Aldo Ferrer
Encyclopedia
Aldo Ferrer is a prominent Argentine economist and policy maker.
in 1927, and enrolled at the University of Buenos Aires
School of Economics, where he received a Doctorate in 1949. Appointed to the UN Secretariat in 1950, his first book, The State and Economic Development (1953) earned him early repute as a defender of industrial protectionism
. A student of Professor Raúl Prebisch
, he was named economic policy attaché to the Argentine Embassy in London
in 1956. Following the progressive UCRI's victory at the polls in 1958
, the new Governor of the Province of Buenos Aires, Oscar Alende
, named Ferrer Minister of the Economy, from which Ferrer promoted increased spending in infrastructure and needed flood control
works, for example.
His turn as chief economist for Argentina's largest province (home to over a third of the population) gave Ferrer national stature, though it also left him out of the halls of power after the UCRI's standard-bearer, President Arturo Frondizi
, was forced to resign by conservative opponents in 1962. Ferrer returned to academia as Professor of Economics at the University of La Plata, Argentina's second-largest. In this capacity, he created a new, fourth edition of the well-known textbook, The Argentine Economy (translated into English at the University of California, Berkeley
in 1967). Appointed a committee-member in U.S. President John F. Kennedy
's Alliance for Progress
, he was also invited as a founding member of the Latin American Social Science Council (CLACSO), an NGO created in 1967 in a consultative capacity to UNESCO
.
as President in June 1970. His replacement, General Roberto M. Levingston
, had become a supporter of the Alliance for Progress during his turn in the Frondizi administration as head of Army Intelligence and while stationed in the Argentine Embassy in Washington, DC. Careful to placate conservatives, he appointed an "inflation hawk
," Carlos Moyano Llerena, as Minister of the Economy
; but, instead relied on the head of the new Ministry of Production, Aldo Ferrer, as his chief economic policy maker. Announcing new subsidies for industry, requirements for a higher domestic component in autos and other large consumer durables and the creation of a national small-business lender (the BANADE), Ferrer secured increased collective bargaining
rights for Argentine labor (the bast-paid and most-unionized in Latin America at the time) and became a household word in Argentina with his ads encouraging consumers to compre nacional! ("buy domestic").
Having entered a mild recession following a boom in 1968-69, growth reaccelerated in late 1970 and early 1971, despite the worst drought since 1952. Ferrer presented President Levingston a five-year plan
in September in the hope of giving his new program a permanence seldom seem in Argentine policy and it earned him appointment as full Minister of the Economy in October, as well as the support of former President Arturo Frondizi
and of economist Rogelio Frigerio
, a pro-development businessman close to Frondizi. Levingston's political designs, the most controversial of which was to be the replacement of Argentina's myriad political parties with four Presidentially-sanctioned alliances, led to his replacement in March 1971 and, though Ferrer was retained by the new President, Alejandro Lanusse, the controversy helped lead to the economist's own dismissal in late May.
, Argentina's last dictatorship
called for elections in 1983
. The winner, Raúl Alfonsín
of the centrist Radical Civic Union
(UCR), appointed Ferrer President of the Bank of the Province of Buenos Aires
, the public, second-largest bank in Argentina. Limited by a shortfall in confidence in the Argentine banking system (whose deposits were dwarfed by Argentine deposits abroad) and growing differences with Alfonsín's conservative economists, Ferrer resigned in 1987.
Conributing regularly to the Economy section of Clarín
, Argentina's most important newsdaily, he became an increasingly renowned opponent of globalization
, capturing what he saw as its contradictions in A History of Globalization in 1996, and criticizing its dependence on slave labor in From Columbus to the Internet: Globalization in Latin America (2000). He organized like-minded economists in his new NGO, Grupo Fénix the same year, and published Living Within Our Means, an appeal for alternatives to dependence on foreign investment.
