Cry For Me

[Faeelin]

1998 GDP per capita (in current US Dollars)

Argentina - 8303
Brazil - 5077
Chile - 5355


2010 GDP per capita (IMF est projection)

Argentina - 7308
Brazil - 8923
Chile - 9333

Weird. Googling says Mexico has a GDP per Capital of around $12k, but I owuld never think Mexico was richer than Argentina and Chile.

[Eddie Teach]

The PRI must not have been so bad as the Peronistas.

[Sheilbh]

The PRI must not have been so bad as the Peronistas.

Peronism was only in charge of Argentina for a minority of the twentieth century.  The blame really deserves to go on the monsters of the various military regimes.  Them and the radicals like de la Rua and Menem.

I've got a great idea.  Let's discuss Pinochet's economic legacy.

Not that great.  Chile's doing well, but so's Brazil despite the fact that they didn't have an aggressively free market tyrant - indeed their reforms were (shockingly) put through by a democratic regime.  Same goes for Argentina in the period up to 1998.  I think the fact that Chile and Brazil were almost equal is pretty damning of Pinochet's economic legacy.

[Barrister]

The PRI must not have been so bad as the Peronistas.

PAN has been in power in Mexico for at least the last decade though.   

[Eddie Teach]

Sure, but they probably had a less fucked up starting position than some of the banana republics.

[MadImmortalMan]

Brazil is led by a Communist.

So is China.

[Eddie Teach]

Brazil is led by a Communist.

So is China.

CINO

[Razgovory]

Sure, but they probably had a less fucked up starting position than some of the banana republics.

You mean Chile?  Yeah, they have the richest copper reserves in the world.  Half their economy is based on it.

[Ender]

I really hate economy.

[The Minsky Moment]

1998 GDP per capita (in current US Dollars)

Argentina - 8303
Brazil - 5077
Chile - 5355


2010 GDP per capita (IMF est projection)

Argentina - 7308
Brazil - 8923
Chile - 9333

Weird. Googling says Mexico has a GDP per Capital of around $12k, but I owuld never think Mexico was richer than Argentina and Chile.

You are probably looking at a PPP measure of GDP.  Under a nominal measure, Mexico is around $8000, or right in the middle of this 3 country group.

For comparison, in PPP terms Argentina and Chile would be around 14 and Brazil around 10.5. 

Argentina has been growing in PPP terms since 03, but not much in terms of either dollars or constant domestic prices.  Basically PPP is picking up the fact that Argentines can pay for domestic services (like haircuts or maid services) in depressed pesos, and is treating at as greater "wealth".  But in terms of what Argentina gross domestic product can command in the global marketplace, it has fallen behind.