In Argentina’s Oil, a Glimpse of Latin America’s Left : NPR
At the moment, it’s Argentina’s expropriation of Repsol affiliate YPF that is getting attention across the region, making Fernandez de Kirchner a champion to some on the left.
“Clearly, YPF is the biggest, most symbolic nationalization that we’ve seen in Latin America in decades,” says Arturo Porzecanski, an economist at American University in Washington.
Porzecanski says the problem is that such steps reflect the serious money crunch Argentina faces.
Fernandez de Kirchner has also used Central Bank funds and a nationalized pension system to shore up finances. And it’s not just in Argentina, Porzecanski says.
“Those countries whose governments have spent all the bonanza and then some are really scrambling for funds,” he says. “Whereas other countries that have managed the bonanza more responsibly — whether it’s a Colombia or a Peru or a Chile or a Brazil. They’re in a much more viable, sustainable position.”
Those other countries are either center-left, such as Brazil, or center-right, like Chile. They are all market-friendly and have strengthened institutions.
They have drawn record levels of foreign investment and diversified their economies, while some of the other countries have begun to decay.