The May 2003 election
of center-left Peronist Néstor Kirchner
following the worst economic debacle in Argentina since 1930 left free market
and pro-globalization economists without the friends in Argentine government they had enjoyed for over a decade, leading to increasing state intervention in the Argentine economy. Among the results was the 2004 establishment of Enarsa
, a public energy company commissioned to increase oil and gas production and to alleviate future electricity shortages
such as the one Argentina suffered in April of that year. He was appointed to the company's Board of Directors in March 2006.
Ferrer was named editor-in-chief of Buenos Aires Económico, a local business and current affairs daily, in 2008, and in December 2010, was appointed Ambassador to France by President Cristina Kirchner.
Early career
Aldo Ferrer was born in Buenos AiresBuenos Aires
Buenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent...
in 1927, and enrolled at the University of Buenos Aires
University of Buenos Aires
The University of Buenos Aires is the largest university in Argentina and the largest university by enrollment in Latin America. Founded on August 12, 1821 in the city of Buenos Aires, it consists of 13 faculties, 6 hospitals, 10 museums and is linked to 4 high schools: Colegio Nacional de Buenos...
School of Economics, where he received a Doctorate in 1949. Appointed to the UN Secretariat in 1950, his first book, The State and Economic Development (1953) earned him early repute as a defender of industrial protectionism
Protectionism
Protectionism is the economic policy of restraining trade between states through methods such as tariffs on imported goods, restrictive quotas, and a variety of other government regulations designed to allow "fair competition" between imports and goods and services produced domestically.This...
. A student of Professor Raúl Prebisch
Raúl Prebisch
Raúl Prebisch was an Argentine economist known for his contribution to structuralist economics, in particular the Singer–Prebisch thesis that formed the basis of economic dependency theory. He is sometimes considered to be a neo-Marxist though this label is misleading...
, he was named economic policy attaché to the Argentine Embassy in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
in 1956. Following the progressive UCRI's victory at the polls in 1958
Argentine general election, 1958
The Argentine general election of 1958 was held on 23 February. Voters chose both the President and their legislators and with a turnout of 90.9% , it produced the following results:-President:aAbstentions....
, the new Governor of the Province of Buenos Aires, Oscar Alende
Oscar Alende
Oscar Eduardo Alende was an Argentine politician who founded the Intransigent Party.Alende was born in Maipú, Buenos Aires Province. He studied medicine at the University of La Plata, where he led the student union, and completed his medical studies at the University of Buenos Aires in 1933...
, named Ferrer Minister of the Economy, from which Ferrer promoted increased spending in infrastructure and needed flood control
Flood control
In communications, flood control is a feature of many communication protocols designed to prevent overwhelming of a destination receiver. Such controls can be implemented either in software or in hardware, and will often request that the message be resent after the receiver has finished...
works, for example.
His turn as chief economist for Argentina's largest province (home to over a third of the population) gave Ferrer national stature, though it also left him out of the halls of power after the UCRI's standard-bearer, President Arturo Frondizi
Arturo Frondizi
Arturo Frondizi Ercoli was the President of Argentina between May 1, 1958, and March 29, 1962, for the Intransigent Radical Civic Union.-Early life:Frondizi was born in Paso de los Libres, Corrientes Province...
, was forced to resign by conservative opponents in 1962. Ferrer returned to academia as Professor of Economics at the University of La Plata, Argentina's second-largest. In this capacity, he created a new, fourth edition of the well-known textbook, The Argentine Economy (translated into English at the University of California, Berkeley
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...
in 1967). Appointed a committee-member in U.S. President John F. Kennedy
John F. Kennedy
John Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy , often referred to by his initials JFK, was the 35th President of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963....
's Alliance for Progress
Alliance for Progress
The Alliance for Progress initiated by U.S. President John F. Kennedy in 1961 aimed to establish economic cooperation between the U.S. and South America.-Origin and goals:...
, he was also invited as a founding member of the Latin American Social Science Council (CLACSO), an NGO created in 1967 in a consultative capacity to UNESCO
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...
.
