Argentina - A perspective from both sides

So we have a newspaper called the guardian, while oft presenting a biased angle, its website is open to plenty of comments which point out other sides etc.

I saw this one today and found it pretty interesting, until I got to the comments.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/cifameric…

i'll highlight some sections, a few of the replies are posted by argentinians, so while hte UK is generally jaded against the argies, (or hates its own government more), they can be seen to be first hand accounts, in places.

"There are sound reasons for this move, and the government will most likely be proved right once again. Repsol, the Spanish oil company that currently owns 57% of Argentina's YPF, hasn't produced enough to keep up with Argentina's rapidly growing economy. From 2004 to 2011, Argentina's oil production has actually declined by almost 20% and gas by 13%, with YPF accounting for much of this. And the company's proven reserves of oil and gas have also fallen substantially over the past few years."

In response:

" One of the reasons energy firms in Argentina haven't invested as much in new production over the past decade is because in 2001-02 the government tore up the contracts setting the rules for price increases, making new investment economically unprofitable. Why would any company invest in capacity when it would sell the output below what it costs to produce? "

" I go to Buenos Aires 3-4 times a year, inflation is RAMPANT, crime is the highest it's been since 2000. There is true unrest and you can feel it on the streets and the general mood. Every person you talk to tells you that this populist party will end soon and it will not end well.

Only a few things:

• Argentina's growth since the Kirchner's is purely circumstantial, after the collapse it was impossible not to grow and commodity prices as well as other market conditions made it possible. Not the Kirchners.

• When YPF was privatised in the 90s (with HUGE support of the Kirchners, which at the time were governing the province of Santa Cruz, one of the oil provinces), it had been a horribly run-money-loosing-looted company for decades.

• There is no way this government can run YPF properly. You only have to see the DISASTER they are doing with Aerolineas Argentinas, where they put a guy in charge who had never been in charge of a business, not to mention an airline!
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