Forgotten World (117): Argentina
Argentina stretches 4,000 km from its sub-tropical north to the sub-antarctic south. It is rich in resources, has a well-educated workforce and is one of South America’s largest economies. But it has also fallen prey to a boom and bust cycle with a particularly dramatic economic collapse in 2002. There has been a recent economic boom but still poverty is rife and unemployment is high.
At the end of 2007, Argentina had the unusual experience of following one President Nestor Kirchner by another member of the family, his wife Cristina Fernandez. The main challenge she faces is the renewed threat of high inflation. A quarter of the Argentine population of 40M still lives in poverty and any rise in the prices of basic commodities is likely to have a devastating impact.