''Rodrigazo'' is the name given to a group of economic policies announced in

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

on June 4, 1975 and the

riots A riot or mob violence is a form of civil disorder commonly characterized by a group lashing out in a violent public disturbance against authority, property, or people. Riots typically involve destruction of property, public or private. The p ...

that ensued thereafter. The name is from the fact that the policies were announced and implemented by Celestino Rodrigo, the Minister of Economy of Argentina appointed by President

Isabel Perón Isabel Martínez de Perón (, born María Estela Martínez Cartas; 4 February 1931) is an Argentine politician who served as the 41st president of Argentina from 1974 to 1976. She was one of the List of elected and appointed female heads of s ...

in May 1975. The Rodrigazo fractured the prime bulwark of Peronist support, labor unions, and is held to have helped lead to Isabel Perón's downfall less than a year later.

Summary

* A 150%

devaluation In macroeconomics and modern monetary policy, a devaluation is an official lowering of the value of a country's currency within a fixed exchange-rate system, in which a monetary authority formally sets a lower exchange rate of the national curre ...

of currency for the commercial

exchange rate In finance, an exchange rate is the rate at which one currency will be exchanged for another currency. Currencies are most commonly national currencies, but may be sub-national as in the case of Hong Kong or supra-national as in the case of ...

. * A 100% increase in

utility In economics, utility is a measure of a certain person's satisfaction from a certain state of the world. Over time, the term has been used with at least two meanings. * In a normative context, utility refers to a goal or objective that we wish ...

and

transportation Transport (in British English) or transportation (in American English) is the intentional Motion, movement of humans, animals, and cargo, goods from one location to another. Mode of transport, Modes of transport include aviation, air, land tr ...

prices. * A 180% rise in the price of

fuel A fuel is any material that can be made to react with other substances so that it releases energy as thermal energy or to be used for work (physics), work. The concept was originally applied solely to those materials capable of releasing chem ...

. * A 45% increase in

wages A wage is payment made by an employer to an employee for work done in a specific period of time. Some examples of wage payments include compensatory payments such as ''minimum wage'', '' prevailing wage'', and ''yearly bonuses,'' and remune ...

Aftermath

Afterward, the

real wage Real wages are wages adjusted for inflation, or equivalently wages in terms of the amount of goods and services that can be bought. This term is used in contrast to nominal wages or unadjusted wages. Because it has been adjusted to account for ...

(the purchasing power of the wage) fell, as prices overall doubled between May and August alone and continued to fall until well into 1979. The crisis had political consequences, but not all were negative. Blindsided by the draconian measure, the normally supportive CGT (the largest labor union in Latin America, at the time), called a

general strike A general strike is a strike action in which participants cease all economic activity, such as working, to strengthen the bargaining position of a trade union or achieve a common social or political goal. They are organised by large coalitions ...

the first ever under a

Peronist Peronism, also known as justicialism, is an Argentine ideology and movement based on the ideas, doctrine and legacy of Juan Perón (1895–1974). It has been an influential movement in 20th- and 21st-century Argentine politics. Since 1946, Pe ...

government. Demanding a 125-150% mandatory wage hike, the CGT initially obtained Mrs. Perón's commitment to its enactment. As they gathered at

Plaza de Mayo The Plaza de Mayo (, ; ) is a city square and the main foundational site of Buenos Aires, Argentina. It was formed in 1884 after the demolition of the Recova building, unifying the city's Plaza Mayor and Plaza de Armas, by that time known as ''Pl ...

on June 27 in gratitude for her concession, however, the president abruptly reneged on her commitment. This sent the demonstrators into a riot directed at Rodrigo's benefactor

José López Rega José López Rega (17 November 1916 – 9 June 1989) was an Argentine politician who served as Minister of Social Welfare from 1973 to 1975, first under Juan Perón and continuing under Isabel Perón, Juan Perón's third wife and presidential ...

, the powerful Social Welfare Minister, leader of the

Argentine Anticommunist Alliance The Argentine Anticommunist Alliance (, usually known as Triple A or AAA) was an Argentine Peronist and fascist political paramilitary group operated by a sector of the Federal Police and the Argentine Armed Forces, linked with the anticom ...

, and Perón family confidant. The president had the Triple A

death squad A death squad is an armed group whose primary activity is carrying out extrajudicial killings, massacres, or enforced disappearances as part of political repression, genocide, ethnic cleansing, or revolutionary terror. Except in rare cases in w ...

leader Rega flee Argentina by appointing him Ambassador to

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

on July 11. She then removed Rodrigo, the Armed Forces Commander, General Alberto Numa Laplane, and numerous other López Rega protégés. According to economist Guillermo Calvo, the economic turmoil that followed the ''Rodrigazo'', including an

inflation rate In economics, inflation is an increase in the average price of goods and services in terms of money. This increase is measured using a price index, typically a consumer price index (CPI). When the general price level rises, each unit of curre ...

of around 35% a month, was one of the main reasons for the March 1976 coup that removed the Peronist government.Guillermo A. Calvo (1986), "Fractured Liberalism: Argentina under Martínez de Hoz", ''Economic Development and Cultural Change'', Vol. 34, No. 3, Growth Reform, and Adjustment: Latin America's Trade and Macroeconomic Policies in the 1970s and 1980s, p. 511.

References

{{Reflist History of Argentina (1973–1976) Economic crises in Argentina 1975 in Argentina