Left two reports that talk about the death of Nestor Kirchner
. One is of the most influential magazine in the world economic arena "The Economist" and another is the UK newspaper "The
I hope you can read both letters, they're worth. Either you can draw several conclusions that I invite you to write in comments. Here 
The you have to enter the blog directly , www.langblogger.blogspot.com) (News the latest edition of The Economist
,
UK version
) The other news that is promised newspaper The Guardian : Néstor Kirchner : Argentina's independence hero
The
death
former president is a sad loss
. His bold defiance of the IMF paved the way for South America 's progress
Argentine
- seen
- hugging
her
former President Nestor Kirchner , who has died suddenly on 27 October 2010, at a 2008 rally in Buenos Aires. Photograph : HO / AFP / Getty Images The sudden death of Néstor Kirchner is a
great loss , not only to Argentina but to the region and the world . Kirchner took office as president in May 2003, when Argentina was in the initial stages of its recovery from a terrible recession . His role in rescuing Argentina's economy is comparable to that of Franklin D Roosevelt in the Great Depression of the United States . Like Roosevelt , Kirchner had to stand up both to powerful moneyed interests and to most of the economics profession , which was insisting that his policies would lead to disaster . They were proved wrong , and Kirchner right . Argentina's recession from 1998-2002 was , indeed , comparable to the Depression in
terms of unemployment , which peaked at more than 21%, and lost output ( about 20% of GDP ). The majority of Argentines , who had , until then , enjoyed living standards among the highest in Latin America , were pushed below the poverty line . In December of 2001 and January 2002, the country underwent a massive devaluation , a world - historical record sovereign default on $95 bn of debt , and a collapse of the financial system . Although some of the heterodox policies that ultimately
ensured Argentina's rapid recovery were begun in the year before Kirchner took office , he had to follow them through some tough challenges to make Argentina the fastest - growing economy in the region . One major challenge came from the International Monetary
Fund ( IMF ). The IMF had been instrumental in bringing about the collapse – by supporting , among other bad policies , an overvalued exchange rate with ever - increasing indebtedness at rising interest rates . But when Argentina's economy inevitably collapsed , the IMF offered no help , just a series of conditions that would impede the economy 's recovery . The IMF was trying to get a better deal
for the foreign creditor . Kirchner rightly refused its conditions , and the IMF refused to roll over Argentina's debt . In September of 2003, the battle came to a head
when Kirchner temporarily defaulted to the IMF rather than accept its conditions . This was an extraordinarily gutsy move – no middle - income country had ever defaulted to the IMF ; only a handful of failed or pariah states like Iraq or Congo. That 's because the IMF was seen as having the power to cut off even trade credits to a country that defaulted to them . No one knew for sure what would happen . But
the IMF backed down and rolled over the loans . Argentina went on to grow at an average of
morethan 8% annually through 2008, pulling more than 11 million people , in a country of 40 million , out of poverty . The policies of the Kirchner government , including the central bank targeting of a stable and competitive real exchange rate , and taking a hard line against the defaulted creditors – were not popular in Washington or among the business press . But they worked . Kirchner 's successful face - off with the IMF came
at a time when the fund was rapidly losing influence in the world , after its failures in the Asian economic crisis that preceded Argentina's collapse . It showed the world that a country could defy the IMF and live to tell about it , and contributed to the ensuing loss of IMF influence in Latin America and middle - income countries generally . Since the IMF was , at the time , the most important avenue of Washington 's influence in low - and - middle - income countries , this also contributed to the demise of US influence , especially over the recently independent countries of South America . Kirchner also played a major role in consolidating this
independence, working with the other left governments including Brazil , Venezuela, Ecuador and Bolivia . Through institutions such as UNASUR ( the Union of South American Nations ) , Mercosur ( the South American trading bloc ) , and numerous commercial agreements , South America was able to alter its trajectory dramatically . This united bloc successfully backed Bolivia 's government against
an extra- parliamentary challenge from the right in 2008, and most recently stood behind Ecuador in that attempted coup there , a few weeks ago . Unfortunately , they did not succeed in overturning last year 's military takeover in Honduras, where US backing for the coup government proved decisive . Argentina, together with UNASUR , still refuses to allow Honduras back into the OAS , despite heavy lobbying from Washington . Kirchner also earned respect from human rights organisations for
his willingness to prosecute and extradite some of the military officers accused of crimes against humanity during the 1976-1983 dictatorship – reversing the policies of previous governments . Together with his wife , current president Cristina Fernández , Néstor Kirchner made an enormous contribution in helping to move Argentina and the region in a progressive direction . These efforts have not generally won him much favour in Washington and in international business circles , but history will record him not only as a great president but also as an independence hero of Latin America . • Editor's note: An editing error led to the misspelling of the
South American trading bloc , Mercosur , although it had been correct in the author 's original; this was amended at 12:20 EST [17:20 BST ] on 28 October 2010. A further correction was made where Argentina's devaluation was stated as having occurred in December 2002 and January 2003; in fact , it was December 2001 and January 2002. This was amended at 12:50 EST [17:50 BST ]
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