Re: Incomes and Exchange rates; part 2

[Juan Jose Barrios <jota@xxxxxxxxx>]

At 03:16 PM 9/17/97 +0000, you wrote:
>John,
>
>
>> No. I am speaking only of an angered populace like those who deposed
>> Ceaucescu [Sp?] and the marching mothers of Argentina who aroused enough
>> sympathy to get action. [They did, didn't they?]
>
>I'd like to tell you a few things about popular movements in my
>country (Argentina). The marching mothers of Plaza de Mayo had
>nothing to do with the changes in our economy. In fact, no organized
>group had to do with it. If things have changed here, it's due to the
>hyperinflation. Only after having 289% of inflation in a month, we
>realized things had to change. It were the supermarkets ransacking
>that showed us we couldn't live with such a high inflation. For the
>first time in decades, we changed governments in a legal and
>organized way. A democratic president left government 6 months
>earlier than expected and another democratically chosen president
>came into office. There was no revolution in the streets, the
>revolution was in our minds.

Well, well well. As a uruguayan , I am obviously interested in what happens
in Argentina. I agree that mothers of Plaza de Mayo must not be considered
an economic phenomena. To do that it is certainly a mistake.
On the other hand, Laura, although I agree that inflation was surely a
reason for 'the revolution' (your words), the incredible mistake that the
current government is making is to forget where the people in Argentina is
coming from, the country's history, your (mine) roots. There is no way
Argentina can move forward within the current radical neoclassical (imported
from some academic thinking from the US) economic regime. The other day, a
uruguayan economic weekly magazine (Busqueda) *proudly* told its readers
that the chilean 'micracle',( starting in 1973) managed to reduce the amount
of people living below the poverty line  from 45% to 30% since 1992 to
1997!!!! Doesn't it sound almost unbelievable?  Argentina is going trhu a
similar (more radical) process

Your revolution is the revolution of just a few, not of the people from
Argentina. Your country is living a social caos. And, as a *minor* fact,
there is almost nothing that you can do in Argentina without leaving a
'present' somewhere in the process....

Sorry to the net for commenting about 'domestic' issues. Maybe it is of
interest to someone.

Chau Laura, nos vemos.

Juanjo