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Weekly Online LessonOnline Lesson ArchiveGrade Level: Social Studies
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Economic Crisis in Argentina
The
South American country of Argentina is in turmoil as public anger over
a deepening recession and widespread poverty sparked riots, looting, vandalism,
and angry protests. On December 19, 2001, rioters battled with police
who fired back with water cannons, tear gas canisters and rubber bullets.
Looters struck stores and rampaged in the streets as they smashed bank
windows and broke open ATM machines. President Fernando De la Rúa resigned
later that day.
On Sunday, December 23, Adolfo Rodriguez Saa was appointed
as Argentina’s interim president and immediately began restructuring the
foundering economy. Rodriguez Saa, a former provincial governor,
said
he would introduce a new currency and temporarily suspend payments on
the nation’s massive foreign debt. The money saved from the payments would
be used to create jobs and help the 15 million people who live in poverty.
In this week's online lesson you will pay a virtual visit to Argentina and learn about the people, history, and economy of this democracy now in crisis.
Argentina
For
an excellent introduction to the land of Argentina, visit the Geographia
site named appropriately An
Introduction to Argentina. Read the brief introduction page, which
includes a brief introduction to the six major regions of the country.
With mountains, deserts, plains, waterfalls, and beaches, Argentina has
a lot of geographic diversity. What other countries have such diversity?
Click History and Culture and read this brief introduction to the Argentina's past and present. You will learn about Argentina's native cultures, European colonization, and movement toward independence. Who was the first Spaniard to land in Argentina, and what happened to him? Why did Argentina become a "smuggler's haunt?" In what year did Argentina declare its independence? What two political groups struggled for control? What is Argentina's universal language?
You
can learn more about Buenos Aires, the Argentine capital city, by clicking
Buenos
Aires. Read the introduction on the this page, and then investigate
more by clicking Explorations,
Cuisine
& Nightlife, and Business
on the left. What is performed at Teatro Colon? What is the most colorful
area in Buenon Aires? What is probably the most popular main course? Name
three local industries.
The Southernmost South
For
comprehensive web resource about Argentina, visit a site called El
Sur del Sur, which means The Southernmost South. Here you will
find a great wealth of information about Argentine geography, history,
economy, culture, flora & fauna. Start with the section called Journey
into the Past, containing a concise overview of the country's
political and economic past. Read each of the four sections from The
Beginning to Modernization.
Why did the British try to invade in the early 1800s? Why didn't they
succeed? When was Argentina's first constitution enacted? Who was President
Juan Domingo Perón and what was his legacy? How did his administration
end?
Return to the index and click The Way We Are, a section about the people of Argentina. Here you can learn about the country's original inhabitants and about the immigrants who arrived here in the 19th and 20th centuries. Like America, many people in Argentina have European ancestors who migrated there seeking fortune and opportunity. Did they find it?
Finish
this week's lesson by returning again to the index and clicking Economic
Activities. Read this page with its overviews of the various activities
that fuel Argentina's economy. Agricultural and livestock exports are
strong, while industry and mining/power remain largely under-developed.
Where was Argentina economically at the turn of the 20th century? How
did World War I cause a serious setback? What factors led to the welfare
state of the 1930s? Who are Argentina's primary trading partners?
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Learners Online, Inc.