Economic Policies
Videla appointed José Alfredo Martínez de Hoz as Minister of Economy, charged with stabilizing it and privatizing state-owned companies, along what would later be known as neoliberal lines. He was opposed by General Ramon Díaz, the Minister of Planning, who favored a corporatist model, with the state retaining control of key industries. Although Díaz resigned, military officers, many of whom looked forward to jobs running state enterprises, blocked Martínez de Hoz's privatization efforts. Meanwhile, the Junta borrowed money abroad for public works and social welfare spending. Martínez de Hoz was forced to rely on high interest rates and an over-valued exchange rate to control inflation, which hurt Argentine industry and exports. The Junta's economic policies also led to a diminishing of living standards, increasing inequalities in a country where before the military government took office 9% of the population lived in poverty (fewer than in France or the United States at that time) while the unemployment rate stood at 4.2%.
Read more about this topic: National Reorganization Process
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