Economic dependency and the political economy of post-neoliberalism in Argentina: the paradox between commodities and progressiveness, the case of the soy complex

This dissertation investigates the role commodity exports are playing in making the hegemonic policies of Latin America’s new progressive governments viable and the repercussions these are having on economic development. At the core of the analysis there is a study of those mechanisms which are making possible Kirchenerism’s policies of industrialization, social redistribution and international autonomy viable, and, how these are reliant on reinforcing the commodity exporting economy in the country. Using Argentina as a case study the dissertation argues that this post-neoliberal progressive project is embedded in an essential paradox. This hinges on the way in which a more progressive post-neoliberal organization of capitalism is entrenched in reinforcing Argentina’s subordinated integration into global capitalism as a commodity provider - a process which, in turn, is strengthening the country’s dependent integration into the international economy. The Argentine soy complex is taken as a case study to provide an empirical base to the argument and provides a site for testing the main hypothesis of this study. The argument revisits the Latin American tradition of dependency theory. It explores to what extent the post-neoliberal political economy in Argentina, even if progressive, is reliant on commodity exports which are strengthening a situation of dependency that is then obstructing the prospects for long term economic development. Chapter 2 explores how the Latin American tradition of dependency can provide a valuable setting to study the political economy of post-neoliberalism in the region. In chapter 3, I argue that a precise look at the current organization of how capital is realized in Argentina can show that the core of the processes of capital accumulation and social reproduction, embraced by Kirchenerism, represents a post-neoliberal rupture. Chapter 4 shows how the key hegemonic policies for Kirchenerism - of industrialization, social redistribution and international autonomy - are possible because of the recent growth of the commodity exporting economy. Chapter 5, establishes how Kirchenerism is reliant on the good performance of the soy complex in order to sustain these policies and, in chapter 6, there is an illustration of how the new situation of dependency hinders economic development prospects by using the soy complex as a case study. The major contribution this dissertation offers is an increased understanding of the political economy of these new progressive governments. In particular, the analysis shows the essential role that commodity exports have had in sustaining the key policies of these projects and also how the sustainability of a more social democratic organization of capitalism is hindering long term prospects for economic development