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Carlos Saúl Menem (2 July 1930 – 14 February 2021) served as the 50th
president of Argentina The president of Argentina, officially known as the president of the Argentine Nation, is both head of state and head of government of Argentina. Under Constitution of Argentina, the national constitution, the president is also the Head of go ...
for ten years, from 1989 to 1999. He identified as
Peronist Peronism, also known as justicialism, is an Argentine ideology and movement based on the ideas, doctrine and legacy of Juan Perón (1895–1974). It has been an influential movement in 20th- and 21st-century Argentine politics. Since 1946, Pe ...
, serving as President of the
Justicialist Party The Justicialist Party (, ; abbr. PJ) is a major political party in Argentina, and the largest branch within Peronism. Following the 2023 presidential election, it has been the largest party in the opposition against President Javier Milei. Fo ...
for 13 years (from 1990 to 2001 and again from 2001 to 2003), and his political approach became known as Menemism. Born in Anillaco,
La Rioja La Rioja () is an autonomous communities in Spain, autonomous community and provinces of Spain, province in Spain, in the north of the Iberian Peninsula. Its capital is Logroño. Other List of municipalities in La Rioja, cities and towns in the ...
, to a
Syrian Syrians () are the majority inhabitants of Syria, indigenous to the Levant, most of whom have Arabic, especially its Levantine and Mesopotamian dialects, as a mother tongue. The cultural and linguistic heritage of the Syrian people is a blend ...
family, Menem was raised as a
Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...
,"Carlos Menem"
''Encyclopædia Britannica''
but later converted to
Roman Catholicism The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
to pursue a political career. Menem became a Peronist during a visit to Buenos Aires. He was elected governor of La Rioja in 1973, deposed and detained following the
1976 Argentine coup d'état Events January * January 2 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 18 – Full diplomatic ...
, and re-elected in 1983. He defeated the Buenos Aires governor Antonio Cafiero in the primary elections for the 1989 presidential elections.
Hyperinflation In economics, hyperinflation is a very high and typically accelerating inflation. It quickly erodes the real versus nominal value (economics), real value of the local currency, as the prices of all goods increase. This causes people to minimiz ...
and riots forced outgoing president
Raúl Alfonsín Raúl Ricardo Alfonsín (; 12 March 1927 – 31 March 2009) was an Argentine lawyer and statesman who served as President of Argentina from 10 December 1983 to 8 July 1989. He was the first democratically elected president after the 7-yea ...
to resign early, shortening the presidential transition. Menem's presidency supported the
Washington Consensus The Washington Consensus is a set of ten economic policy prescriptions considered in the 1980s and 1990s to constitute the "standard" reform package promoted for Economic crisis, crisis-wracked developing country, developing countries by the Was ...
and tackled inflation with the Convertibility plan in 1991. The plan was complemented by a series of
privatization Privatization (rendered privatisation in British English) can mean several different things, most commonly referring to moving something from the public sector into the private sector. It is also sometimes used as a synonym for deregulation w ...
s and was initially a success. Argentina re-established diplomatic relations with the United Kingdom, suspended since the 1982
Falklands War The Falklands War () was a ten-week undeclared war between Argentina and the United Kingdom in 1982 over two British Overseas Territories, British dependent territories in the South Atlantic: the Falkland Islands and Falkland Islands Dependenci ...
, and aligned itself with the United States. Under his administration, the country participated in the 1991
Gulf War , combatant2 = , commander1 = , commander2 = , strength1 = Over 950,000 soldiers3,113 tanks1,800 aircraft2,200 artillery systems , page = https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-PEMD-96- ...
and suffered two terrorist attacks: an attack on the Israeli embassy in 1992 and the 1994
AMIA bombing The AMIA bombing occurred on 18 July 1994 in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and targeted the Asociación Mutual Israelita Argentina (AMIA; ), a Jewish Community Center, Jewish Community Centre. Executed as a Suicide attack, suicidal attack, a Car bom ...
. The Peronist victory in the 1993 midterm elections allowed him to persuade Alfonsín, by then leader of the opposition party
Radical Civic Union The Radical Civic Union (, UCR) is a major political party in Argentina. It has reached the national government on ten occasions, making it one of the most historically important parties in the country. Ideologically, the party has stood for r ...
, to sign the Pact of Olivos for the
1994 amendment of the Argentine Constitution The 1994 amendment to the Constitution of Argentina was approved on 22 August 1994 by a Constitutional Assembly that met in the twin cities of Santa Fe, Argentina, Santa Fe and Paraná, Argentina, Paraná. The calling for elections for the Constit ...
. This amendment allowed Menem to run for re-election in
1995 1995 was designated as: * United Nations Year for Tolerance * World Year of Peoples' Commemoration of the Victims of the Second World War This was the first year that the Internet was entirely privatized, with the United States government ...
, winning a second, four-year term. A new economic crisis began, and the opposing parties formed a political coalition, winning the 1997 midterm elections and the 1999 presidential election. Menem was investigated on various criminal and corruption charges, including illegal arms trafficking (he was sentenced to seven years in prison),
embezzlement Embezzlement (from Anglo-Norman, from Old French ''besillier'' ("to torment, etc."), of unknown origin) is a type of financial crime, usually involving theft of money from a business or employer. It often involves a trusted individual taking ...
of public funds (he was sentenced to years to prison),
extortion Extortion is the practice of obtaining benefit (e.g., money or goods) through coercion. In most jurisdictions it is likely to constitute a criminal offence. Robbery is the simplest and most common form of extortion, although making unfounded ...
and bribery (he was declared innocent of both charges). His position as senator earned him immunity from incarceration. Menem ran for the presidency again in
2003 2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater. In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War. Demographic ...
, but faced with a likely defeat in a
ballotage The two-round system (TRS or 2RS), sometimes called ballotage, top-two runoff, or two-round plurality, is a single-winner electoral system which aims to elect a member who has support of the majority of voters. The two-round system involves one ...
against
Néstor Kirchner Néstor Carlos Kirchner Ostoić (; 25 February 195027 October 2010) was an Argentine lawyer and politician who served as the president of Argentina from 2003 to 2007. A member of the Justicialist Party, he previously served as Governor of Sa ...
, he chose to pull out, effectively handing the presidency to Kirchner. He was elected senator for La Rioja in 2005. By the time he died in 2021 at age 90, he was the oldest living former Argentine president. He is regarded as a polarizing figure in Argentina, mostly due to corruption and economic mismanagement throughout his presidency.


Early life and education

Carlos Saúl Menem () was born on 2 July 1930 in Anillaco, a small town in the mountainous north of La Rioja Province, Argentina. His parents, Saúl Menem () and Mohibe Akil (), were
Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...
n nationals from Yabroud who had emigrated to Argentina. He attended elementary and high school in La Rioja, and joined a basketball team during his university studies. He visited
Buenos Aires Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− glob ...
in 1951 with the team, and met the president
Juan Perón Juan Domingo Perón (, , ; 8 October 1895 – 1 July 1974) was an Argentine military officer and Statesman (politician), statesman who served as the History of Argentina (1946-1955), 29th president of Argentina from 1946 to Revolución Libertad ...
and his wife
Eva Perón María Eva Duarte de Perón (; ; 7 May 1919 – 26 July 1952), better known as Eva Perón or by the nickname Evita (), was an Argentine politician, activist, actress, and philanthropist who served as First Lady of Argentina from June 1946 until ...
. This influenced Menem to become a
Peronist Peronism, also known as justicialism, is an Argentine ideology and movement based on the ideas, doctrine and legacy of Juan Perón (1895–1974). It has been an influential movement in 20th- and 21st-century Argentine politics. Since 1946, Pe ...
. He studied law at the
National University of Córdoba The National University of Córdoba (), is a public university located in the city of Córdoba, Argentina. Founded in 1613, the university is the oldest in Argentina, the third oldest university of the Americas, with the first university being ...
, graduating in 1955. After President Juan Perón's overthrow in 1955, Menem was briefly incarcerated. He later joined the successor to the Peronist Party, the
Justicialist Party The Justicialist Party (, ; abbr. PJ) is a major political party in Argentina, and the largest branch within Peronism. Following the 2023 presidential election, it has been the largest party in the opposition against President Javier Milei. Fo ...
''(Partido Justicialista)'' (PJ). He was elected president of its La Rioja Province chapter in 1973. In that capacity, he was included in the flight to Spain that brought Perón back to Argentina after his long
exile Exile or banishment is primarily penal expulsion from one's native country, and secondarily expatriation or prolonged absence from one's homeland under either the compulsion of circumstance or the rigors of some high purpose. Usually persons ...
. According to the Peronist politician Juan Manuel Abal Medina, Menem played no special part in the event.


