Rise of the Argentine Empire

What Saint Huther said was indeed a bit of a heart-stab. Before the Great Depression of 1929, Argentinians considered themselves the largest country in South America, having completely surpassed Brazil for the first time after independence.

During the colonial era of the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata, Argentina had always been at odds with Portuguese Brazil. After independence, Brazil had always been the aggressor. Brazil became independent, established the Brazilian Empire, completely unified, and merged the three southern states.

The Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata eventually split into four countries, and Argentina began to lag behind Brazil. Later, it also established the Argentine Confederation in the unification wars, confronting Brazil and launching a series of wars to compete for Uruguay and Paraguay in the War of the Triple Alliance, eventually forming two buffer states. Speaking of which, these two buffer states were originally part of the Río de la Plata, and Brazil's influence also cut into the Río de la Plata basin.

After the Second Industrial Revolution, Argentina also moved from civil war to unification. The era of modern agriculture began, and the wealth brought by the vast Pampas cattle and planting industries made it the fifth largest exporter in the world, surpassing Brazil. Argentina became an important destination for European immigrants, and its population grew rapidly, catching up with Brazil, with political stability and social harmony.

That golden age was the pride of three generations of Argentinians. Otto Lief grew up in the best era before the Great Depression. Even during the economic crisis, Argentina remained the leader in South America until the arrival of the Perón era after World War II.

The Second World War was a major watershed. Brazil formed an expeditionary force and sided with the United States, while Argentina was ambiguous with Nazi Germany, creating a mess. Now, Brazil's national fortune is rising, surpassing Argentina in one fell swoop, while Argentina's populism is rampant, slowly declining, which has become a thorn in the hearts of many Argentinians.

If there were a saying from later generations to describe it, it would be, "Heartbreaking, bro."

Most of the attendees at the discussion also turned a little ugly, but they really felt that Argentinians were really not as good as Brazilians. They were now a little lacking in confidence. Only 23 years after the Great Depression, the new generation of Argentinians seemed to have become more and more unconfident. People who grew up before the Great Depression began to be a little self-defeating, appearing somewhat like they were trying to find solace in the misery of others.

With the ebb and flow of national fortunes, Brazil actually emerged from the economic crisis the fastest before World War II, coupled with a rapid advance of 10 years after World War II, while Argentina's last year with an average annual economic growth of 6% was in 1919.

The meeting had basically reached its end here. Everyone present was astute, and although they were tempted, they did not express it too much. The final decision on this matter still depended on Otto himself. He was the boss. Saint Huther had conducted a detailed investigation of Otto himself. This person was qualified to become his ally, or at least a very good partner.

Otherwise, he would not have made such wild remarks at this meeting. If the port of Blanca was to truly develop, it needed a strong city hall to clear away the internal and external monsters. If the city hall collapsed first, then all efforts would be in vain, benefiting others.

The venue eventually fell into a state of silence. Mayor Otto's brow seemed to relax, and then he gently tapped the table. All eyes were focused on him. He stared at Saint Huther and asked:

"Councilor Saint Huther, I think your proposal has room for discussion, but it seems that with the strength of our city, we don't have such strong financial resources for construction and expansion."

Otto was actually very tempted in his heart. He was only 41 years old now, and he had been in politics for almost 15 years this year. The chaos in Argentina had long extinguished the blood of his youth, only because he had lost hope in his heart.

Or perhaps Argentina's natural environment was too comfortable, like a frog being boiled in warm water. By the time he wanted to jump out, it was already too late. Saint Huther wanted to be a catfish, making them stir up.

He also had no way to change the entire current situation in Argentina, nor did he have the ability. Even being elected mayor of Blanca was only because everyone didn't really want to take over this mess. Even going to the provincial government as a small minister was better than the treatment in the port of Blanca.

"My suggestion is to learn from Keynesianism during the American Great Depression, establish a large city hall, change the original small city hall thinking, and at the same time establish a batch of state-owned enterprises belonging to our port of Blanca.

By starting with the construction of industrial zones, infrastructure, and other aspects, we can expand tax revenue sources and increase foreign trade, pursue interventionist policies, increase economic management and social control, increase government spending, formulate economic development plans, expand the economy, and create employment, which can completely solve the problem."