The nation's top economist
Growing instability in Argentina led to the removal of General Juan Carlos OnganíaJuan Carlos Onganía
Juan Carlos Onganía Carballo was de facto president of Argentina from 29 June 1966 to 8 June 1970. He rose to power as military dictator after toppling, in a coup d’état self-named Revolución Argentina , the democratically elected president Arturo Illia .-Economic and social...
as President in June 1970. His replacement, General Roberto M. Levingston
Roberto M. Levingston
Roberto Marcelo Levingston Laborda was a general in theArgentine Army and president of Argentina from June 18, 1970 to March 22, 1971, during the Revolución Argentina period in Argentine history...
, had become a supporter of the Alliance for Progress during his turn in the Frondizi administration as head of Army Intelligence and while stationed in the Argentine Embassy in Washington, DC. Careful to placate conservatives, he appointed an "inflation hawk
Contractionary monetary policy
Contractionary monetary policy is monetary policy that seeks to reduce the size of the money supply. In most nations, monetary policy is controlled by either a central bank or a finance ministry....
," Carlos Moyano Llerena, as Minister of the Economy
Minister of Economy of Argentina
The Minister of Economy is the head of the Ministry of Economy and Production of Argentina, concerned with finance and monetary matters. The position within the Government of Argentina is analogous to the finance ministers of some countries and the United States Treasury Secretary...
; but, instead relied on the head of the new Ministry of Production, Aldo Ferrer, as his chief economic policy maker. Announcing new subsidies for industry, requirements for a higher domestic component in autos and other large consumer durables and the creation of a national small-business lender (the BANADE), Ferrer secured increased collective bargaining
Collective bargaining
Collective bargaining is a process of negotiations between employers and the representatives of a unit of employees aimed at reaching agreements that regulate working conditions...
rights for Argentine labor (the bast-paid and most-unionized in Latin America at the time) and became a household word in Argentina with his ads encouraging consumers to compre nacional! ("buy domestic").
Having entered a mild recession following a boom in 1968-69, growth reaccelerated in late 1970 and early 1971, despite the worst drought since 1952. Ferrer presented President Levingston a five-year plan
Five-Year Plans of Argentina
The Five Year Plan was an Argentine state-planning strategy, during the first government of Juan Domingo Perón.- The preparations :Early in the second half of 1946, the Technical Secretariat of the Presidency began to prepare a Plan of Government for the five-year period from 1947 to 1951...
in September in the hope of giving his new program a permanence seldom seem in Argentine policy and it earned him appointment as full Minister of the Economy in October, as well as the support of former President Arturo Frondizi
Arturo Frondizi
Arturo Frondizi Ercoli was the President of Argentina between May 1, 1958, and March 29, 1962, for the Intransigent Radical Civic Union.-Early life:Frondizi was born in Paso de los Libres, Corrientes Province...
and of economist Rogelio Frigerio
Rogelio Frigerio
Rogelio Frigerio was an Argentine economist, journalist and politician.-Background and early career:Rogelio Frigerio was born in Buenos Aires in 1914 to Gerónimo Frigerio and Carmen Guanzaroli...
, a pro-development businessman close to Frondizi. Levingston's political designs, the most controversial of which was to be the replacement of Argentina's myriad political parties with four Presidentially-sanctioned alliances, led to his replacement in March 1971 and, though Ferrer was retained by the new President, Alejandro Lanusse, the controversy helped lead to the economist's own dismissal in late May.
Later career
Ferrer returned to academia and to his work with CLACSO, writing an economic history, The Postwar, in 1982. Following a financial collapseLatin American debt crisis
The Latin American debt crisis was a financial crisis that occurred in the early 1980s , often known as the "lost decade", when Latin American countries reached a point where their foreign debt exceeded their earning power and they were not able to repay it.-Origins:In the 1960s and 1970s many...
, Argentina's last dictatorship
National Reorganization Process
The National Reorganization Process was the name used by its leaders for the military government that ruled Argentina from 1976 to 1983. In Argentina it is often known simply as la última junta militar or la última dictadura , because several of them existed throughout its history.The Argentine...
called for elections in 1983
Argentine general election, 1983
The Argentine general election of 1983 was held on 30 October and marked the return of Democracy after the 1976's dictatorship self-known as National Reorganization Process...
