What happened in Argentina's economic crisis of December 2001?
Argentina's December 2001
La crisis de diciembre de 2001
19 December 2001–6 January 2002. For ten years Argentina had fixed its peso to the US dollar one to one.
Draft: not yet checked against its sources.
Where: Río de la Plata, Buenos Aires, Argentina
What happened
For ten years Argentina had fixed its peso to the US dollar one to one. On 1 December 2001 the government limited withdrawals to 250 pesos a week, the 'corralito'. Looting spread, and on 19 December President Fernando de la Rúa declared a state of siege; that night people across the country banged pots in the streets, the cacerolazo, chanting 'que se vayan todos'. In the repression of 19 and 20 December 39 people were killed. De la Rúa resigned on 20 December and left the Casa Rosada by helicopter. Five men held the presidency in two weeks; one declared the largest sovereign default in history. On 6 January 2002 an emergency law ended the one-to-one peso, which lost most of its value.
Say it
En diciembre de 2001 los argentinos salieron a la calle con cacerolas y el presidente renunció.
In December 2001 Argentines took to the streets with pots and pans and the president resigned.
Why it matters
2001 is the trauma behind Argentina's politics ever since, from the Kirchners to Milei, and 'corralito', 'cacerolazo' and 'que se vayan todos' passed from Buenos Aires into the Spanish of every later protest.
Read about it
Connected
- Perón, Evita and the birth of Peronism (17 October 1945–September 1955)
- Perón, Evita and the birth of Peronism (17 October 1945–September 1955)
- The dictatorship and the Madres de Plaza de Mayo (30 April 1977–10 December 1983)
- The Mexico City earthquake of 1985 (19 September 1985)
- The Venezuelan exodus (c. 2015)
Sources
- Estado de sitio. 20.° aniversario de 2001 con perspectiva comunitaria — argentina.gob.ar
- Ley 25.561 — Emergencia Pública y Reforma del Régimen Cambiario — argentina.gob.ar (InfoLeg)