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The Peronist candidate Alberto Fernandez wins Argentina's election with 48% support. Mr. Macri's economic policy led to mismanagement of the economy, and recession, high inflation. Mr. Macri took on $100 billion in foreign debt and had to turn to the IMF for a $57 billion bailout. The shift in administration happens as the peso tumbles. By lifting capital controls in 2016 when the official rate was 10 to the dollar Mr. Macri shifted direction but failed to manage this in a prudent way leading to a jump in the foreign debt. By the second half of 2018 this policy led to the peso falling to 45 to the dollar and another drop by mid 2019 to about 60 to the dollar. The central bank has burned about $22 billion or a third of the central bank reserves to defend the peso, including $4 billion only last week. A third of this decline in reserves is due to withdrawals as capital controls were reimposed., the remainder due to interest on debt and bank interventions in currency markets to defend the peso. Customers are now limited to $100 in withdrawals leading to demand in the black market pushing the rate to 75 pesos to the dollar. Argentina is no stranger to these crises, yet they repeat every 10-15 years. The earlier Peronist administration of Mr. Nestor Kirchner came in when there was economic collapse in 2003 and had to suspend debt payments as a last resort. Negotiations were begun with lenders only after 2007 when Mr. Kirchner's wife Christina Kirchner assumed office. She won the election in 2011 but was defeated in the 2015 election by Mr. Macri, and reelected in 2019 as vice president running under her former chief of staff Mr. Alberto Fernandez. The Peronists are a socialist party and restored a degree of stability to the economy, limiting foreign debt and managing the economy with a rebound in commodity prices such as soyabeans exported by Argentina to meet growing demand in China. By 2015 the country appeared ready for a change, but Mr. Macri's austerity policies and mismanagement of the debt led to a repeat of earlier crises with high inflation and collapsing peso, hitting working class Argentines.    Argentina has a long history of alienation with IMF loans with policy strings attached for austerity spending, starting in 1957.  About 58% of the people who voted Macri into office opposed turning to the IMF in May 2018 after interest rates were raised to 40% by the central bank to stem a drop in the peso. The IMF loan this time was a shorter duration loan on better and was supposed to help Mr. Macri stabilize the economy and its cash and payments position. The jump in foreign debt including issue of dollar denominated bonds, lack of caution and prudence in managing the finances, lack of currency controls, drop in foreign investment by 2019, and the fall in commodity prices from the commodity boom years especially soyabeans, combined to create another collapse in Argentina. It was thought that the 2003 crisis that hit the working class and poor hardest was behind it once and for all. Yet only 15 years later the country is in a similar mess and hardships, showing that prudent management of finances, maintaining social programs to support the middle and weaker segments, and ways to create sustainable growth from within, are still the major problems facing not just Argentina, but also Brazil, Chile and other nations of Latin America.   ...

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Argentine effort at Price Controls through price constraints, jawboning and controls using an Internal commerce Minister who works out price increases allowed for different products. The aim is to control inflation. The government wants to keep the peso where it is and not let it get stronger in relation to the dollar as agricultural exports are denominated in dollars and with the idea of keeping exports high to generalt a surplus and build Argentina's foreign reserves. Unemployment is down to 8% from 18% according to statistics cited here and Argentina is making a significant recovery. All this happening in the background of the Argentine election in which Mr. Kirchner's wife Christina is running against Mr. Kirchner's former Finance Minister Roberto Lavagna, and is expected to win handily because of the success of the Kirchner years in improving the economy. .

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Argentina and Repsol agree to a settlement of $5 billion in Argentine bonds for Repsol's 51% stake in YPF. The deal is brokered by Mexico's Pemex, which has a 10% stake in YPF. Argentina is seeking foreign investment and technology to develop its large shale oil and gas reserves. The settlement with Repsol is a step towards attracting large western oil companies to invest in Argentina.

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A Pemex brokered deal for $5 billion in Argentine bonds as compensation to Spain's Repsol for its 51% stake in YPF. The Argentine government nationalized YPF saying Repsol was not investing enough in developing oil and gas reserves. With the discovery of shale gas reserves estimated to be third only to reserves in the U.S. and China and large shale oil reserves, the Argentine government is seeking foreign investment in the oil industry. A settlement with Repsol, with the help of Mexico's Pemex which has a 10% stake in YPF, enables Argentina to seek technology and investment from western oil companies. Chevron has invested in the Vaca Muerta shale field in Argentina.

