The presidency of Carlos Saúl Menem lasted from 8 July 1989, the date of his inauguration, to 10 December 1999, the date on which his second term ended and his successor, Fernando de la Rúa, took office. It was a government described as liberal-conservative, which in Argentina is normally associated with the right.
He won the 1989 elections in the first round with 48.51% of the votes and was re-elected in the 1995 elections with 49.95% of the votes.
Economic policy
When Menem began his presidency, there was a huge hyperinflation and recession. The first measure was a mandatory conversion of time deposits into government bonds. It generated more recession, but hyperinflation was lowered.Edwards, p. 103 Despite being a Peronist, Menem privatized several state-owned companies, such as telephones and airlines. One of the leading privatizations was YPF, engaged in the exploration and production of oil and gas.Edwards, p. 104
His fourth economy minister, Domingo Cavallo, deepened the neoliberal reforms. He proposed a Convertibility Plan that set a one-to-one fixed exchange rate between the Argentine peso and the US dollar. The law also limited public expenditures, but this was frequently ignored.Edwards, pp. 104–105
A dramatic influx of foreign direct investment funds helped tame inflation (from 5,000% a year in 1989 to single digits by 1993) and improved long-stagnant productivity, though at the cost of considerable unemployment.
Menem's successful turnaround of the economy made the country one of the top performers in the world of the developing countries. Argentina's GDP (below 1973 levels when Menem took office) increased 35% from 1990 to 1994 and fixed investment, by 150%. Negotiations with Brazil resulted in the Mercosur customs union in March 1991. On 14 November that year, Menem addressed a joint session of the U.S. Congress, one of only three Argentine presidents to do so (others were Raúl Alfonsín and Arturo Frondizi).
With these successes, Menem was reelected to the presidency by a large majority in the 1995 elections. The early success of the dollar peg (when the dollar was falling) was followed by increasing economic difficulties when the dollar began to rise from 1995 onwards in international markets. High external debt also caused increasing problems. Financial crises affecting other countries (the Tequila Crisis in Mexico, the East Asian financial crisis, the Russian financial crisis in 1998) led to higher interest rates for Argentina as well. By the end of Menem's term, Argentina's country risk premium was a low 6.10 percentage points above yield on comparable US Treasuries.
Domestic policy Overview
Menem began his presidency assuming a nonconfrontational approach, and appointing people from the conservative opposition and business people in his cabinet.Edwards, p. 103
Menem's presidency was initially bolstered by the significant economic recovery following Cavallo's appointment as Economy Minister. His Justicialist Party enjoyed victories in mid-term elections in 1991 and 1993, as well as in his 1995 campaign for reelection.
In domestic policy, his administration created programs to improve AIDS awareness, increased flood prevention, vaccination, and improved child nutrition.Global Paradox by John Naisbitt In addition, his government launched a Social Plan to increase spending on antipoverty programs, while other social programs addressed needs for poor Argentines.The Politics of Market Reform in Fragile Democracies: Argentina, Brazil, Peru, and Venezuela by Kurt Gerhard Weyland These policies arguably had a positive impact on poverty reduction, with the percentage of Argentines estimated to be living in poverty falling during Menem's first term as president. The Argentine quota law, proposed by the UCR, increased the number of women in the Argentine Congress.
In 1994, after a political agreement (the Olivos Pact) with the Radical Civic Union party leader, former president Raúl Alfonsín, Menem succeeded in having the Constitution modified to allow presidential re-election. He ran for office once again in 1995.
The new Constitution also introduced decisive checks and balances to presidential power. It made the Mayor of Buenos Aires an elective position (previously the office was designated for political appointees, who controlled a huge budget in the capital). The opposition candidate was elected as mayor in 1996. The president of the Central Bank and the Director of the AFIP (Federal Tax & Customs Central Agency), while political appointees, could be removed only with the approval of Congress. The new constitution created an ombudsman position, and a board to review and propose new judicial candidates.
The majority of the population criticized Menem's neoliberal policies, as did some in the Catholic Church. Opponents among unemployed workers developed the Piquetero movement. Some economists said his financial policies were anti-liberal. These mounting problems and a rise in crime rates contributed to defeat for his party during the 1997 mid-term elections, the first time his administration faltered.
Education policy Primary and secondary education In 1993, the Federal Education Law was enacted, which extended compulsory education to ten years and reorganized secondary education through the creation of the Polimodal.
Thus, from the enactment of that Law, the 5-year-old kindergarten level became compulsory, as did the 9 years of Basic General Education (EGB) up to the first year of Polimodal Education.
Higher education In August 1995, the Higher Education Law was promulgated, which maintained free university education for undergraduate degree programs but allows fees for postgraduate studies. It also created the National Commission for University Evaluation and Accreditation (CONEAU) for the accreditation of university degree programs.
