Nestor Kirchner and Argentina Today (2001-present)

The 2001 crisis led to De la Rúa's resignation and a string of temporary heads of state, as one president after another tried his luck stabilizing the volatile situation. Eduardo Duhalde of the Peronist party took the helm amid a bank freeze known as the corralito (little fence), which denied millions of Argentines access to their own bank deposits. Enormously unpopular, the corralito did help to stifle the outpouring of cash from the country, and by mid-2002 the economy started to recover.

An election in 2003 placed Peronist Nestor Kirchner in command of an Argentina still devastated but on the rebound. The administration recently negotiated a "haircut" with Argentina's foreign creditors, forcing them to accept only a partial payback of the outstanding debt. This, and a firmer than usual resolve to keep government spending in check, might just place Argentina on firmer economic ground next time a crisis rolls around. A robust economic recovery rolls onward, and the country's still-fledgling democratic institutions look stronger than ever. As ever, the Argentines show their incredible resilience.

Argentine Culture