Governor of La Rioja


1st term (1973–1976) and arrest

Menem was elected governor of La Rioja in 1973 when the
proscription Proscription () is, in current usage, a 'decree of condemnation to death or banishment' (''Oxford English Dictionary'') and can be used in a political context to refer to state-approved murder or banishment. The term originated in Ancient Rome ...
of Peronism was lifted. He was deposed during the
1976 Argentine coup d'état Events January * January 2 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 18 – Full diplomatic ...
that overthrew President
Isabel Perón Isabel Martínez de Perón (, born María Estela Martínez Cartas; 4 February 1931) is an Argentine politician who served as the 41st president of Argentina from 1974 to 1976. She was one of the List of elected and appointed female heads of s ...
. He was accused of corruption and having links with the guerrillas of the
Dirty War The Dirty War () is the name used by the military junta or National Reorganization Process, civic-military dictatorship of Argentina () for its period of state terrorism in Argentina from 1974 to 1983. During this campaign, military and secu ...
. He was detained on 25 March, kept for a week at a local barracks, and then moved to a temporary prison on the ship ''33 Orientales'' in Buenos Aires. He was detained alongside former ministers Antonio Cafiero, Jorge Taiana, Miguel Unamuno, José Deheza, and Pedro Arrighi, the unionists Jorge Triaca, Diego Ibáñez, and Lorenzo Miguel, the diplomat Jorge Vázquez, the journalist Osvaldo Papaleo, and the former president
Raúl Lastiri Raúl Alberto Lastiri (11 September 1915 – 11 December 1978) was an Argentine politician who was interim president of Argentina from 13 July 1973 until 12 October 1973. Lastiri, who presided over the Argentine Chamber of Deputies, was promote ...
. He shared a cell with Pedro Eladio Vázquez, Juan Perón's personal physician. During this time he helped the chaplain Lorenzo Lavalle, despite still being a
Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...
. In July he was sent to Magdalena, to a permanent prison. His wife Zulema visited him every week, but rejected his conversion to
Roman Catholicism The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
. His mother died during the time he was a prisoner, and dictator
Jorge Rafael Videla Jorge Rafael Videla ( ; ; 2 August 1925 – 17 May 2013) was an Argentine military officer and the ''de facto'' President of Argentina from 1976 to 1981, during the National Reorganization Process. His rule, which was during the time of Operati ...
denied his request to attend her funeral. He was released on 29 July 1978, on the condition that he live in a city outside his home province without leaving it. He settled in
Mar del Plata Mar del Plata is a city on the coast of the Argentine Sea, Atlantic Ocean, in Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. It is the seat of General Pueyrredón Partido, General Pueyrredón district. Mar del Plata is the second largest city in Buenos Aires ...
. Menem met Admiral Eduardo Massera, who intended to run for president, and had public meetings with personalities such as Carlos Monzón, Susana Giménez, and
Alberto Olmedo Alberto Olmedo (24 August 1933 – 5 March 1988) was an Argentine comedian and actor, popularly regarded as one of the most important comedians in the history of his country, for his outstanding work in television, cinema and theater. Olmedo w ...
. As a result, he was forced to reside in another city,
Tandil Tandil is the main city of the homonymous partido (department), located in Argentina, in the southeast of Buenos Aires Province, just north-northwest of Tandilia hills. The city was founded in 1823, and its name originates from the '' Piedra M ...
. He had to report daily to Chief of Police Hugo Zamora. This forced residence was lifted in February 1980. He returned to Buenos Aires, and then to La Rioja. He resumed his political activities, despite the prohibition, and was detained again. His new forced residence was in Las Lomitas in the province of
Formosa Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The island of Taiwan, formerly known to Westerners as Formosa, has an area of and makes up 99% of the land under ROC control. It lies about across the Taiwan Strait f ...
. He was one of the last politicians to be released from prison by the
National Reorganization Process The National Reorganization Process ( PRN; often simply , "the Process") was the military dictatorship that ruled Argentina from 1976 to 1983. In Argentina it is often known simply as the ("last military junta"), ("last military dictatorship") ...
.


2nd and 3rd terms (1983–1989)

Military rule ended in 1983, and the Radical
Raúl Alfonsín Raúl Ricardo Alfonsín (; 12 March 1927 – 31 March 2009) was an Argentine lawyer and statesman who served as President of Argentina from 10 December 1983 to 8 July 1989. He was the first democratically elected president after the 7-yea ...
was elected president. Menem ran for governor again and was elected by a clear margin. The province benefited from tax regulations established by the military, which allowed increased industrial growth. His party gained control of the provincial legislature, and he was re-elected in 1987 with 63% of the vote. The Partido Justicialista at the time was divided into two factions, the conservatives that still supported the political doctrines of Juan and Isabel Perón, and those who proposed a renovation of the party. The internal disputes ceased in 1987. Menem, with his prominent victory in his district, was one of the leading figures of the party and disputed its leadership.


Presidential elections

Antonio Cafiero, who had been elected governor of Buenos Aires Province, led the renewal of the Partido Justicialista, and was considered their most likely candidate for the presidency. Menem, on the other hand, was seen as a
populist Populism is a contested concept used to refer to a variety of political stances that emphasize the idea of the " common people" and often position this group in opposition to a perceived elite. It is frequently associated with anti-establis ...
leader. Using a
big tent A big tent party, or catch-all party, is a political party having members covering a broad spectrum of beliefs. This is in contrast to other kinds of parties, which defend a determined ideology, seek voters who adhere to that ideology, and att ...
approach, he got support from several unrelated political figures. As a result, he defeated Cafiero in the primary elections. He sought alliances with Bunge and Born, union leaders, former members of
Montoneros Montoneros (, MPM) was an Argentine far-left politics, far-left Peronism, Peronist, Camilism, Camilist and Catholic Church, Roman Catholic revolutionary Guerrilla warfare, guerrilla organization, which emerged in the 1970s during the "Argentine ...
, and the AAA, people from the church, " Carapintadas", etc. He promised a "revolution of production" and huge wage increases, but it was not clear exactly which policies he was proposing. The rival candidate, Eduardo Angeloz, tried to point out the mistakes made by Menem and Alfonsín. Jacques de Mahieu, a French ideologue of the Peronist movement (and former
Vichy Vichy (, ; ) is a city in the central French department of Allier. Located on the Allier river, it is a major spa and resort town and during World War II was the capital of Vichy France. As of 2021, Vichy has a population of 25,789. Known f ...
collaborator), was photographed campaigning for Menem. His campaign slogans were ''¡Siganme!'' (Follow me!) and ''¡No los voy a defraudar!'' (I won't let you down!) The elections were held on 14 May 1989. Menem won by a wide margin, and became the president-elect of Argentina. He was scheduled to take office on 10 December, but inflation levels took a turn for the worse, growing into
hyperinflation In economics, hyperinflation is a very high and typically accelerating inflation. It quickly erodes the real versus nominal value (economics), real value of the local currency, as the prices of all goods increase. This causes people to minimiz ...
, causing public riots. The outgoing president Alfonsín resigned and transferred power to Menem five months early, on 8 July. Menem's accession marked the first time since Hipólito Yrigoyen took office in 1916 that an incumbent president peacefully transferred power to an elected successor from the opposition.Edwards, p. 162


