Governance after Neoliberalism in Argentina

Abstract

The economic and political behaviour of national and international actors during crisis resolution reveals complex policy processes which challenge established elements of dominance as well as the intellectual basis on which that dominance is exercised. In the case of Argentina, the political and economic crisis that erupted in 2001 epitomized the general regional discontent with the neoliberal paradigm that had dominated for more than two decades through the financial and intellectual capabilities of the IFIs. In the Southern Cone especially, governments were seeking to break with the IFIs-sponsored rules, although not to replace them by autarchic governance projects. Response to crisis in Latin America has been closely related to new attempts to articulate alternatives to the Washington Consensus. This response to crisis left the IFIs with a major challenge as to how to approach the changing political scenario. The social and economic price of neoliberalism was deleterious and thus the reputation and legitimacy of the IFIs called to account.