by the early 1990s, most of the public companies in argentina were unprofitable. the railway system had a deficit of about us$ 355 million per year (almost 1 million per day). the famous quote by president carlos menem threatening railway union workers to close the lines if they did not cease strikes ("ramal que para, ramal que cierra" - "railways that go on strike will be closed") became real when the government of argentina closed several rail lines in 1990, leaving a large amount of railway villages isolated.