Presidency


Economic policy

Hyperinflation forced Menem to abandon party
orthodoxy Orthodoxy () is adherence to a purported "correct" or otherwise mainstream- or classically-accepted creed, especially in religion. Orthodoxy within Christianity refers to acceptance of the doctrines defined by various creeds and ecumenical co ...
in favour of a fiscally conservative, market-oriented economic policy. At the time, most economists thought that the ideal solution was the
Washington Consensus The Washington Consensus is a set of ten economic policy prescriptions considered in the 1980s and 1990s to constitute the "standard" reform package promoted for Economic crisis, crisis-wracked developing country, developing countries by the Was ...
; i.e. reduce expenditures below the amount of money earned by the state, and open international commerce to
free trade Free trade is a trade policy that does not restrict imports or exports. In government, free trade is predominantly advocated by political parties that hold Economic liberalism, economically liberal positions, while economic nationalist politica ...
. Alfonsín had proposed similar reforms in the past, alongside some limited
privatization Privatization (rendered privatisation in British English) can mean several different things, most commonly referring to moving something from the public sector into the private sector. It is also sometimes used as a synonym for deregulation w ...
of
state-owned enterprise A state-owned enterprise (SOE) is a business entity created or owned by a national or local government, either through an executive order or legislation. SOEs aim to generate profit for the government, prevent private sector monopolies, provide goo ...
s; those projects were resisted by the Partido Justicialistal opposition party, whose internal factions were actually benefiting from the prevailing protectionist policies. The magnitude of the crisis, however, convinced most politicians to change their minds. Menem, fearing that the crisis might force him to resign as well, embraced the Washington Consensus and rejected the traditional policies of
Peronism Peronism, also known as justicialism, is an Argentine ideology and movement based on the ideas, doctrine and legacy of Juan Perón (1895–1974). It has been an influential movement in 20th- and 21st-century Argentine politics. Since 1946, P ...
. The president invited several
conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...
figures into his cabinet, such as
Álvaro Alsogaray Álvaro Carlos Alsogaray (22 June 1913 – 1 April 2005) was an Argentine politician and economist. He has been known for being Minister of Economy on two occasions, Minister of Industry, Ambassador to the United States, and National Deputy. He p ...
, as well as a businessman from Bunge and Born; Miguel Roig, the company's then-vice president, became Menem's first appointed minister of economy on 30 May, although he would be replaced just five days after taking office due to his sudden death by
myocardial infarction A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...
; in his place was appointed Néstor Mario Rapanelli, who had succeeded Roig as vice president at Bunge and Born. Congress passed the economic emergency and state reform laws. The first allowed president Menem to reduce or remove
subsidies A subsidy, subvention or government incentive is a type of government expenditure for individuals and households, as well as businesses with the aim of stabilizing the economy. It ensures that individuals and households are viable by having acce ...
at his discretion, and the latter to privatize state enterprises – the first being telephones and airlines. These privatizations were beneficial to foreign creditors, who replaced their bonds with company shares.Romero, p. 289 Despite increased
tax revenue Tax revenue is the income that is collected by governments through taxation. Taxation is the primary source of government revenue. Revenue may be extracted from sources such as individuals, public enterprises, trade, royalties on natural reso ...
and the money gained from privatizations, the economy was still unstable. The Bunge and Born businessmen left the government in late 1989, amid a second round of
hyperinflation In economics, hyperinflation is a very high and typically accelerating inflation. It quickly erodes the real versus nominal value (economics), real value of the local currency, as the prices of all goods increase. This causes people to minimiz ...
. The first measure of the new minister of economy, Antonio Erman González, was a mandatory conversion of
time deposit A time deposit or term deposit (also known as a certificate of deposit in the United States, and as a guaranteed investment certificate in Canada) is a deposit in a financial institution with a specific maturity date or a period to maturity, c ...
s into
government bond A government bond or sovereign bond is a form of Bond (finance), bond issued by a government to support government spending, public spending. It generally includes a commitment to pay periodic interest, called Coupon (finance), coupon payments' ...
s: the BONEX plan. It exacerbated the recession but was successful in reducing the inflation rate, which was its intended purpose.Edwards, p. 103Romero, p. 290 His fourth minister of economy, Domingo Cavallo, was appointed in 1991 and deepened the
liberalization Liberalization or liberalisation (British English) is a broad term that refers to the practice of making laws, systems, or opinions less severe, usually in the sense of eliminating certain government regulations or restrictions. The term is used ...
of the economy. The Convertibility plan was sanctioned by Congress, setting a one-to-one
fixed exchange rate A fixed exchange rate, often called a pegged exchange rate, is a type of exchange rate regime in which a currency's value is fixed or pegged by a monetary authority against the value of another currency, a currency basket, basket of other currenc ...
between the
United States dollar The United States dollar (Currency symbol, symbol: Dollar sign, $; ISO 4217, currency code: USD) is the official currency of the United States and International use of the U.S. dollar, several other countries. The Coinage Act of 1792 introdu ...
and the new
peso The peso is the monetary unit of several Hispanophone, Spanish-speaking countries in Latin America, as well as the Philippines. Originating in the Spanish Empire, the word translates to "weight". In most countries of the Americas, the symbol com ...
, which replaced the austral. The law also limited public expenditures, but this was frequently ignored. Under Cavallo, there was increased
free trade Free trade is a trade policy that does not restrict imports or exports. In government, free trade is predominantly advocated by political parties that hold Economic liberalism, economically liberal positions, while economic nationalist politica ...
, alongside a general reduction of
tariff A tariff or import tax is a duty (tax), duty imposed by a national Government, government, customs territory, or supranational union on imports of goods and is paid by the importer. Exceptionally, an export tax may be levied on exports of goods ...
s on imports and state regulations to tackle inflation, and high taxes on sales and earnings to reduce the deficit caused by it. Initially, the plan was a success: the
capital flight Capital flight, in economics, is the rapid flow of assets or money out of a country, due to an event of economic consequence or as the result of a political event such as regime change or economic globalization. Such events could be erratic or ...
ended, interest rates were lowered, inflation fell to single digits, and economic activity increased; in that year alone, the
gross domestic product Gross domestic product (GDP) is a monetary measure of the total market value of all the final goods and services produced and rendered in a specific time period by a country or countries. GDP is often used to measure the economic performanc ...
grew at a rate of 10.5%. The money from privatizations allowed Argentina to repurchase many of the
Brady Bonds Brady bonds are United States dollar, dollar-denominated Bond (finance), bonds, issued mostly by Latin American countries in the late 1980s. The bonds were named after United States Secretary of the Treasury Nicholas F. Brady, who proposed a nov ...
issued during the crisis.Romero, p. 291 The privatizations of
electricity Electricity is the set of physical phenomena associated with the presence and motion of matter possessing an electric charge. Electricity is related to magnetism, both being part of the phenomenon of electromagnetism, as described by Maxwel ...
,
water Water is an inorganic compound with the chemical formula . It is a transparent, tasteless, odorless, and Color of water, nearly colorless chemical substance. It is the main constituent of Earth's hydrosphere and the fluids of all known liv ...
, and
gas Gas is a state of matter that has neither a fixed volume nor a fixed shape and is a compressible fluid. A ''pure gas'' is made up of individual atoms (e.g. a noble gas like neon) or molecules of either a single type of atom ( elements such as ...
services were more successful than previous ones. YPF, the national oil refinery, was partially privatized as well, with the state keeping a good portion of its shares. The project to privatize the
pension fund A pension fund, also known as a superannuation fund in some countries, is any program, fund, or scheme which provides pension, retirement income. The U.S. Government's Social Security Trust Fund, which oversees $2.57 trillion in assets, is the ...
s was resisted in Congress and was approved as a mixed system that allowed both public and private options for workers. The national state also signed a fiscal pact with the provinces, so that they reduced their local deficits as well;
Buenos Aires Province Buenos Aires, officially the Buenos Aires Province, is the largest and most populous Provinces of Argentina, Argentine province. It takes its name from the city of Buenos Aires, the capital of the country, which used to be part of the province an ...
was aided with a fund that gave the governor a million pesos daily. Although the Convertibility plan had positive consequences in the short term, it caused problems that surfaced later. Large numbers of employees of privatized state enterprises were fired, and unemployment grew to over 10%. Big compensation payments prevented an immediate public reaction. Free trade and the expensive costs in dollars forced private companies to reduce the number of workers as well, or risk bankruptcy. Unions were unable to resist the changes. People with low incomes, such as retirees and state workers, suffered under tax increases while their wages remained frozen. Some provinces, such as
Santiago del Estero Santiago del Estero (, Spanish for ''Saint-James-Upon-The-Lagoon'') is the capital of Santiago del Estero Province in northern Argentina. It has a population of 252,192 inhabitants, () making it the twelfth largest city in the country, with a sur ...
, Jujuy, and
San Juan San Juan, Spanish for Saint John (disambiguation), Saint John, most commonly refers to: * San Juan, Puerto Rico * San Juan, Argentina * San Juan, Metro Manila, a highly urbanized city in the Philippines San Juan may also refer to: Places Arge ...
, endured violent riots as well. To compensate for these issues, the government started a number of social welfare programs and restored protectionist policies over some sectors of the economy. It was difficult for Argentine companies to export, and easy imports damaged most national producers. The national budget soon slid into a deficit. Cavallo soon began the second wave of privatizations, this time targeting the national postal service, the Correo Argentino, and the country's nuclear power plants. He also limited the amount of money released to the provinces. He still had the full support of Menem, despite growing opposition within the Justicialist Party. The Mexican Tequila Crisis of 1994 impacted the national economy, causing the deficit, recession, and a growth in unemployment. The government further reduced public expenditures, the wages of state workers, and raised taxes. The deficit and recession were reduced, but unemployment stayed high. External debt increased. The crisis also proved that the economic system was vulnerable to capital flight. The growing discontent over unemployment and the scandals caused by the privatization of the postal service led to Cavallo's removal as a minister, and his replacement by Roque Fernández.Romero, pp. 308–309 Fernández maintained Cavallo's fiscal
austerity In economic policy, austerity is a set of Political economy, political-economic policies that aim to reduce government budget deficits through Government spending, spending cuts, tax increases, or a combination of both. There are three prim ...
; he increased the price of fuels, sold the remaining state shares of YPF to
Repsol Repsol S.A.
El Nuevo Herald, 2012-05-31
Originally an init ...
, fired state employees, and raised the
value-added tax A value-added tax (VAT or goods and services tax (GST), general consumption tax (GCT)) is a consumption tax that is levied on the value added at each stage of a product's production and distribution. VAT is similar to, and is often compared wi ...
to 21%. New labor law was met with resistance, both by Peronists, opposition parties, and unions, and could not be approved by Congress. The
1997 Asian financial crisis The 1997 Asian financial crisis gripped much of East Asia, East and Southeast Asia during the late 1990s. The crisis began in Thailand in July 1997 before spreading to several other countries with a ripple effect, raising fears of a worldwide eco ...
and the
1998 Russian financial crisis The Russian financial crisis (also called the ruble crisis or the Russian flu) began in Russia on 17 August 1998. It resulted in the Russian government and the Russian Central Bank devaluing the Russian rouble, ruble and sovereign default, defau ...
also affected the country with consequences that lasted longer than the Tequila Crisis and started a depression.


