“Revealed: The vulture capitalists willing to destroy a nation for a good return”

“Back in 2001, Argentina was in a situation much like that of Greece today.
Its debts were completely unpayable, its economy was in turmoil and a large section of its population had been pushed into poverty. Argentina was following a set of policies laid down by the International Monetary Fund which had sent things from bad to worse.
Despite three years of recession, the economy kept contracting. Over half the population – 20 million people – was living below the poverty line.
Under current international law, a country cannot go bankrupt because, unlike a company or individual, a state can theoretically go on squeezing its people and resources forever. But at Christmas 2001, the people of Argentina said enough was enough.
The government lost control of the country and, in a scene reminiscent of the streets of Greece today, President de la Rua had to be flown out of the government palace in a helicopter. Over those two weeks, Argentina had five Presidents, and defaulted on its debts……
After several years of stagnation Argentina’s economy started growing within a few months. Argentina became the fastest growing economy in the Americas. Eleven million people were pulled out of poverty and unemployment more than halved in the successive 5 years.
Read about the Argentinian precedent in “Revealed: The vulture capitalists willing to destroy a nation for a good return”  on Left Foot Forward.