Post-independence Transition
During the early post-independence period, an important share of Argentina's exports came from cattle and sheep production. The livestock-raising economy was based upon the abundance of fertile land in the littoral provinces. Cropping apparently lacked comparative advantage compared to livestock grazing.
Exports rose 4% to 5% annually from 1810 to 1850 and 7% to 8% from 1850 to 1870. This growth was achieved through the extension of the frontier and greater efficiency in livestock production.
As a result of the diversification in markets and products, Argentina managed to escape the trap of a single-staple economy and sustained its economic growth over six decades. The combined effect of declining prices of textiles and rising prices of livestock products produced dramatic improvements in the terms of trade, which rose 377% between 1810 and 1825 in local prices. Several governors waged campaigns against the natives to increase the available lands, from Juan Manuel de Rosas to Julio Argentino Roca.
Most poor gauchos joined forces with the most powerful caudillos in the vicinity. As the Federal party, they opposed the policies implemented by Buenos Aires, and waged the Argentine Civil Wars. The federalist Manuel Dorrego became governor after the resignation of Rivadavia and the end of the "happy experience", but he was executed by the unitarian Juan Lavalle during a military coup.
Read more about this topic: Economic History Of Argentina
Famous quotes containing the word transition:
“Power ceases in the instant of repose; it resides in the moment of transition from a past to a new state, in the shooting of the gulf, in the darting to an aim.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)