Domestic policy

Menem began his presidency assuming a non-confrontational approach, appointing people from the conservative opposition and business people to his cabinet. To prevent successful legal cases against pro-market economic reforms, the
Supreme Court In most legal jurisdictions, a supreme court, also known as a court of last resort, apex court, high (or final) court of appeal, and court of final appeal, is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...
's numbers were increased from five to nine judges; the new judges ruled in support of Menem and usually had the majority. Other institutions that restrained or limited executive power were controlled as well. When Congress resisted some of his proposals, he used the Necessity and Urgency Decree as an alternative to sending bills to it. He even considered it feasible to dissolve Congress and rule by decree, but this step was never implemented. In addition, he developed a ''bon vivant'' lifestyle, taking advantage of his authority. For instance, he made a journey from Buenos Aires to
Pinamar Pinamar is an Argentina, Argentine coastal resort city located on the coast of the Atlantic Ocean in Buenos Aires Province. It has about 45,000 inhabitants (2020). Located less than south of Buenos Aires, it is one of several small seaside comm ...
driving a Ferrari 348 TB (often misreported as a Ferrari Testarossa) in less than two hours, violating speed limits. He divorced his wife Zulema Yoma and expanded the Quinta de Olivos presidential residence with a golf course, a small zoo, servants, a barber, and even a buffoon. The swiftgate scandal broke out in December 1990, as American investors were damaged by a case of corruption, and asked for assistance from the United States' Ambassador Terence Todman. Most of the ministers resigned as a result of it. Cavallo was reassigned as minister of economy, and his successful economic plan turned him into a prominent figure in Menem's cabinet. Cavallo brought a number of independent economists to the cabinet, and Menem supported him by replacing Peronist politicians. Both teams complemented each other. Both Menem and Cavallo tried to be recognized as the designer of the convertibility plan. Antonio Cafiero, a rival of Menem in the Partido Justicialistal, was unable to amend the constitution of the province of Buenos Aires to run for re-election. Duhalde stepped down from the vice presidency and became the new governor in the 1991 elections, turning the province into a powerful bastion. Menem also selected famous people with no political background to run for office in those elections, including the singer Palito Ortega and racing driver
Carlos Reutemann Carlos Alberto "Lole" Reutemann (12 April 1942 – 7 July 2021) was an Argentine racing driver and politician, who competed in Formula One from to and served as the Governor of Santa Fe from 1999 to 2003. Reutemann was runner-up in the Form ...
. The elections were a big success for the Partido Justicialistal. After these elections, all of the Partido Justicialistal, was aligned with Menem's leadership, with the exception of a small number of legislators known as the "Group of Eight". The opposition from the UCR was minimal, as the party was still discredited by the 1989 crisis. With such political influence, Menem began his proposal to amend the constitution to allow a re-election. The party did not have the required supermajority in the Congress to call for it. The Partido Justicialistal was divided, as other politicians intended to replace Menem in 1995 or negotiate their support. The UCR was divided as well, as Alfonsín opposed the proposal, but governors Angeloz and Massaccesi were open for negotiations. The victory in the 1993 elections strengthened his proposal, which was approved by the Senate. Menem called for a non-binding referendum on the proposal, to increase pressure on the Radical deputies. He also sent a bill to Congress to modify the majority requirements. Alfonsín met with Menem and agreed to support the proposal in exchange for amendments that would place limits on presidential power. This negotiation is known as the Pact of Olivos. The capital city of Buenos Aires would be allowed to elect its own chief of government. Presidential elections would use a system of
ballotage The two-round system (TRS or 2RS), sometimes called ballotage, top-two runoff, or two-round plurality, is a single-winner electoral system which aims to elect a member who has support of the majority of voters. The two-round system involves one ...
, and the president could only be re-elected once. The
electoral college An electoral college is a body whose task is to elect a candidate to a particular office. It is mostly used in the political context for a constitutional body that appoints the head of state or government, and sometimes the upper parliament ...
was abolished, replaced by
direct elections Direct election is a system of choosing political officeholders in which the voters directly cast ballots for the persons or political party that they want to see elected. The method by which the winner or winners of a direct election are chosen ...
. The provinces would be allowed to elect a third senator; two for the majority party and one for the first minority. The
Council of Magistracy of the Nation The Council of Magistracy of the Nation () is an organ of the Judicial Branch of the Government of Argentina. It is in charge of appointing judges, of presenting charges against them to an Accusation Jury, and of suspending or deposing them. The c ...
would have the power to propose new judges, and the Necessity and Urgency Decrees would have a reduced scope. Despite the internal opposition of
Fernando de la Rúa Fernando de la Rúa (15 September 19379 July 2019) served as the President of Argentina from 1999 until his resignation in 2001. A member of the Radical Civic Union, he previously served as national senator for Buenos Aires across non-consecuti ...
, Alfonsín got his party to approve the pact. He reasoned that Menem would be supported by the eventual referendum, that many legislators would turn to his side, and he would eventually be able to amend the constitution reinforcing presidential power rather than limiting it. Still, as both sides feared a betrayal, all the contents of the pact were included as a single proposal, not allowing the Constituent Assembly to discuss each one separately. The Broad Front, a new political party composed of former Peronists, led by Carlos Álvarez, grew in the elections for the Constituent Assembly. Both the Partido Justicialista and the UCR respected the pact, which was completely approved. Duhalde made a similar amendment to the constitution of Buenos Aires province, in order to be re-elected in 1995. Menem won the elections with more than 50% of the vote, followed by José Octavio Bordón and Carlos Álvarez. The UCR finished third in the elections for the first time. Growing unemployment increased popular resistance against Menem after his re-election. There were several riots and demonstrations in the provinces, unions opposed the economic policies, and the opposing parties organized the first '' cacerolazos''.
