On Aug. 3, the Argentine government appointed its third economy minister in roughly a month, a testimony to the country’s seemingly never-ending saga of political volatility and economic decay. The new minister’s challenges are daunting: handle skyrocketing inflation amid dangerously low levels of central bank reserves, resurrect a fragile debt restructuring deal with the International Monetary Fund, restructure a massive network of subsidies and welfare payments that drains state revenue, and convince foreign investors that Argentina is a reliable country to do business. Like his predecessors, the new minister will probably fail to meet these challenges, prolonging the political, economic and social factors that have kept Argentina from reaching its full potential. ...
