BLOG2: POLITICS / ECON

Buenos dias from Buenos Aires :O)
I will use this blog entry to discuss Argentinian history from 1800 - early 1900's & will attempt to incorporate politics & economics. Since there was a pre-reading for the 1st class regarding the history of Argentina, I learned several items from the reading such as (I have opted to include one portion of my notes & will sequentially integrate historical facts throughout my blogs):
a) In 1826, the 1st president of Argentina, Bernardino Rivadavia (of African descent & his rivals nicknamed him “Dr Chocolate” - Wikipedia) had a vision for Argentina including:
- the development & implementation of a constitution
- desired to divide the land into more equitable shares
- sought to attract immigrants to settle in Argentina
b) Next in the presidential lineup is the notorious bloodthirsty “Federalist” dictator: Juan de Rosas. He owned lots of land, was a successful businessman, & married into a very rich family. Also, since his mother accused him of stealing her cattle, he changed his last name from Rozas to Rosas; afterwards he ran away from home, started a meat-salting plant and became very wealthy. In 1835, he was offered supreme power & his opponents were oftentimes killed.
c) On Feb 1852, Justo José de Urquiza’s army overthrew Rosas; Urquiza became the 3rd president, drew up a constitution, established national banks, schools, and improved transportation
d) Argentina’s “Golden Age” came to fruition after the establishment railroads & farming (livestock & cereal production)
e) World War I contributed significantly to Argentina’s economic boom since the need for agricultural products increased and the subsequent paralysis of European trade spurred Argentine manufacturing
In addition, this past week, we had another “class on wheels” session; Dr Gabrial was the instructor and we visited several landmarks including: River Plate’s stadium, a memorial center for the 30000 disappeared, and a museum dedicated to Evita (President Peron’s wife). At the museum, an older Argentina gentleman passionately (very passionately actually) guided us on a tour & walked us through each artifact (paintings, pictures, texts etc…). We quickly realized that this man is very attached to Evita; for example, when she passed away, he stood in line for like 20 hours to pay his respects; also, as he described various events in Evita’s life, his eyes would swell up with tears. His emotional attachment to Evita is symbolic of the nation’s appreciation of her work & genuine dedication to the constituents. Peron will be discussed further in my next blog.

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