Rise of the Argentine Empire

Saint Hossa waved his hand, signaling the security personnel to step aside.

"Hello, is there something I can help you with?"

He was somewhat puzzled, as the young man didn't seem to be one of his subordinates.

He had visited the Nueva Herald branch a few times and hadn't seen this reporter, and he'd already done several interviews.

"Hello, Councilor Saint Hossa, I'm Tommy Reynoso, a reporter from 'The Vanguard.' May I ask you a few questions?"

Tommy quickly seized the opportunity, speaking faster than usual, as his sole purpose for being there was to interview Saint Hossa.

'The Vanguard' was the Republican Party's newspaper, with which Saint Hossa was familiar. It was currently gaining momentum, and its circulation was the fourth highest in the country. The Radical Civic Union and the Republican Party were still allies.

"Certainly, Mr. Tommy. Shall we find a place? I have half an hour to spare."

Saint Hossa glanced at his watch and nodded. He still had to give the Republican Party some consideration, though his time was quite valuable at the moment.

The two arrived at a newly opened café outside City Hall, which was actually one of the new businesses established by the Falcon Bureau. To support their network of informants, they had to allocate some funds; otherwise, it would have been difficult to expand the intelligence system so rapidly.

A significant portion of the Falcon Bureau's funds was converted into commercial enterprises to gather intelligence under the guise of legitimate businesses, such as supermarkets, bars, fast-food restaurants, and coffee shops.

Fortunately, with Saint Hossa's planning abilities, it was difficult to lose money. Although the profits weren't substantial, they were sufficient to support a segment of their personnel, which was crucial for managing their financial strain.

After a while, the two formally began the interview.

"Then, let's officially begin with the questions."

"Alright."

"Councilor Saint Hossa, what are your thoughts on yesterday's meatpacking plant protest?"

The question was sharp right from the start. Saint Hossa briefly organized his thoughts.

"I am not very familiar with the protest, but I believe the city government and Mayor Carrancho will provide us with a satisfactory answer."

The meatpacking plant protest was not Saint Hossa's concern; let the city government and their families deal with it. It was likely just a matter of layoffs and wage cuts.

"Councilor Saint Hossa, I've heard you graduated from the University of Buenos Aires. Having become a city councilor just over two months after graduation, I wonder if there are any unclear reasons behind this?"

Good heavens, he dared to ask such a question.

"This is an opportunity the country is giving to young people like us. As far as I know, this year, the nation has seen a considerable number of recent graduates enter government agencies in various aspects of the government and parliament, and I am just a negligible one among them, serving the citizens of Bahia Blanca. As for my background, it is the support of the citizens of Bahia Blanca. I was born in a small village in the Pampas…"

Saint Hossa spoke eloquently, elaborating at length.

"Alright, understood. I wonder if Councilor Saint Hossa has any good solutions to the current unemployment and other problems in Bahia Blanca?"

Finally, a question with some substance.

"This is a very good question. I believe that the free and brave citizens of Bahia Blanca will quickly restore the economy. Regarding this, I have also prepared a specific recovery plan, which I intend to submit to the council this month…"

"Could you elaborate?"

Tommy sat up straight, diligently taking notes.

"I believe that for Bahia Blanca to prosper and develop, it must develop its port economy and vigorously promote industry to better overcome the crisis and establish a large-scale industrial zone…"

The interview was coming to an end, and it had gone well. Tommy was also very satisfied.

The two shook hands and said goodbye. As for the proposal, Saint Hossa was indeed preparing it.

and the external support of the Nueva Herald, the Radical Civic Union attracted many new members. With the boost of political funding, the Radical Civic Union was revitalized, and its overall organizational structure was updated.

The Radical Civic Union branch underwent a series of reforms, giving many members hope. Saint Hossa creatively introduced some of the Republican Party's systems and made changes, such as work methods, cooperating with labor union organizations, connecting with Saint Hossa's factories, and even developing worker members.

For Saint Hossa, what was he best at? Of course, it was developing the economy. Other things could be put aside. As long as he could enlarge the pie and develop Bahia Blanca, everything would be fine.

Cutting off someone's financial path is like killing their parents.

He had already conceived a rough plan in his mind. As an industrial party keyboard warrior who had experienced the greatest industrial revolution in global economic history, hadn't he seen pigs run even if he hadn't eaten pork?

