One of the questions we could ask about the 2001 economic collapse in Argentina is to what extent that event is related to 1) neoliberalism as a general set of policies and 2) Argentina’s historically specific political culture. Generally speaking, when developing nations perform poorly in economic terms, global financial institutions such as the IMF and the World Bank locate blame in the corruption of local elites. We would probably be foolish to argue that what happened in Argentina was purely a product of neoliberalism in the abstract. Instead, we ought to acknowledge the extent to which political figures such as Menem and Cavallos actively participated in and abetted corrupt practices.

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