2006-06-13 19:54:17.474631+00 by Dan Lyke 1 comments
Two interesting entries over at Strip Mining for Whimsy:
[ related topics: Politics History Sociology ]
comments in ascending chronological order (reverse):
#Comment Re: made: 2006-06-14 15:14:00.810003+00 by: petronius
These ripples are interesting. During WW2, Argentina purchased back important foreign-held assets, like municipal water systems and bus lines, from the Brits. England cashed out investments of a century to generate capital in their desperate war against the Nazis. This in turn generated renewed nationalistic pride in the Argentines, who saw strongmen like Peron as the ones who had returned the national patrimony. The coincidence of the resulting economic improvements with Peron's two-penny fascism eventually led to his complete control of the country. What was a sideshow to the Allied powers was the central drama to the Argentines.
Interestingly enough, 1945 found England bankrupt and forced to maintain strict foreign-exchange controls and even food rationing into the 1950s, while Argentina had the largest gold reserves in South America. England pulled itself into eventual prosperity, while Peron lost all his capital, then his regime, and Argentina has see-sawed between modest boom and abject bust ever since. The ripples of war can be an opportunity, but only if you have the wit to seize it.