Most Active Stories Wed December 21, 2011 What Greece Can Learn
From South America As Greece struggles with a financial crisis,
there have been violent protests, creditors demanding their
money, people losing their jobs and officials hunkering down. A
decade ago, that was the scene in South America when Argentina
and Uruguay defaulted. The two handled the economic calamity in
very different ways. Economists say their approaches –- and
what's happened in each country since — are instructive for
European leaders as they try lifting Greece from its turmoil. In
2001, Argentinian police battled with rioters in Buenos Aires,
and there was a run on bank deposits. The country couldn't pay
its bills. So President Adolfo Rodriguez Saa, who served just
one week, announced before Congress that Argentina would
default. And then, in patriotic fervor, everyone shouted,
"Argentina, Argentina!" It was the biggest default in history —
$100 billion. Economists say the chaotic response from Argentine
leaders was a recipe for dis