Adrienne Arsht Latin America Center Deputy Director Jason Marczak writes for World Politics Review on what lies ahead for the next president of Argentina:
After a 12-year run, Kirchnerismo is nearing its end in Argentina. The next president, who will assume office in December after general elections in October, will inherit a country ready for a course correction—if not a complete change. There is no easy fix to the many ingrained political, economic and social problems that have befallen Argentina over the course of President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner’s eight years in power, which followed the four-year presidency of her late husband, Nestor Kirchner. Still, great promise is the age-old tale in Argentina, and by putting a few key policies in place, the next administration has a chance to revive domestic and international optimism about the country’s economic potential.
Argentina today is often an afterthought for investors looking at opportunities across emerging markets—a remarkable shift from Nestor Kirchner’s term, when commodity prices were high and economic growth averaged 9 percent annually. That turnaround came only two years after the country’s long-simmering financial crisis erupted into full-blown disaster, resulting in capital controls and Argentina’s sovereign debt default in December 2001.