3 things.

It failed to get spending under control, it lost an expensive war, and then it promptly fell apart, leaving the country in a worse shape than it found it. And further efforts to change the pesos, switches between interventionist and laissez-faire economic policies, and rampant corruption meant that Argentina saw a solid 50-year period of economic turmoil. And it was because of these reasons, economic subservience to another country, decades of out-of-control spending and periods of immense political turmoil and dictatorship, that meant that Argentina would never get back to the growth of the previous century. I hope you enjoyed this episode and thank you for watching with a special thanks to my patrons James Bizonette, Kelly Moneymaker, Anthony Beckett, The Pastry Section, Danny Maloney, Rob Waterhouse, Moe, Aaron the White, James Castagneda, Jordan Longley, Jerry Lambdin, Marcus Arsner, Gustav Swann, John Bailey, Cooling Castleman, Rashid Ali, Spinning 3 Plates, Phil de Oink Oink, Izzy, David Silverman, Maggie Pakskowski, Winston Cawood, Spencer Lightfoot, Robert Wetzel, Fortunate Calf, Lexi Schwin, Sky Chappelle, and Marvin Casale. Turns out militaries can't run economies.

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Why did Argentina Decline? (Short Animated Documentary)