A Railroad Debacle and Failed Economic Policies: Peron\u27s Argentina

Abstract

After General Juan Domingo Perón was elected President of Argentina in 1946, he quickly moved to adopt a New Deal Plan for Argentina based upon economic nationalism and improved working conditions. The nationalization of the British-owned railroads was perhaps the centerpiece of his reformist policies. But fervent national pride and pageantry surrounding the purchase were quickly eroded by a painful realization: the Argentine railway system was a crumbling, antiquated colossus that drained vital resources and helped propel the nation and its people to financial ruin