Creation of CONEAU The creation of the National Commission for University Evaluation and Accreditation (CONEAU) was met with resistance from most student centers and from some universities. The University of Buenos Aires, the National University of Comahue and the National University of Entre Ríos, among others, filed amparo appeals. In the case of the University of Buenos Aires, the courts upheld the appeal and since then it has been exempted, among other matters, from the requirement to accredit its degree programs before CONEAU.
Science and technology policy During the administration of President Carlos Menem (1989–1999), some transformations took place in the national science and technology system in a context of severe budget constraints. In 1996, a restructuring of CONICET was decreed, granting it the status of an autarkic and decentralized entity under the jurisdiction of the Secretariat of Science. Although elections were called for the agency's board of directors, the authorities never took office because it was placed under the intervention of the Secretariat of Science, first headed by Domingo Liotta and then by Juan Carlos del Bello.
Creation of CONAE and satellite development
Creation of CONAE After the government ordered the cancellation of the Condor program, which would have provided Argentina with its own satellite launcher, the CNIE was dissolved and gave way to CONAE, created on 28 May 1991 by the government of Carlos Menem.
It inherited the Air Force's aerospace facilities located in the city of Buenos Aires, the bases in Falda del Carmen, Córdoba Province, as well as part of the civilian personnel involved in the cancelled project. It also inherited the Chamical Self-Propelled Projectile Experimentation and Launch Center base, where experiments were resumed.
In 1998, it was invited by NASA to join the project for the construction of the International Space Station (ISS). But the government rejected the offer because it involved an expenditure of 10 million dollars, which was a great deal of money at the time. Even so, it was limited to participating only through the carrying out of some experiments.
In November 2012, by means of Decree 2197/2012, the National Commission on Space Activities (CONAE) was transferred to the orbit of the Ministry of Federal Planning, Public Investment and Services.
Through Decree 242/2016, the Executive Branch provided that from 26 January 2016 CONAE would become part of the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation of the Nation.
Argentine Space Program
This program aims to improve the country's space technology and carry out research for peaceful purposes and for the country's benefit. During these years, numerous satellites were developed in collaboration with the space agencies of Brazil and Italy. These then had to be sent to the United States to be launched; for this reason, one of this program's fundamental objectives is to create a launch platform, most likely in the provinces of Córdoba or Tierra del Fuego.
SAC Series Project
SAC-B was launched in November 1996. The objectives of SAC-B, as the first Argentine scientific satellite, were the advanced study of solar physics and astrophysics, through the observation of solar flares, gamma ray bursts, diffuse background X-radiation and high-energy neutral atoms. The mission enabled the training of a significant human team both for the preparation of the control centers (hardware and software) and for satellite control.
SAC-A was launched on 3 December 1998. It tested a series of instruments developed in the country, potentially applicable in other missions. It was also devoted to testing both the material infrastructure and the human infrastructure of the telemetry, telecommand and control teams.
SAOCOM Project
The SAOCOM project was presented in 1998, with the aim of providing information on soils, water and vegetation, as well as disaster prevention and management through observations with its radar in L band.
Since 1992, CONAE and the Italian Space Agency collaborated on the SAC-B and SAC-C projects. At the same time that CONAE was announcing the SAOCOM project, Italy began developing the COSMO-SkyMed project with similar characteristics, although with a dual role (civilian and military) and an X band radar antenna. The good relations between the agencies led to a series of preliminary talks that took place in the late 1990s and early 2000s, in which the foundations were laid for what would become SIASGE, the Italian-Argentine Satellite System for Emergency Management. This system, which was signed in July 2005, allows the sharing of information obtained by the Argentine and Italian satellites as well as the use of ground stations.
Creation of ANPCYT The National Agency for the Promotion of Science and Technology (ANPCyT) was created in December 1996 by Decree 1660/96 and began its activities on 20 May 1997.
Creation of Innova-T The INNOVA-T Foundation was created in 1993 by CONICET with the aim of promoting and fostering research, development and innovation (R&D&I) and Technological Linkage (VT) as instruments for improving the productive activity of goods and services. Under the terms of Law 23.877, on "Promotion and Fostering of Technological Innovation", enacted by the Argentine Congress on 28 September 1990, the INNOVA-T Foundation is a Technological Linkage Unit (UVT).
Creation of SEGEMAR The Argentine Geological and Mining Survey (SEGEMAR) is an Argentine decentralized entity that operates under the orbit of the Ministry of Economy, whose mission is to promote technological development in the mining area while considering social and environmental aspects.
It was created in 1996 and is responsible for having discovered 8 out of every 10 areas with mineral resources found in the country.
Transport policy Privatization of Aerolíneas Argentinas