Estanislao Esteban Karlic Estanislao Esteban Karlic (born 7 February 1926) is an Argentine cardinal of the Catholic Church. He served as Archbishop of Paraná from 1986 to 2003, and was elevated to the cardinalate in 2007. Biography Estanislao Karlic was born in Oliva ...
replaced Antonio Quarracino as the head of the
Argentine Episcopal Conference The Argentine Episcopal Conference () is an episcopal conference of the Catholic Church in Argentina that gathers the bishops of the country in order to discuss pastoral issues and in general all matters that have to do with the Church. The followi ...
, which led to a growing opposition to Menem from the Church. The teachers' unions established a "white tent" at the Congressional plaza as a form of protest. The first '' piqueteros'' operated in Cutral Có, and this protest method was soon imitated in the rest of the country. Menem's authority in the Partido Justicialista was also held in doubt, as he was unable to run for another re-election and the party sought a candidate for the 1999 elections. This led to a fierce rivalry with Duhalde, the most likely candidate. Menem attempted to undermine his chances, and proposed a new amendment to the constitution allowing him to run for an unlimited number of re-elections. He also started a judicial case, claiming that his inability to run for a third term was a
proscription Proscription () is, in current usage, a 'decree of condemnation to death or banishment' (''Oxford English Dictionary'') and can be used in a political context to refer to state-approved murder or banishment. The term originated in Ancient Rome ...
. Several scandals erupted, such as the scandal over Argentine arms sales to Ecuador and Croatia, the Río Tercero explosion that may have destroyed evidence, the murder of the journalist
José Luis Cabezas José Luis Cabezas (Wilde, Buenos Aires, 28 November 1961 – General Madariaga, 25 January 1997) was an Argentine news photographer and reporter who worked for , a leading local newsmagazine. Cabezas gained notoriety after he was kidnapped and k ...
, and the suicide of
Alfredo Yabrán Alfredo Enrique Nalib Yabrán (1 November 1944 – 20 May 1998) was a businessman in Argentina, with close links with the government, in particular with the administration of Carlos Saúl Menem. Yabrán killed himself while facing arrest for sus ...
, who may have ordered it. The Partido Justicialista lost the 1997 midterm elections against the UCR and the FREPASO united in a political coalition, the
Alliance for Work, Justice and Education The Alliance for Work, Justice, and Education (in Spanish language, Spanish: ''Alianza para el Trabajo, la Justicia y la Educación''), also known as the Alliance (in Spanish language, Spanish: ''Alianza'') was a political coalition in Argentina ...
(Alianza). The Supreme Court confirmed that Menem was unable to run for a third re-election. Duhalde became the candidate for the presidential elections, and lost to the candidate for the Alianza ticket, Fernando de la Rúa.


Foreign policy

During Menem's presidency, Argentina aligned with the
United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
, and had special relations with the country. Menem had good relations with U.S. president
George H. W. Bush George Herbert Walker BushBefore the outcome of the 2000 United States presidential election, he was usually referred to simply as "George Bush" but became more commonly known as "George H. W. Bush", "Bush Senior," "Bush 41," and even "Bush th ...
, and his successor
Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton (né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician and lawyer who was the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, ...
from 1993 on. The country left the
Non-Aligned Movement The Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) is a forum of 121 countries that Non-belligerent, are not formally aligned with or against any major power bloc. It was founded with the view to advancing interests of developing countries in the context of Cold W ...
, and the Cóndor missile program was discontinued. Argentina supported all the international positions of the U.S., and sent forces to the
Gulf War , combatant2 = , commander1 = , commander2 = , strength1 = Over 950,000 soldiers3,113 tanks1,800 aircraft2,200 artillery systems , page = https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-PEMD-96- ...
, and the peace keeping efforts during the War in Bosnia and after the
Kosovo War The Kosovo War (; sr-Cyrl-Latn, Косовски рат, Kosovski rat) was an armed conflict in Kosovo that lasted from 28 February 1998 until 11 June 1999. It ...
.Romero, p. 303 The country was accepted as a
major non-NATO ally A major non-NATO ally (MNNA) is a designation given by the Federal government of the United States, United States government to countries that have strategic working relationships with the United States Armed Forces while not being members of t ...
, but not as a full member. Menem's government re-established relations with the
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
, suspended since the
Falklands War The Falklands War () was a ten-week undeclared war between Argentina and the United Kingdom in 1982 over two British Overseas Territories, British dependent territories in the South Atlantic: the Falkland Islands and Falkland Islands Dependenci ...
, after
Margaret Thatcher Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher (; 13 October 19258 April 2013), was a British stateswoman who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of th ...
left office in 1990. The discussions on the Falkland Islands sovereignty dispute were temporarily given a lower priority, and the focus shifted to discussions of fishing rights. In 1991, Menem became the first head of state of Argentina to make a diplomatic visit to
Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...
. He proposed mediating between Israel and
Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...
in their negotiations over the
Golan Heights The Golan Heights, or simply the Golan, is a basaltic plateau at the southwest corner of Syria. It is bordered by the Yarmouk River in the south, the Sea of Galilee and Hula Valley in the west, the Anti-Lebanon mountains with Mount Hermon in t ...
. The diplomatic relations between Argentina and Israel were later damaged by the lack of results in the investigations over the terrorist attacks against the Israeli embassy and the AMIA center in Buenos Aires. In 1998, Menem visited Russia, and met with Russian president
Boris Yeltsin Boris Nikolayevich Yeltsin (1 February 1931 – 23 April 2007) was a Soviet and Russian politician and statesman who served as President of Russia from 1991 to 1999. He was a member of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU) from 1961 to ...
, where Menem expressed his anticommunist sentiments and congratulated Yeltsin for "defeating communism" in Russia.