. The winner, Raúl Alfonsín
Raúl Alfonsín
Raúl Ricardo Alfonsín was an Argentine lawyer, politician and statesman, who served as the President of Argentina from December 10, 1983, to July 8, 1989. Alfonsín was the first democratically-elected president of Argentina following the military government known as the National Reorganization...
of the centrist Radical Civic Union
Radical Civic Union
The Radical Civic Union is a political party in Argentina. The party's positions on issues range from liberal to social democratic. The UCR is a member of the Socialist International. Founded in 1891 by radical liberals, it is the oldest political party active in Argentina...
(UCR), appointed Ferrer President of the Bank of the Province of Buenos Aires
Bank of the Province of Buenos Aires
The Bank of the Province of Buenos Aires is a publicly-owned Argentine bank and the second-largest in the nation, by value of assets and deposits.-History:...
, the public, second-largest bank in Argentina. Limited by a shortfall in confidence in the Argentine banking system (whose deposits were dwarfed by Argentine deposits abroad) and growing differences with Alfonsín's conservative economists, Ferrer resigned in 1987.
Conributing regularly to the Economy section of Clarín
Clarín (newspaper)
Clarín is the largest newspaper in Argentina, published by the Grupo Clarín media group. It was founded by Roberto Noble on 28 August 1945. It is politically centrist but popularly understood to oppose the Kirchner government...
, Argentina's most important newsdaily, he became an increasingly renowned opponent of globalization
Globalization
Globalization refers to the increasingly global relationships of culture, people and economic activity. Most often, it refers to economics: the global distribution of the production of goods and services, through reduction of barriers to international trade such as tariffs, export fees, and import...
, capturing what he saw as its contradictions in A History of Globalization in 1996, and criticizing its dependence on slave labor in From Columbus to the Internet: Globalization in Latin America (2000). He organized like-minded economists in his new NGO, Grupo Fénix the same year, and published Living Within Our Means, an appeal for alternatives to dependence on foreign investment.
The May 2003 election
Argentine general election, 2003
Argentina held presidential and parliamentary elections on Sunday, April 27, 2003. Turnout was 78.2% and the results were as follows:-Argentine Congress:-Background:...
of center-left Peronist Néstor Kirchner
Néstor Kirchner
Néstor Carlos Kirchner was an Argentine politician who served as the 54th President of Argentina from 25 May 2003 until 10 December 2007. Previously, he was Governor of Santa Cruz Province since 10 December 1991. He briefly served as Secretary General of the Union of South American Nations ...
following the worst economic debacle in Argentina since 1930 left free market
Free market
A free market is a competitive market where prices are determined by supply and demand. However, the term is also commonly used for markets in which economic intervention and regulation by the state is limited to tax collection, and enforcement of private ownership and contracts...
and pro-globalization economists without the friends in Argentine government they had enjoyed for over a decade, leading to increasing state intervention in the Argentine economy. Among the results was the 2004 establishment of Enarsa
Enarsa
Enarsa , in full Energía Argentina Sociedad Anónima, is a company managed by the national state of Argentina for the integral exploitation of petroleum and natural gas, and the production, industrialization, transport and trade of these and of electricity.Enarsa was founded on December 29, 2004 by...
, a public energy company commissioned to increase oil and gas production and to alleviate future electricity shortages
Energy crisis
An energy crisis is any great bottleneck in the supply of energy resources to an economy. In popular literature though, it often refers to one of the energy sources used at a certain time and place, particularly those that supply national electricity grids or serve as fuel for vehicles...
such as the one Argentina suffered in April of that year. He was appointed to the company's Board of Directors in March 2006.
Ferrer was named editor-in-chief of Buenos Aires Económico, a local business and current affairs daily, in 2008, and in December 2010, was appointed Ambassador to France by President Cristina Kirchner.