I’ve taken the relevant questions and adjusted them for my beat.
Why did they come? When?
Argentina’s population is as melty of a melting pot as New York, with palpable influences from a veritable medley of cultures. Argentina’s economy was booming in the 1920s, spurring a large wave of migration from Italy, Spain, and the Ottoman Empire. Later on, World War 2 and ensuing Cold War-adjacent conflict prompted waves of immigration from Germany, Jewish populations in Europe, China, and Korea.
What are some major organizations/advocacy groups/resources in this community? I’ll be
List/link the major media houses in the home country.
La Nacion – La Nacion is the largest newspaper in Buenos Aires. It has a significant bias towards the Juntos por el Cambio political party, a pro-business/center right coalition.
Pagina12 – Pagina12 is the de facto mouthpiece of the Frente de Todos political party, a center-left coalition of which the president, Alberto Fernandez is a part.
In the homeland what is the GDP per capita? Where does that rank in the world? What are the major industries?
GDP per capita in Argentina is low, about usd$10,006. A sharp decline from 2017, in which it was usd$14,581. While numbers are often deceptive, that precipitous drop is absolutely illustrative of the recent economic crisis experienced here. Abolition of capital controls by the previous government caused widespread capital flight and severely devalued the currency. Now Argentina is experiencing yearly inflation of ~50%, one of the highest values in the world.
Major industry in Argentina revolves, like many Latin American countries, around exports. A large swath of the country is covered by the pampas, incredibly fertile lowland so perfect for bovines that it is the only place the beasts have ever gone feral. Over the past 20 years, this rich agricultural land has served as a source of vast amounts of soybean exports, particularly to China. Soy takes after the deep Argentine tradition of agricultural exports, a practice that saw it’s economy become one of the riches in the world up until the 1930s.
Argentina’s position as an exporter has long been internally debated. Home to the godfather of development economics, Raúl Prébisch, Argentina has tried to develop it’s economy using Import Substitution Industrialization. This practice goes back to the 50s, and has resulted in a political economic system that is deeply protectionist. The steep tariffs, strict capital controls, and generally isolationist policies have resulted in a very unique economy that’s earned its distinction of being the butt of one the favorite jokes of economic professors everywhere – that there are only four types of economies: developed, undeveloped, Japan, and Argentina.
is the system of government? When did this system come into place? Was there a colonial power? (Or was it the colonial power?)
Argentina has a federal representative democracy. Much like the US, executive power is vested in the president, legislative in the National Congress, and Judicial in an independent court system. The democratic system has been in place since ’83, the year that Argentina emerged out of a deeply dark period of liberal military dictatorship. The influence of the dictatorship runs deep, with memorials to the many thousands killed scattered around the country.
Give three potential story ideas. (Doesn’t need to be a fully fleshed-out pitch yet, but should be well thought-out.)
- Featurey piece on the human impact of inflation and other results of international finance decisions.
- Story on the informal economy. Community workers, unpaid and unorganized, and bearing the brunt of the fight against the pandemic. As an effort to expand the tax base and offer labor protections, the Peronist government is aiming to offer informal workers monthly salaries and documentation.
- How are agricultural advocacy organizations responding to the massive transition to soybean production over the past two decades? What human impact has this had? What are the reactions to the possibility of massive pork production for China?
- Possible ramifications of Argentina joining the BRI.
I haven’t nailed down my interview yet, I have scheduling conflicts with my source. That said, I have a contact who’s involved in the Union de Trabajadores de la Tierra, a labor union of landless farm workers that advocates for agricultural workers and climate-friendly policy. Hoping to interview them next week!