CASEY NIGHBOR

Nationalism is loyalty to one’s own country or in other words, patriotism. Nationalism in Argentina is growing or at least being advocated by the current president, Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner. Many analysts believe that this retreat into nationalist ideals has been prompted by the government’s failure to address the country’s current economic problems. According to the Telegraph, Fernandez has been “retreating into petty nationalism” and attacking foreign investments instead of owning up to their own failure to reboot the economy. This failure largely stems from Argentina’s notoriously corrupt government who have been hindering this once incredibly wealthy nation’s growth.

            This nationalism also stems from a political movement known as Nacionalismo that began in 1910 but took hold in the government around 1930. It advocated the return to Argentinean sentiments and that a core value of this was the rejection of secularism and acceptance of Roman Catholicism. While this movement is no longer in full swing, many believe that this movement still influences the government in Argentina. According to David Rock, author of Authoritarian Argentina, strong nationalist attitudes are still very present in contemporary Argentina because of this movement and it continues to have enormous influence over policy.

Zakaria talks about how the rise of nationalism means that nations are less likely to come together to solve problems that they both face. He also talks about how sub-nationalism, so the loyalty to things within your nation like tribes, religious groups, etc, are growing. This rise of sub-nationalism makes having meaningful national action very difficult.

In Argentina right now, I think there is a conflict between themselves and foreign nations. The crash of 2008 hit Argentina decently hard because their economy was closely linked to the dollar. However, they had the ability to bounce back and have but the government has continued to hinder the growth of the economy because of political corruption. Instead of fixing that or owning up to it, they have blamed foreign investors and markets as an act of self-defense. I also think there is a growing sub-national conflict between minority religions and Roman Catholics. Argentina claims to be a secular state but from the research I’ve seen, the Roman Catholic Church and its officials have huge influence in Argentina. This is also further complicated by the fact that current Pope, Francis, is from Argentina and was born in Buenos Ares. This coupled with the Nacionalismo movement that advocated the returned to a religious state leads me to believe that this also plays a role in Argentina’s nationalism.

Inequality seems to be a growing problem in Argentina. According the New York Times, Argentina largely criticized other South American nations for their large inequality gaps and often resembled Europe in their thoughts towards inequality. However, the reality after the crisis of 2008 is that Argentina has a widespread income inequality that the government is not effectively addressing. This inequality is a common problem in Latin America as developing economies like Brazil and Argentina as their wealth grows. According to the Economist, the government focuses more on taxing the wealthy and less on building infrastructure or providing services for the poor. The results of inequality are that poorer families are unable to build houses or develop land because mortgages or any sort of loan system doesn’t really exist. In Buenos Ares, gated communities are sandwiched next to “unofficial communities” run by gangs because the rich are the only ones able to afford land to build houses on since the government is failing to make it easier to develop any land. These communities also have things like barbed wire and armed guards, a clear sign of the rich trying to keep the poor out. According to an article published by The Guardian, a resident of one of these communities said "You can't see the poor here, that is part of the appeal." This difference in housing is a clear indication of the growing inequality in Argentina. 

Gated community with a fence on one side and slums on the other 

Overall, Argentina’s struggles with nationalism and inequality coupled with their widespread governmental corruption will make the coming election and the countries future very unpredictable.  This reality seems to be very common among developing nations, especially those in Latin America as they struggle to deal with the new problems that come with a growing economy.

--Casey Nighbor