How did the dollar harvest trap turn oil-rich Argentina into a debt dodger for eight times?

The outbreak of COVID-19 epidemic still affects people's lives, and its impact is enormous. It not only changed the international situation to a certain extent, but also plunged the economies of some countries into an inevitable economic crisis. Among them, Argentina represents the country. Before that, many people should have heard the news that Argentina was the first country to go bankrupt under the epidemic. In April this year, the country announced that it was unable to repay its debts, so it needed a comprehensive debt restructuring. And put forward a plan, that is, Argentina will not repay any debts in the next three years and fully develop its economy.

As a price, Argentina will pay an extra $300 million in interest after three years. In the eyes of discerning people, such a plan is undoubtedly a way to avoid debt. Why do you say that? Because Argentina has had eight debt crises since 18 16 became independent. The last time occurred in 2065438+04; The biggest one happened in 20065438+0; Argentina successfully evaded its debts every time, and then fell into a situation of borrowing and paying back, so it was dubbed "Lao Lai".

However, you may not believe it. Argentina was the seventh developed country in the world before 100. So how did this country go from rich to oil and still can't afford to pay its debts?

First of all, let's talk about the basic situation of Argentina. Argentina is one of the three ABC powers in South America, located in the southeast of South America, facing Europe and Antarctica across the sea. /kloc-was administered by indigenous Indians before the 6th century, and/kloc-was administered by European colonists after the 6th century. Colonization changed the population structure of Argentina. Today, Argentina is the only white country in Latin America, ruled by European descendants. But don't feel poor here. In fact, there are abundant resources here, and people's lives have been very comfortable for a long time.

Argentina is still a country that depends on the weather for food. After the second industrial revolution, Argentina started animal husbandry because of the rising demand for wool and beef. After that, a large number of European immigrants poured in, so it was natural to develop grain reserves because of the large population. As a result, Argentina resumed agricultural production, and since then the country has reached its peak by relying on these two industries. Here I have to talk about the Argentine pampas grassland, which is recognized as the most fertile grassland in the world. The land is vast and sparsely populated, the rent is low, and it is close to the harbor. Under the natural grassland, animal husbandry is very developed.

At present, Argentina raises more than 60 million cows, and it needs to slaughter10 million cows every year. Beef exports rank among the top in the world. Secondly, pampas grassland has the largest red and black soil in the world, and the subtropical humid climate in South America prevails. High-yield grain such as wheat, corn and soybean is the main exporter of international grain, so Argentina is known as the world granary and meat bank. Thanks to these, Argentina surpassed Germany, Canada and the Netherlands with a per capita income of 1908, becoming the seventh developed country in the world. It can be said that the development of Argentina stems from the fertility of land resources. So how did such a developed country become a developing country and owe so much debt?

There are many reasons for Argentina's debt crisis, such as poor national structure, weak industrialization foundation, low foreign exchange reserves and high social welfare. More than 2 million local civil servants account for the bulk of fiscal expenditure every year. It is not difficult to see why Argentina's economic development is average. But today, we will focus on one issue, that is, the dollar harvest trap.

In the early 1970s, the United States implemented a loose monetary policy. Low-interest loans are fully open to Latin American countries. Faced with low interest and large loans, Latin American countries have borrowed to develop their economies. Argentina is one of the countries that borrow heavily. The US dollar entered the Argentine market, but after the 1980s, the US foreign debt interest rate hike made the US dollar appreciate, which led to the depreciation of the currencies of Latin American countries against the US dollar. Further increase Argentina's debt repayment pressure.

But the more serious problem behind it is actually export. As a country with export economy as its pillar, Argentina exports a large number of commodities every year. To maintain the prosperity of the national economy, as the most common currency in the world, exchange rate changes naturally affect the prices of commodities, which also slows down Argentina's economic development and reduces its ability to repay debts.

Since then, Argentina has been trapped by the impact of the US dollar exchange rate. For example, at the end of 20 15, the US dollar announced a rate hike and the Argentine peso depreciated sharply. So Argentina will go to the brink of bankruptcy again this year, so what is the benefit of the United States?

The biggest advantage is that their capitalists can completely acquire those industries that are related to people's livelihood at a very low price, such as minerals, oil, aviation and electricity. This is the dollar harvest trap. Once they are caught in it, it is difficult to escape.

As of the beginning of April, Argentina's foreign debt was $277.648 billion, which was far from that of the United States, which exceeded $25 trillion. However, the international environment is managed by dollars, and Argentina, as an international grain depot, has become a fish in the knife.