The president of the Foreign Trade and Investment Bank (BICE), Jose Ignacio De Mendiguren, published a new book in which, 20 years after the December 2001 crisis that put an end to the convertibility system, he proposes to revisit that historical time to read it in a current key and make a great national agreement.
In “The Untold Story of the Great Crisis. How to Agree on a Path to Development”, the textile entrepreneur recounts his experiences as leader of the Argentine Industrial Union (UIA) at the end of the 90s, the creation of the Productive Group in alliance with the Argentine Rural Confederations and the Construction Chamber, and his subsequent passage as Minister of Production during the government of Eduardo Duhalde, in 2002.
“It is not a history book, but rather it deals with the problems that Argentina has to face its recurrent crises. That we can learn from mistakes so as not to make them again, I want that to be my contribution,” said De Mendiguren in dialogue with Télam.
“It is not a history book, but rather it deals with the problems that Argentina has to face its recurring crises”Jose Ignacio De Mendiguren
Regarding the similarities between that time and the current one, the businessman explained that “in February 2002 we stopped falling and in March the activity began to recover and growth lasted until 2011. First they said it was a rebound and when we continued to grow they said it was a little summer “.
“Today the same economists and politicians who were in 2001 continue to discourage people from investing, it is the same mechanism. Those are the similarities,” De Mendiguren said.
“What we need is for Argentina to sustain the current growth but changing its productive matrix. That is, instead of exporting wheat we trade noodles; instead of exporting leather they are shoes; instead of soybeans, biofuels. We have to double down. Argentina’s income, do not adjust, “added the official.
In that sense, the historic UIA leader said that bet on the emerging political generation and trusts that “between part of the opposition and the ruling party, an agreement can be reached on the growth plan. We export 10% of what Chile exports in mining, the agri-food chain does not add enough value. The way forward is to agree on figures. concrete “.
“There is a group of young politicians on both sides of the rift who have a future, but for that the country needs to grow. There is a great possibility of agreement because an impoverished country is of use to no one,” said De Mendiguren.
“There is a group of young politicians on both sides of the rift who have a future, but for that the country needs to grow. There is a great possibility of agreement because no one is served by an impoverished country”Jose Ignacio De Mendiguren
On the negotiation with the IMF, the current president of BICE considered that “it is important that they give us time and we guide them to change the productive matrix.”
The agency “must be shown the new production matrix that we are going to have. Today we export at a rate of 400 dollars per ton and we import at a rate of 1,600 dollars, the numbers are not close to Argentina,” he added.
About the book
“The Untold Story of the Great Crisis” recounts De Mendiguren’s experiences in the tumultuous years of the late 1990s and early 2000s, when the country was plunged into a deep social and economic crisis.
With an eye on today, the businessman looks back on that time and rescues the agreements reached between different political parties and social and economic actors such as the UIA, the CGT and the Church in pursuit of sealing a new stage of industrial and employment recovery.
“There is a group of young politicians on both sides of the rift who have a future, but for that the country needs to grow”Jose Ignacio De Mendiguren
“From the worst social, political and economic crisis due to the explosion of convertibility, we went on to the longest period of growth in Argentine history, which was 2002-2011. Those national policies, possible thanks to the unity of the national field, were very successful, “says De Mendiguren.
Currently, he proposes to seek a path of similar understanding between the political and economic leadership, to change “the productive matrix” of the country and achieve sustained growth that adds value and generates formal employment.
