Raul Bassi
Green Left Weekly 630 carried an article by Stuart Munckton titled "Kirchner's way out of crisis". Although I do not dispute his conclusions, I believe the article presented a partial view of the Argentine government led by Nestor Kirchner and the social, economic and political situation in Argentina.
Kirchner came to power after a crisis in late 2000, early 2001, that caused the collapse of all the country's institutions. This crisis was caused by previous governments' full application of the neoliberal recipes ordered by the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and others.
As Munckton's article says, "The collapse threw the nation's large middle class into poverty overnight, and the resulting social unrest, marked by highly militant protest and blockades, saw the country go through four presidents in one week". What it doesn't say is that a very important united front between the middle class and the working class developed here.
This front, expressed by the common actions of the popular assemblies and the piqueteros (unemployed worker activists), threatened the capitalist system. We should mention here that absent from this movement was the employed working class. Most workers preferred not to put their jobs on the line, looking sympathetically at the big mobilisations, but not actively participating.
This class alliance was the main problem for the dominant class in Argentina. All the previous governments had the primary task of breaking up this alliance. Kirchner, elected with just 20% of the primary vote, just intended to do it differently. From the very beginning, that was his aim.
His program was designed to achieve it. To win over the middle class, he offered to return most of the savings lost during the crisis; changes in the justice system, including prosecution of the most (but not all) corrupt politicians; support to victims of military dictatorship; changes in the police force and an attitude of hard negotiation with external creditors including the IMF. He even made a promise not to pay the external debt until the country could be in a position to do so.
The other side of Kirchner's policy to break up the class alliance was to get harder with the piqueteros. Economic concessions were offered to the more pro-government-conciliation piquetero groups. At the same time, there was increased repression of militants, a stepping up of prosecutions stemming from actions at protests, and a severing of all government links with this section of the movement.
So far, these policies, and some economic reactivation, are working. It is true that Argentina's economic growth is about 9% in the last two years. However, we should not forget that this is coming back from a 40% fall in 2001-2002.
Even this growth has benefited the richest, rural producers, the big retail chains and exporters, not the poor majority. When Munckton points out that the poverty rate has dropped from 57% to 40%, almost 60% of that 40% are living in extreme poverty.
It is true that Kirchner's approval rating is now 70%, in the October elections, yet his "popular" government will most likely lose in two of the most populated states, Mendoza and Santa Fe. He will be lucky to win a third of the votes in Buenos Aires city, and in the corresponding state, Kirchner is hurrying to make alliances to avoid defeat from opposing Peronist groups.
His relationship with oil and gas multinationals also ensured Kirchner was a "firefighter" during the latest upheaval in Bolivia, working with Brazilian President Luis Inacio "Lula" Da Silva, to ensure the Bolivian gas remained safe for multinationals.
However, there have been positive consequences of the economic renewal. This sort of better economic situation has brought up a new process within the working class. New militant leaders have emerged everywhere — Zanon, Metrovias (underground), the ship yards, food industries, state controlled services, hospitals and others. New leaders have taken over from old bureaucrats, mostly as a consequence of industrial struggle. New delegates are representing workers. The majority of these new delegates have pro-worker policies and in several cases they are openly socialist or members of different left-wing parties.
The actions of these new activists are becoming more coordinated, taking up an emerging list of common demands: a 6-hour work day, a minimum wage of A$1500, jobs for all, freedom for social and political prisoners and international solidarity particularly with Venezuela and Bolivia.
While this represents an increased focus on purely industrial struggle, new leaders are also asking all left and socialist parties to present only one list for the coming elections.
This is the main problem with "Kirchner's path out of crisis", and it is not mentioned in the article. The only way out of the structural crisis is the opposite to where he is going. The only way out is to not pay the external debt, to stop poverty and unemployment and to support real Latin American integration.
From Green Left Weekly, July 20, 2005.
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