So, after briefly reviewing the historical council proposals for Bahia Blanca, he prepared a "Bahia Blanca Coastal Industrial Zone Proposal." He didn't have much time, and the window of opportunity for the Argentines was also limited.

Compared to the high-intensity competition in the capital, Bahia Blanca was like a blank sheet of paper that could be freely drawn on. Moreover, it had convenient transportation, and the various industrial equipment needed could be transported via railway.

Currently, foreign capital was entering Argentina. This year alone, five foreign tractor factories were about to set up operations, not to mention other factories. Fortunately, Saint Hossa's factories had weathered the economic crisis and now possessed sufficient production capacity and greater competitiveness, and with the support of the banks, they had no fear of competition.

Bahia Blanca could establish cement plants, petrochemical plants, coal chemical plants, metal smelting plants, fertilizer plants, machinery plants, textile mills, garment factories, three acids and one alkali plants, steel plants, and shipyards, turning it into the strongest industrial city in southern Argentina.

A more powerful, upgraded version of a heavy industrial city than Maria City, integrating the south and becoming an industrial base.

Bahia Blanca's southern Patagonia province had oil. Deep-water port terminals could be developed here, with cheap and flat land, and a future stream of Australian coal and iron ore, Chilean copper ore, and Brazilian iron ore, with convenient sea and land transportation conditions, making it more suitable for developing heavy industry than Maria City. It could also develop foreign trade processing industries, away from the complex competition in the capital, making it less likely to be targeted.

The economic prosperity of a foreign trade city depends critically on an open world trade system, and the prosperity of a heavy industrial city can promote the strength of the country.

Establishing this coastal industrial zone, both market and technology are important. Fortunately, South America actually has a market that is not too small. It has long been occupied by major powers such as Britain and the United States. For Argentina to rise, it will need to challenge their economic colonial hegemony in the future.

Besides the South American market, there are also the Southeast Asian market, the European market, and the future African market, all of which require arduous development.

“The initial planning and construction of the Lingang Industrial Zone will cover 10 square miles, with 10 large factories introduced in the first phase, followed by the cultivation of related industrial chains.”

Saint Hesser scribbled and drew, still planning to engage in heavy industry. Instead of a steel plant, he would focus on other metal smelting, such as aluminum alloys and copper alloys. Copper ore could be sourced in cooperation with the local governments of Chile and Peru, while bauxite could be sourced from Australia. The San Martin Aircraft Factory also needed higher-strength and lighter alloys.

October 18th, 3:00 PM.

“Boss, there's an urgent telegram from Montevideo, and 'La Vanguardia' has also published it nationally.”

Saint Hesser had just finished planning the Lingang Industrial Zone when an intelligence officer from the Falcon Bureau brought him a telegram and a newspaper.

Saint Hesser first looked at the newspaper and found it in a small article on page seven, along with interviews with several new officials and councilors from other regions. Clearly, it wasn't an isolated case and basically didn't deviate from Saint Hesser's talking points.

《Saint Hesser Cohen, Successfully Elected as Young Councilor of Bahía Blanca, He Says: I Only Have Gratitude…》

There were some sensational headlines, but the overall article was well-written, though Saint Hesser wasn't very satisfied.

Turning to the Falcon Bureau's telegram, he glanced at it casually before excitedly standing up and exclaiming:

“Good news, really good news! Finally, we don't have to be at the mercy of the Brazilians.”

Saint Hesser was so excited that he danced around for a few minutes before slowly putting down the telegram.

The Uruguay branch of La Plata International reported that a large iron ore deposit, estimated to exceed 200 million tons, was likely present in the Treinta y Tres Department of Uruguay.

“Draft two telegrams for me, and send them to the heads of Thunder Mining and La Plata Steel, instructing them to assemble teams to go to the Treinta y Tres Department.”

This iron ore discovery in the central province of Uruguay was significant because, compared to coal mines, iron ore deposits were much rarer and closer to the La Plata Steel plant, making transportation more convenient.

Thunder Mining was more internationally oriented, investing in Australian coal, iron ore, and bauxite mines, and already had some experience in mineral development, making it very suitable for mining this iron ore deposit. La Plata Steel also needed a stable supply of iron ore and needed to invest some money to smooth things over, since it wasn't in Argentina.

“Yes, boss.”

