The»Argentine Anomaly«: From Wealth through Collapse to Neo-Developmentalism JULIO GODIO T owards the end of 1998, Argentina went into a deep economic reces­sion. In 2001, this recession led, first to depression and then to default on a portion of its cumbersome foreign debt. In this scenario of eco­nomic crisis, marked by a rapid increase in mass unemployment and pov­erty, a»pueblada«(popular socio-political uprising) broke out on De­cember 19 and 20, centered in the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, but also occurring in other major cities. The Alliance administration col­lapsed and President Fernando de la Rúa was ousted. These events un­leashed a period of political instability during which an emergency gov­ernment took over – on January 2, 2002 – headed by Peronist leader Ed­uardo Duhalde as caretaker president. In this way the Peronist Justicialist Party( pj –»Partido Justicialista«), with a majority in both the Chamber of Representatives and the Senate(National Congress), returned to power. A parliament-based»emergency government« was constituted which succeeded in preserving democracy. The new administration instigated a major turnaround in economic policy, shifting from conservative neo-liberalism to a»neo-developmen­talist« economic program. Political tensions eased, but society mobilized: the unemployed(»piqueteros«, in allusion to the pickets they stage, in­cluding street demonstrations and road blockades); the middle classes; wage earners who had lost their dollar or peso savings in the financial col­lapse as a consequence of»pesification«; the urban social movements which gathered in»asambleas barriales«(community assemblies) to pro­test and spontaneously organize themselves to secure their basic needs (food, clothing, health care, and so on). Duhalde’s emergency caretaker government was successful. The econ­omy started to recover and social conflicts were brought under control. In this context, the PJ, now represented by Néstor Kirchner, once again won the presidential elections(in April 2003). Kirchner embodies a new generation of Justicialist leaders now in their fifties. He set out to con­tinue the neo-developmentalist model and strengthen political coopera­128 Godio, The Argentine Anomaly ipg 2/2004