Chile

Menem also settled all remaining border issues with
Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...
. The Lago del Desierto dispute had an international arbitration, favourable to Argentina. The only exception was the dispute over the Southern Patagonian Ice Field, which is still open. Previously and contrary to other Peronist authorities, Menem voted for the Treaty of Peace and Friendship of 1984 between Chile and Argentina. Chilean president
Patricio Aylwin Patricio Aylwin Azócar (; 26 November 1918 – 19 April 2016) was a Chilean politician from the Christian Democratic Party of Chile, Christian Democratic Party, lawyer, author, professor and former senator. He was the 30th president of Chil ...
was at first sceptical towards his Argentine counterpart whom he according to Emol considered "scruffy" (). Over time however Aylwin changed his opinion, saying at one point "this Turk wins everybody over" (''este turco se los conquista a todos''). Aylwin's successor,
Eduardo Frei Ruiz-Tagle Eduardo Alfredo Juan Bernardo Frei Ruiz–Tagle (; born 24 June 1942) is a Chilean politician and civil engineering, civil engineer who served as president of Chile from 1994 to 2000. He was also a Senate of Chile, Senator, fulfilling the role of ...
, had particularly warm relations with Menem. Former Chilean foreign minister
José Miguel Insulza José Miguel Insulza Salinas (born June 2, 1943) is a Chilean politician, lawyer, and academic serving as a senator for the Arica y Parinacota Region since 2018. He previously served as Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1994 to 1999 and Ministe ...
recalls of meetings with Menem and Eduardo Frei Ruiz-Tagle in Anillaco in the 1990s where they enjoyed talking about politics and football. All of this made the critics of Menem label him "pro-Chilean". President of Chile
Sebastián Piñera Miguel Juan Sebastián Piñera Echenique (; 1 December 1949 – 6 February 2024) was a Chilean businessman and politician who served as President of Chile from 2010 to 2014 and again from 2018 to 2022. The son of a Christian Democratic Party (C ...
posthumously called him "a good friend of Chile". Similarly, José Miguel Insulza called Menem "one of the best friends of Chile".


Armed forces

Argentina was still divided by the aftermath of the
Dirty War The Dirty War () is the name used by the military junta or National Reorganization Process, civic-military dictatorship of Argentina () for its period of state terrorism in Argentina from 1974 to 1983. During this campaign, military and secu ...
(the dirty war ended in 1983, Menem's presidency began in 1989). Menem proposed an agenda of national reconciliation. First, he arranged the
repatriation Repatriation is the return of a thing or person to its or their country of origin, respectively. The term may refer to non-human entities, such as converting a foreign currency into the currency of one's own country, as well as the return of mi ...
of the body of
Juan Manuel de Rosas Juan Manuel José Domingo Ortiz de Rozas y López de Osornio (30 March 1793 – 14 March 1877), nicknamed "Restorer of the Laws", was an Argentine politician and army officer who ruled Buenos Aires Province and briefly the Argentine Confedera ...
, a controversial 19th century governor, and proposed to reconcile his legacy with those of
Bartolomé Mitre Bartolomé Mitre (26 June 1821 – 19 January 1906) was an Argentine statesman, soldier and author. He was President of Argentina from 1862 to 1868 and the first president of Argentine Civil Wars#National unification, unified Argentina. Mitre i ...
and
Domingo Faustino Sarmiento Domingo Faustino Sarmiento (15 February 1811 – 11 September 1888) was President of Argentina from 1868 to 1874. He was a member of a group of intellectuals, known as the '' Generation of 1837'', who had a great influence on 19th-century Argent ...
, who also fought in the
Argentine Civil Wars The Argentine Civil Wars were a series of civil conflicts of varying intensity that took place in the territories of Argentina from 1814 to 1853. Beginning concurrently with the Argentine War of Independence (1810–1818), the conflict prevente ...
. Menem intended to use the reconciliation of these historical Argentine figures as a metaphor for the reconciliation of the Dirty War. However, although the repatriation and acceptance of Rosas was a success, the acceptance of the military regime was not. The military leaders of the
National Reorganization Process The National Reorganization Process ( PRN; often simply , "the Process") was the military dictatorship that ruled Argentina from 1976 to 1983. In Argentina it is often known simply as the ("last military junta"), ("last military dictatorship") ...
, convicted in the 1985
Trial of the Juntas The Trial of the Juntas () was the judicial trial of the members of the ''de facto'' military government that ruled Argentina during the dictatorship of the '' Proceso de Reorganización Nacional'' (''el Proceso''), which lasted from 1976 to 1 ...
, received presidential pardons, despite popular opposition to them. This was an old request of the '' Carapintadas'' in previous years. However, Menem did not apply their proposed changes to the military. The colonel, Mohamed Alí Seineldín, who was also pardoned, started a new mutiny, killing two military men. Unlike the mutinies that took place during the presidency of Alfonsín, the military fully obeyed Menem's orders for a forceful repression. Seineldín was utterly defeated, and sentenced to life imprisonment. This was the last military mutiny in Argentina. The president effected drastic cuts to the military budget, and privatized military factories. Menem appointed Lt. Gen. Martín Balza, who had performed well during the repression of Seineldín's mutiny, as the Army's General Chief of Staff (head of the military hierarchy). The death of a conscript soldier in 1994, victim of abuses by his superiors, led to the abolition of conscription in the country. The following year, Balza voiced the first institutional self-criticism of the armed forces during the Dirty War, saying that obedience did not justify the actions committed in those years.


Terrorist attacks

The Israeli embassy suffered a terrorist car bomb attack on 17 March 1992. It was perceived as a consequence of Argentina's involvement in the
Gulf War , combatant2 = , commander1 = , commander2 = , strength1 = Over 950,000 soldiers3,113 tanks1,800 aircraft2,200 artillery systems , page = https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-PEMD-96- ...
. Although
Hezbollah Hezbollah ( ; , , ) is a Lebanese Shia Islamist political party and paramilitary group. Hezbollah's paramilitary wing is the Jihad Council, and its political wing is the Loyalty to the Resistance Bloc party in the Lebanese Parliament. I ...
claimed responsibility for it, the Supreme Court investigated several other hypotheses. The Court wrote a report in 1996 suggesting that it could have been the explosion of an arms cache stored in the basement. Another hypothesis was that the attack could have been performed by Jewish extremists, in order to cast blame on Muslims and thwart the peace negotiations. The Court finally held Hezbollah responsible for the attack in May 1999. The Argentine Israelite Mutual Association suffered a
terrorist attack Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of violence against non-combatants to achieve political or ideological aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violence during peacetime or in the context of war a ...
with another
car bomb A car bomb, bus bomb, van bomb, lorry bomb, or truck bomb, also known as a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device (VBIED), is an improvised explosive device designed to be detonated in an automobile or other vehicles. Car bombs can be roug ...
on 18 July 1994, killing eighty-five people. It was the most destructive terrorist attack in the history of Latin America. The attack was universally condemned and 155,000 people demonstrated at the Congressional plaza, but Menem did not attend.Ruggiero, p. 90 The legal case stayed unresolved during the remainder of Menem's presidency. Menem had suggested, in the first press conference, that former ''Carapintada'' leaders may be responsible for the attack, but this idea was rejected by the minister of defense several hours later. The
CIA The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA; ) is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States tasked with advancing national security through collecting and analyzing intelligence from around the world and ...
office in Buenos Aires initially considered it a joint Iranian-Syrian attack, but some days later considered it just an Iranian attack. Menem and
Mossad The Institute for Intelligence and Special Operations (), popularly known as Mossad ( , ), is the national intelligence agency of the Israel, State of Israel. It is one of the main entities in the Israeli Intelligence Community, along with M ...
also preferred this line of investigation. As a result of the attack, the Jewish community in Argentina had increased influence over Argentine politics. Years later, the prosecutor Alberto Nisman charged Menem with covering up a local connection to the attack, as the local terrorists may have been distant Syrian relatives of the Menem family. However, Menem was never tried for this suspected cover-up, and on 18 January 2015, Nisman was found dead of a gunshot to his head at his home in Buenos Aires. On 15 March 1995, Menem's son Carlos Menem Jr. died while piloting a Bell 206B-3 helicopter, along with his friend and fellow racing driver Silvio Oltra who was riding as a passenger. The helicopter reportedly struck
overhead power lines An overhead power line is a structure used in electric power transmission and Electric power distribution, distribution to transmit electrical energy along large distances. It consists of one or more electrical conductor, conductors (commonly mu ...
near Ramallo in the north of the province of
Buenos Aires Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− glob ...
and crashed, killing both men. Later on, remains of Menem Jr. were exhumed amid murder claims by his mother Zulema Yoma. Menem had accused the Lebanese
Shia Shia Islam is the second-largest branch of Islam. It holds that Muhammad designated Ali ibn Abi Talib () as both his political successor (caliph) and as the spiritual leader of the Muslim community (imam). However, his right is understood ...
Islamist group,
Hezbollah Hezbollah ( ; , , ) is a Lebanese Shia Islamist political party and paramilitary group. Hezbollah's paramilitary wing is the Jihad Council, and its political wing is the Loyalty to the Resistance Bloc party in the Lebanese Parliament. I ...
, of killing his son.


