Understanding Argentina

Argentina is proving somewhat difficult to understand. Maybe it’s the fact that I received such mixed impressions of the country prior to arriving. Or maybe it’s the fact that Argentines are such a diverse people; the land, a place of extremes; the politics and economy, a roller coaster ride; the culture, a composition of indigenous and European influences. What is Argentina, and who is the Argentine? The travel guides may try to give us a basic understanding, but a few weeks in Argentina reveal a country of great complexities.

Talk to Argentines and they’ll all give you an opinion about their country. Argentines are notorious throughout Latin America for being patriotic; ok, conceited. The porteños take great pride in the size and sophistication of Buenos Aires—the Paris of South America, they’ll say. It’s certainly the cultural center of the country, the birthplace of the tango. In the sports arena, all boast of Maradona and the talent of Argentina’s futbal teams. Those in the interior believe that the gaucho best represents what it means to be Argentine. All will certainly agree that the beef here—the carne asado—is the best in the world. It’s also a land of great natural resources and beauty, from the waterfall of the great Iguazú in the North to the plains of the Pampas to the mountains and glaciers of Patagonia to the isolation of Tierra del Fuego.

Although almost everyone seems to take great pride in the country and in being an Argentine, there are certain complaints that come with the territory: most fit under the umbrella of politics and economy. At the turn of the 20^th century, Argentina was one of the richest countries in the world, and a very attractive destination for many European immigrants. This is the golden age that many people remember and occasionally think is the present reality, but wars, corrupt leaders, inflation, and debt have deeply rocked the country over the last 100 years. In a recent conversation, an Argentine observed, “You all in the United States keep talking about this economic “crisis” as if it is unprecedented and the end of the world. In Argentina, we’re in a constant state of crisis; it’s nothing new, and we’ve learned to live with it.” And he’s right: very few people in the United States have personally experienced economic or political crisis, the Great Depression seems like a long time ago. For this reason, the current “crisis” with rising unemployment rates, home foreclosures, and private and corporate bankruptcies is a very scary thing indeed. Argentines, on the other hand, have grown accustomed to riding out the waves of an unstable economy.

A few weeks ago, I had the opportunity to talk to an English language professor about the recent history of Argentina and in particular, Corrientes. He augmented the historical information with personal stories of the difficulty of living through economic and political crisis here. Like many Argentines, he and his wife were forced to default on their mortgage during the 80s when the country suffered terrible inflation and actually starting printing new forms of currency in each province (which were not readily accepted by many institutions) For months at a time, the government even stopped paying its employees (such as professors in public universities). So of course this couple couldn’t pay on their mortgage! It was difficult enough to keep bread on the table. And yet, despite the fact that I should be used to stories like this by now, I was astonished by the reality that this well-educated, hard-working professional couldn’t earn the money to pay off a mortgage on a very modest house and is therefore now in huge debt and made to feel like a criminal. It goes against everything that we are taught in the U.S.A. about the attainability of the American Dream, essentially the opportunity to improve oneself and achieve one’s dreams through vision and hard work. My grandfather is a testimony to the success of this American Dream: After WW II he started a corporation out of big ideas and a few dollars, raising a family, providing educational opportunities for his sons, serving within his community, and passing on the family business. Shouldn’t this be possible if one works hard enough and smart enough? Maybe I should know better by now; after all, I’ve seen with my own eyes the extreme poverty and divide between social classes in multiple countries. I’ve resigned myself to the fact that it’s nearly impossible for many people to rise from the slums to positions within the upper class, but is it too much to ask that a middle-class professional be able to purchase a house for his family? I guess that the foundational values of the American Dream are rooted more deeply than I realized within my worldview: these ideals are not easily changed. And should they be easily changed? I don’t want to deny what is but I hate to give up dreams of what could be.

The typical Argentine doesn’t seem to struggle with this push and pull between idealism and cynicism; as a realist, he seems to make do as well as possible under the circumstances and takes current news about the “crisis mundial” in stride. This doesn’t mean the topic is unworthy of conversation—anything is worth talking about and analyzing. Opinions fly and I am frequently asked for my perspective as well. I usually give my thoughts in as fair and tactfully a way as possible, but really, if they’re looking for an opinion that is representative of most Americans, well mine probably isn’t it. I’ve spent too much time out of the US in the past few years and am out of touch with mainstream opinion, I think. And this brings me to a new problem—or at least question—in this task of trying to understand Argentina: Is it even possible to arrive at an understanding of a country and people as diverse as Argentina and the Argentines? Is it even helpful to talk in terms of “typical” Argentine and “mainstream” opinion? Probably not. For if I, as an individual with a great diversity of cross-cultural experiences, find it difficult to understand myself, it is absurdly ambitious to imagine that I might be able to ever understand a country and people that are also influenced by such a diversity of cultures and experiences. Que sera, sera. Not that it’s a worthless endeavor to try to understand, I just have to realize that I will always have an incomplete perspective.