Keynesianism does not abandon capitalism, but rather develops state capitalism while learning from the Soviets to intervene in economic development. The Perón presidential palace is actually not a big government ideology, but simply a totalitarian and authoritarian ideology.

Or rather, it is just a variant of the military government, with a layer of the Third Way ideology, which is the same line of thinking as the Nazis and Italy in World War II, with no essential difference, commonly known as being incompetent but addicted to power.

Although it also looks a bit like learning from the Soviets, Saint Huther is more willing to call it the legacy of the Nazis, and Italy, where Perón stayed, was the weakest of the three Axis powers at the time.

"The country has already seen such a new economic reform model, carrying out economic development system reforms, and I believe it is necessary to learn from the United States and Japan. As backward countries, we must carry out strong administrative intervention in order to accelerate development and face world competition."

Perón's method of developing after giving out money has been proven to be unable to continue. Compressing ineffective public expenditures, reducing welfare, and carrying out industrialization is the fundamental solution. Even counterfeit goods are acceptable. Counterfeiting itself represents a kind of development ability. Saint Huther already has a certain ability to counterfeit, and the next step is to continue to grow stronger.

"Oh? Where in the country? I don't seem to have heard of it?"

Otto put down the pen he was recording with and asked with great interest.

It's not that the people at these venues are not well-informed, but Orán and María have only been developing for less than two years, and the changes are not particularly obvious.

"They are two small cities in the north, the border city of Orán and the central city of María. Of course, their thinking is relatively rough, focusing more on the construction of a service-oriented government. My suggestion is still to set up a large city hall in the port of Blanca."

Most of the power in the city of Orán has already been acquired by Thunder Mining and Thunder Cross. This small city of less than 20,000 people is expanding according to Saint Huther's ideas. After all, the potential of the Puna Plateau is too small. The city of Orán at the foot of the mountain can also easily reach Sucre in Bolivia, and it is also very close to Jujuy. Moreover, it is located in the heart of the Gran Chaco Plain and can also develop various industries.

The Gran Chaco Plain is located on the borders of Argentina, Paraguay, and Bolivia, with a huge area and abundant mineral resources, especially iron ore and oil. It is a wilderness that can be developed in a diversified manner in the future, Argentina's Great Northern Wilderness, with severe salinization and great potential for grain production.

Various productions such as cotton can also be developed, which Saint Huther has long coveted. It is a pity that Paraguay and Bolivia are foreign territories. If it were the 19th century, he would definitely consider directly occupying and annexing them militarily, expanding Argentina's territory and potential. Unfortunately, it is now the 20th century. Whether it is Paraguay, Uruguay, or Bolivia, they all have the iron ore resources that Argentina urgently needs.

"At the same time, I propose to set up an international free port in the port of Blanca and apply to the provincial government."

Saint Huther is not very optimistic about the level of Argentina. He needs some competitors, and setting up a free port is a very good way.

"Blanca International Free Port? Is there really a chance to set it up? Our country doesn't have this policy, does it?"

They directly ignored the cities of Orán and María. They were more interested in the international free port. Argentina currently restricts the export of agricultural products. Even if export tariffs have dropped a lot, they are still quite high. If a free port can really be set up, then most of the goods in the central and southern parts of the country will be exported from here, which will greatly promote the development of the port of Blanca.

"Yes, to develop an international free port, I think it is also necessary to strengthen the competitiveness of our country's products. We must further reduce tariffs, even to zero."

In fact, collecting tariffs on exports is very strange. Zero tariffs are the right way. Later countries will even provide subsidies and tariff refunds to improve export competitiveness. Only some core special products such as gold will be subject to tariffs to prevent outflow.

Saint Huther's proposal of a free port and a large city hall is also his new attempt. Now he has no soldiers and no power. To win the post-Perón era is a daydream.

Influencing the city hall cannot rely solely on the small coastal industrial zone. It is faster to walk on two legs. Moreover, personal ability is limited after all. He plans to use the port of Blanca as a testing ground to experiment with Argentina's economic reforms, while also taking the opportunity to gain power.