Watching the intelligence officer leave, Saint Hesser calmed down and sat down quietly. He was determined to secure the Uruguayan iron ore, which was estimated to have reserves of at least 300 million tons, enough to supply a large steel plant for 10 years, although the price might be slightly higher than Brazilian iron ore.

He instructed Thunder Mining to prepare personnel to compete for this large iron ore deposit, and La Plata Steel to send people to jointly form a team.

It had to be said that this iron ore deposit came at a very opportune time.

Uruguay fell within Argentina's traditional sphere of influence, and with the Uruguayan iron ore as a pretext,

Saint Hesser planned to increase investment in Uruguay, mainly in mining and trade.

As the saying goes, a close neighbor is better than a distant relative, and security can also be better guaranteed. Mining in Uruguay was also more convenient than in Bolivia. Mining iron ore in Bolivia might take longer because their facilities were too backward. As for the Brazilians and Australians, they seemed friendly now, but if they suddenly raised prices or created bottlenecks, it would be disastrous. He couldn't put all his eggs in one basket.

This could truly be considered a double blessing. Uruguay was flat and had railways that could transport iron ore to Argentina faster than from Bolivia, Australia, or Brazil. The only question was the grade of the iron ore. Moreover, Argentina and Uruguay currently had very good relations, and they were happy for Argentinians to invest in mining. Although the Uruguayan government was currently stable, it was quite poor, with poor employment and a small population.

Saint Hesser thought for a moment and continued to refine his construction proposal, also planning to have Thunder Mining strengthen domestic mineral resource exploration. To be honest, he wasn't very clear about what resources were actually under Argentina's soil.

The Argentine National Coal Company, established three years ago, had not made much progress in exploration. Currently, coal was still mainly imported, with only some coal mines being mined in Patagonia.

Mineral exploration work in other places was also very inadequate. There were also some coal reserves in northwestern Argentina, but the grade was low, otherwise Saint Hesser would have had Thunder Mining exploit them long ago. The same was true for iron ore: the reserves were low and the grade was low, far inferior to Brazil and Bolivia, and probably not even as good as Uruguay.

The copper mines in the Andes were good, but with Thunder Mining's current mining technology, it was difficult to get involved, and the mining cycle was too long and the investment was huge, so for now, it could only rely on foreign imports. Time and investment did not allow it.

…

After a period of preparation, Saint Hesser hooked up with a few councilors and attended several cocktail parties with Elena. With Elena's help, these cocktail parties felt like a fish in water.

Through some released goodwill, he re-acquainted himself with more powerful officials and some councilors, and also brought Kleiderman along. He didn't really care what the upper echelons of the Radical Civic Union thought.

Kleiderman was a talent, and also one of the few people in the Bahía Blanca Radical Civic Union who could stand alone. The two had several specific exchanges.

The situation in Bahía Blanca as a whole was relatively simple. He only needed to get more than 2/3 of the votes to pass this construction bill, and Saint Hesser had a lot of confidence. This construction plan had to be able to fully mobilize the forces of Bahía Blanca, to his advantage.

He also basically understood the operation and basic methods of the council.

He also made further upgrades to the proposal, not only expanding the scale a lot, but also having a package of specific construction plans, including finance, debt issues, financing platforms, and other aspects, further improving his plan.

He also added some implementation ideas that were conducive to the development of agriculture and animal husbandry, as well as some specific measures, and even planned to open up some sales channels and release beef inventory, wheat inventory, and mutton inventory in order to get their passage.

October 24th,

Bahía Blanca City Council Standing Committee Meeting. The Bahía Blanca Council Standing Committee Meeting is generally held once every two months, lasting for a week, usually in the second half of even-numbered months.

Saint Hesser attended the Bahía Blanca Standing Committee Meeting as a newly appointed councilor, intending to promote his economic recovery and reconstruction plan.

“Hello everyone, the purpose of this Standing Committee Meeting is to show you a huge construction and recovery plan that I and Councilor Ensep and several other councilors have developed.”

Ensep Alexander was a famous centrist councilor in Bahía Blanca. Saint Hesser had put a lot of thought into persuading this councilor. With his endorsement, the matter was half done.

“I believe everyone is aware of the power of this economic crisis. Bahía Blanca is backed by the Pampas grasslands, and this is a very good opportunity to help our city develop.”