Post-presidency

Menem ran in 2003 and won the greatest number of votes, 24%, in the first round of the 27 April 2003
presidential election A presidential election is the election of any head of state whose official title is President. Elections by country Albania The president of Albania is elected by the Assembly of Albania who are elected by the Albanian public. Chile The p ...
; but votes were split among numerous parties. Under the 1994 amendment, a presidential candidate can win outright by winning 45% of the vote, or 40% if the margin of victory is 10 or more percentage points. This set the stage for Argentina's first-ever ballotage between Menem and second-place finisher, and fellow Peronist,
Néstor Kirchner Néstor Carlos Kirchner Ostoić (; 25 February 195027 October 2010) was an Argentine lawyer and politician who served as the president of Argentina from 2003 to 2007. A member of the Justicialist Party, he previously served as Governor of Sa ...
, who had received 22%. It was scheduled for 18 May. However, by that time, Menem had become very unpopular. Polls predicted that he faced almost certain defeat by Kirchner in the runoff. Most polls showed Kirchner taking at least 60 percent of the vote, and at least one poll showed Menem losing by as many as 50 points. To avoid a humiliating defeat, Menem withdrew his candidacy on 14 May, effectively handing the presidency to Kirchner. Ángel Maza, the elected governor of La Rioja, was allied with Menem, and had campaigned for him. However, weak provincial finances forced Maza to switch his support to Kirchner, which weakened Menem's influence even further. In June 2004 Menem announced that he had founded a new faction within the Partido Justicialista, called "People's Peronism". He announced his intention to run in the 2007 election. In 2005, the press reported that he was trying to form an alliance with his former minister of economy Cavallo to fight in the parliamentary elections. Menem said that there had been only preliminary conversations and an alliance did not result. In the 23 October 2005 elections, Menem won the minority seat in the Senate representing his province of birth. The two seats allocated to the majority were won by President Kirchner's faction, locally led by Ángel Maza. Menem ran for Governor of La Rioja in August 2007, but was defeated. He finished in third place with about 22% of the vote. This was viewed as a catastrophic defeat, signaling the end of his political dominance in
La Rioja La Rioja () is an autonomous communities in Spain, autonomous community and provinces of Spain, province in Spain, in the north of the Iberian Peninsula. Its capital is Logroño. Other List of municipalities in La Rioja, cities and towns in the ...
. It was the first time in 30 years that Menem had lost an election. Following this defeat in his home province, he withdrew his candidacy for president. At the end of 2009 he announced that he intended to run for the presidency again in the 2011 elections. but ran for a new term as a senator instead. In 2019, he eventually sat in the Frente de Todos' Senate bench until his death in 2021.


Corruption charges

On 7 June 2001, Menem was arrested over a weapons export scandal. The scheme was based on exports to
Ecuador Ecuador, officially the Republic of Ecuador, is a country in northwestern South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and the Pacific Ocean on the west. It also includes the Galápagos Province which contain ...
and
Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...
in 1991 and 1996. He was held under house arrest until November. He appeared before a judge in late August 2002 and denied all charges. Menem and his Chilean second wife
Cecilia Bolocco Cecilia Carolina Bolocco Fonck (born May 19, 1965) is a Chilean actress, TV host and beauty pageant titleholder who was crowned Miss Universo Chile 1987 and Miss Universe 1987. Bolocco has worked as a journalist on the Spanish language editi ...
, who had had a child since their marriage in 2001, fled to
Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...
. Argentine judicial authorities repeatedly requested Menem's
extradition In an extradition, one Jurisdiction (area), jurisdiction delivers a person Suspect, accused or Conviction, convicted of committing a crime in another jurisdiction, into the custody of the other's law enforcement. It is a cooperative law enforc ...
to face embezzlement charges. This request was rejected by the Chilean Supreme Court as under Chilean law, people cannot be extradited for questioning. On 22 December 2004, after the arrest warrants were cancelled, Menem returned with his family to Argentina. He still faced charges of embezzlement and failing to declare illegal funds in a Swiss bank. He was declared innocent of those charges in 2013. In August 2008, the BBC reported that Menem was under investigation for his role in the 1995 Río Tercero explosion, which is alleged to have been part of the weapons scandal involving Croatia and Ecuador. Following an Appeals Court ruling that found Menem guilty of aggravated smuggling, he was sentenced to seven years in prison on 13 June 2013, for his role in illegally smuggling weapons to Ecuador and Croatia; his position as senator earned him immunity from incarceration, and his advanced age (82) afforded him the possibility of house arrest. His minister of defence during the weapons sales, Oscar Camilión, was concurrently sentenced to years. Menem was scheduled to attend a trial on the matter in which he was charged with "indirect responsibility", on 24 February 2021; but died ten days before that. In December 2008, the German multinational
Siemens Siemens AG ( ) is a German multinational technology conglomerate. It is focused on industrial automation, building automation, rail transport and health technology. Siemens is the largest engineering company in Europe, and holds the positi ...
agreed to pay an $800 million fine to the United States government, and approximately €700 million to the German government, to settle allegations of bribery. The settlement revealed that Menem had received about US$2 million in bribes from Siemens in exchange for awarding the national ID card and passport production contract to Siemens; Menem denied the charges but nonetheless agreed to pay a fine. On 1 December 2015, Menem was also found guilty of embezzlement, and sentenced to years to prison. Domingo Cavallo, his economy minister, and Raúl Granillo Ocampo, Menem's former minister of justice, also received prison sentences of more than three years for participating in the scheme, and were ordered to repay hundreds of thousands of pesos' worth of illegal bonuses.


