Argentina’s Neoliberal Peronista President Carlos Menem, Dead at 90

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Carlos Menem, who died at the age of 90 on February 14, 2021, was president of Argentina from 1989 to 1999. Having been in frail health for some time, he died after a short hospitalization for a urinary tract infection. Despite his Peronista origins, he became known for market economic policies and the privatization of state-owned enterprises. Under Menem, Argentina shifted toward a free-market model that was favored by international investors. Yet, beyond his obvious accomplishment of reigning in Argentina’s hyperinflation, which made him very popular with Argentine voters, the Menem years also saw growing unemployment, economic inequality, and expanding foreign debt. At the time of his death, he was still a sitting senator for the Province of La Rioja. Commentators around the region wrestled with his whirling legacy.

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