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This editorial in the WSJ says Argentina's president Macri has taken the right steps for the economy by devaluation of the peso and lifting capital controls. The peso exchange rate fell to 13.3 to the dollar from the central bank peg of 9.8. The central bank raised its short term lending rate to 35-38%, sending signals to capital markets that it was ready to intervene if needed so that the peso would not fall too far, and preserving stability. President Macri is planning to remove the export taxes on wheat, corn and beef, and cutting taxes on soyabeans to increase output.

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Ms Constantini is one of the executives who followed Mr. Macri as he became president of Argentina. She is a former CEO of GM Argentina. She was appointed CEO of Argentina's national airline Aerolineas Argentinas. The state owned airline has lost about $5 billion, and loses about $1 billion a year. There is no culture of budgets or revenue at the airline, say people familiar with the airline. Ms. Constantini has set the goal of cutting losses to $260 million in 2016. The goal is to increase revenues and improve earnings to the point where the airline is profitable in 4 years. The new CEO is taking an approach that she sees has a better approach of succeeding. She is getting employees involved in the company's decisions and progress. She carefully tells labor leaders of her plans and seeks feedback. Because it was run more like a government ministry than a performance based airline, says Constantini, the transformation requires a patient and employee involved approach. In 2008 the government of Mrs. Kirchner nationalized the airline previously owned by Spain's Marsans Group. Because Argentines see the airline with national pride, its like the country's soccer team. Sales are up 10% in 2016 and the airline flew one million passengers in July, up 13% from the prior year.  ...

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Spain's Repsol accepts $5 billion in a settlement with Argentina for its stake in YPF nationalized by the government. Argentina will pay Repsol dollar denominated bonds with market value of at least $4.67 billion. Repsol can sell the debt at any time.

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Argentina's economy minister, Axel Kicillof, and the nationalization of YPF, compensation to Repsol and international creditors. Kicillof lectured on Economics at the University of Buenos Aires. As deputy minister in 2012 he was responsible for the natonalization of oil company YPF, controlled by Repsol. Kicillof was critical of the sale of YPF to Repsol in 1999. In a recent interview he wa critical of "disinformation" campaigns in social media and the psychological effect of media information in creating economic situations such as a run on a national currency. The peso has declined sharply in January 2014. Critics say Kicilloff created some of the problems with international creditors that he is now working to correct and attract foreign investment.

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Argentina president Mauricio Macri wins 40% of the vote, losing to the Peronist candidate Alberto Fernandez with 48% of the vote. The Peronists, a socialist party, also won in Buenos Aires province elections for governor.. The shift from centre right to the socialist party occurs as the country is in deep financial crisis with about 50% inflation. The Argentine currency, the peso falling in a few years since 2015 from 10 to the dollar to 60 to the dollar, leading to high inflation and hurting Argentines with rapidly falling purchasing power of income. Argentines rejected austerity policies of Macri and the free market policies pursued under Macri failed. This was aggravated with lack of prudent management of finances and overborrowing using dollar denominated bonds reaching $115 billion in bonds debt by 2019. Me. Macri inherited a budget deficit from Ms. Kirchner in 2015. The economy was overly dependent on a temporary boom in commodity prices for soyabeans as a result of demand from China. A weather related crisis led to a decline in agricultural exports in 2017-2018. Yet the budget deficit was allowed to grow and the foreign debt was financed with foreign currency denominated bonds to the point where Argentina could now default on $115 billion in foreign currency denominated  bonds. Overly dependent on uncertain foreign interest in Argentine bonds, Argentine agricultural commodities exports at high prices, uncertain foreign investment, hurt Argentina. Drought conditions in 2018 hurt export revenues. This required very prudent and careful management of finances which Mr. Macri failed to provide. Turning to the IMF for a $57 billion loan in May 2018, in just 3 years of his administration, and after Argentina took years following the crisis of 2003 to settle foreign debts, showed a failure and mismanagement of huge proportions. ...

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Stevenson and Caselli describe the mood in Buenos Aires as negotiations with hedge fund holdout bondholders fail in July 2014.