Illness and death

On 13 June 2020, Menem was hospitalized due to a severe case of
pneumonia Pneumonia is an Inflammation, inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as Pulmonary alveolus, alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of Cough#Classification, productive or dry cough, ches ...
and placed in intensive care; he tested negative for
COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...
and was discharged on 29 June 2020, three days before his 90th birthday. On 15 December 2020, he was hospitalized again at the Los Arcos Sanatorium due to a urinary infection. On 24 December 2020, Menem was induced into coma after a kidney failure. He died on 14 February 2021 at the Sanatorio Los Arcos in
Buenos Aires Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− glob ...
from complications of urinary tract infection. The national government issued three days of national mourning, and had a public funeral at the Palace of the Argentine National Congress. It was attended by several politicians, including the president
Alberto Fernández Alberto Ángel Fernández (; born 2 April 1959) is an Argentine politician, lawyer, and academic who served as President of Argentina from 2019 to 2023. He was also the Chief of the Cabinet of Ministers from 2003 to 2008. His tenure as Cabin ...
, and by hundreds of people. He was buried at the San Justo Islamic cemetery the following day, next to his son. His daughter, Zulemita, confirmed that he had died as a Catholic, but he would be buried according to Muslim rites in the Islamic Cemetery to be with his family. Although former presidents are meant to have a bust at the Hall of Busts of the
Casa Rosada The ''Casa Rosada'' (), , is the president of the Argentine Republic's official workplace, located in Buenos Aires. The palatial mansion is known officially as ''Casa de Gobierno'' ("House of Government" or "Government House"). Normally, the pre ...
eight years after they leave office, by the time of his death Menem never received that honor. Casa Rosada had a bust of Menem donated by artist Fernando Pugliese, but had not yet disclosed this to the public. President Alberto Fernández told Zulemita Menem that the intention was to reveal the bust in a ceremony once Menem recovered from his illness but Menem's death disrupted the plans.


Style and legacy

In the early days, Menem sported an image similar to the old ''
caudillos A ''caudillo'' ( , ; , from Latin , diminutive of ''caput'' "head") is a type of personalist leader wielding military and political power. There is no precise English translation for the term, though it is often used interchangeably with " mil ...
'', such as
Facundo Quiroga Juan Facundo Quiroga (27 November 1788 – 16 February 1835) was an Argentine caudillo (military strongman) who supported federalism at the time when the country was still in formation. Early years Quiroga was born in San Antonio, La Rioja ...
and Chacho Peñaloza. He groomed his sideburns in a similar style. His presidential inauguration was attended by several
gaucho A gaucho () or gaúcho () is a skilled horseman, reputed to be brave and unruly. The figure of the gaucho is a folk symbol of Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay, Rio Grande do Sul in Brazil, the southern part of Bolivia, and the south of Chilean Patago ...
s. Contrary to Peronist tradition, Menem did not prepare huge rallies in the
Plaza de Mayo The Plaza de Mayo (, ; ) is a city square and the main foundational site of Buenos Aires, Argentina. It was formed in 1884 after the demolition of the Recova building, unifying the city's Plaza Mayor and Plaza de Armas, by that time known as ''Pl ...
to address the people from the balcony of the
Casa Rosada The ''Casa Rosada'' (), , is the president of the Argentine Republic's official workplace, located in Buenos Aires. The palatial mansion is known officially as ''Casa de Gobierno'' ("House of Government" or "Government House"). Normally, the pre ...
. Instead, he took full advantage of
mass media Mass media include the diverse arrays of media that reach a large audience via mass communication. Broadcast media transmit information electronically via media such as films, radio, recorded music, or television. Digital media comprises b ...
, such as television. Menem's administration was exalted by libertarians
Javier Milei Javier Gerardo Milei (born 22 October 1970) is an Argentine politician and economist who has served as President of Argentina since 2023. Milei also served as a national deputy representing the City of Buenos Aires for the party La Libertad ...
and Diego Giacomini in the late 2010s, after being strongly criticized during and by Kirchnerism. Some liberal economists such as
José Luis Espert José Luis Espert (born 21 November 1961) is an Argentine economist and politician. He is known to be one of the strongest supporters of economic liberalism in Argentina. He was elected National Deputy for the Province of Buenos Aires in the 2 ...
and Alberto Benegas Lynch have also taken a critical approach towards Menem's presidency. President Javier Milei inaugurated the bust of Carlos Menem at the
Casa Rosada The ''Casa Rosada'' (), , is the president of the Argentine Republic's official workplace, located in Buenos Aires. The palatial mansion is known officially as ''Casa de Gobierno'' ("House of Government" or "Government House"). Normally, the pre ...
in May 2024, 35 years after his victory in the 1989 elections. The event was attended by the Menem family (except for his former wife Zulema Yoma), former officers of the Menem administration, and Milei's own cabinet. The bust is modeled after Menem's 1980s appearance, with high sideburns. Milei praised that, unlike most Argentine politicians Menem had worked in the private sector before getting started in politics, and that he pardoned the military and guerrillas alike even if facing rejection from his own family. The bust is made of
carrara marble Carrara marble, or Luna marble (''marmor lunense'') to the Romans, is a type of white or blue-grey marble popular for use in sculpture and building decor. It has been quarried since Roman times in the mountains just outside the city of Carrara ...
and, unlike most other busts in the hall, it shows Menem with a prominent smile.


Honours


Foreign honours

* : ** Grand Cross of the Grand Order of King Tomislav * : ** Collar of the
Order of the Nile The Order of the Nile (''Kiladat El Nil'') was established in 1915 and was one of the Kingdom of Egypt's principal orders until the monarchy was abolished in 1953. It was then reconstituted as the Republic of Egypt's highest state honor. Sulta ...
* : ** First Class of the
Order of Jamaica The Order of Jamaica is the fifth of the six orders in the Jamaican honours system. The Order was established in 1969, and it is considered the equivalent of a knighthood in the British honours system. Membership in the Order can be conferred upon ...
* : ** Grand Cross of the
Order of Vytautas the Great The Order of Vytautas the Great () is the Lithuanian Presidential Award.''Lietuvos Respublikos Konstitucija. 84 straipsnis''. Priimta 1992 It may be conferred on the heads of Lithuania and foreign states, as well as their citizens, for distinguish ...
* : ** Knight Grand Cross with Collar
Order of Merit of the Italian Republic The Order of Merit of the Italian Republic () is the most senior Italian order of merit. It was established in 1951 by the second President of Italy, President of the Italian Republic, Luigi Einaudi. The highest-ranking honour of the Republi ...
(1992) * : ** Honorary Recipient of the Order of the Crown of the Realm (1991) * : ** Collar of the
Order of Manuel Amador Guerrero The Order of Manuel Amador Guerrero () is the highest honour of Panama. Named after Manuel Amador Guerrero, the first president of Panama, the order was established on the 50th anniversary of Panama's independence on 29 October 1953. It is awa ...
* : ** Collar of the Order of the Sun of Peru * : ** Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland * : ** Collar of the Order of Isabella the Catholic * : ** Grand Cross of the Order of Good Hope * : ** Grand Cross with Chain of the Hungarian Order of Merit, Order of Merit of the Republic of Hungary (1997) * : ** Grand Cordon of the Order of the Republic (Tunisia), Order of the Republic of Tunisia (1997) *: ** Medal of the Oriental Republic of Uruguay (1994) * : ** Honorary Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George (1998)


Notes


References


Bibliography

* * * * * * * *


External links


Launch of new faction (from the BBC)Chile declines extradition request (from the BBC)Menem arrives on Argentine soil (from the BBC)Biography by CIDOB
(in Spanish) * {{DEFAULTSORT:Menem, Carlos Saul 1930 births 2021 deaths 20th-century presidents of Argentina 20th-century Argentine writers 20th-century Argentine male writers 21st-century Argentine politicians Argentine Roman Catholics Argentine former Muslims Argentine anti-communists 20th-century Argentine lawyers Argentine male writers Argentine people of Syrian descent Argentine politicians convicted of corruption Articles containing video clips Converts to Roman Catholicism from Islam Deaths from kidney failure in Argentina Governors of La Rioja Province, Argentina Heads of government who were later imprisoned Honorary Knights Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George Infectious disease deaths in Argentina Justicialist Party politicians Members of the Argentine Senate for La Rioja Menem family, Carlos National University of Córdoba alumni Opposition to Fidel Castro People from La Rioja Province, Argentina Presidents of Argentina Prisoners and detainees of Argentina Recipients of the Medal of the Oriental Republic of Uruguay Recipients of the Order of Prince Yaroslav the Wise, 1st class Right-wing populism in South America