"Our presidential palace is negotiating with the Americans, trying to open up to them. I think this policy can be taken down. They want to open up the entire market to the Americans all at once, while we can use it as a pilot free port."

The later Singapore port, Hamburg port in Germany, and Hong Kong of New China all belong to free ports. The free port strategy has greatly promoted the economic development of these port cities. Singapore port, as the world's largest free port in later generations, was able to develop from a small country into a country with a voice in Southeast Asia, the free port policy has made great contributions.

"If the economy doesn't improve and the unemployment rate increases, it is likely to aggravate the danger of our country, eventually leading to uprisings and unrest. We are seeking a way out for the entire Argentina, so this matter is beneficial to the Argentine Federation and the Argentine nation."

Argentina in later generations was like this. The junta didn't know how to manage the economy, colloquially known as being incompetent but addicted to power, leading to the collapse of the Argentine economy. University graduates were unemployed, combined with workers, believed in Che Guevara's ideas, engaged in urban guerrilla warfare and uprisings, and eventually became terrorism and gangs. Argentina also fell into turmoil and civil war.

Saint Hesser did not want to have too many comments on Che Guevara. Compared with the giant of New China, his ideas seemed more naive. Saint Hesser, who had learned more advanced dragon-slaying techniques, was certainly not interested in this kind of half-baked thinking. Even the future Castro was far behind, and he certainly had to learn from the most successful.

"Senator Saint Hesser's idea is very good. I have decided that the city hall will start according to this idea. First, merge Grani Town in the west to establish a free port area. At the same time, we must formulate reasonable policies and plans according to the situation in our Blanca Port.

I will now sort out the meeting ideas, organize production for self-rescue, and at the same time, like the portside industrial zone, directly start foreign investment promotion. Anyone with foreign connections can consider cooperation matters."

Otto made a final decision, planning to open a free port in the west, getting on the bus first and then buying a ticket. The north is already overwhelmed, and even financial allocations have been in arrears for several months. If this continues, Blanca Port's finances will also go bankrupt.

This discussion lasted for four hours. Saint Hesser also answered many development and planning ideas, which made everyone very satisfied. This meeting to solve the unemployment rate evolved into the city hall's development plan and the construction idea of the free port. Otto himself also showed amazing decisiveness, making a final decision and forming a meeting resolution.

Report directly to the provincial government. If the provincial government really disagrees, he may really split Blanca Port and merge it with La Pampa Province. The current La Pampa Province is newly established and has no port and few people.

If Blanca Port is merged, it is possible to directly become a provincial capital. This is the most extreme situation. Now the people of Blanca Port have a high support rate for Otto. Otto, who is responsible for Blanca Port, also has a good reputation. As long as he has the ability to solve employment problems and even create more employment, then the country will be stable.

Otto's face seemed to bloom with a different kind of light, with a meaning of killing gods when gods block, and killing Buddhas when Buddhas block.

He is going to persuade these four major families and local small and medium-sized forces. If the local forces in Blanca Port trip him up, it will not be easy to handle. He also wants to take advantage of the situation to integrate the police department and establish a city police force to maintain law and order, and at the same time, he can absorb idle youths and reduce the crime rate.

Saint Hesser provided a comprehensive development plan, including the reform of the city hall, streamlining the departments and institutions of the city hall, expanding security maintenance, and establishing a free port preparatory office. It integrated the reform ideas of Maria City and Oran City, and also referred to some practices of later generations, the possibility of realization is very high.

.....

Coming out of the venue, Saint Hesser was already sweating profusely. He seemed to have exaggerated too much, and Otto also seemed to think that this proposal was very good. In the absence of other good solutions, expanding the power of the city hall and increasing the area of Blanca Port only has advantages and no disadvantages.

After chatting with Otto again for a while, and also simply greeting other municipal officials and familiar councilors, he found that their attitudes seemed to have changed a lot. They seemed to value Saint Hesser more, and some became hostile. Saint Hesser was also much more vigilant in his heart.

Although these suggestions are to make the cake bigger, some people will definitely be left behind. He needs to be more careful in the future. It is also time to put the establishment of a formal security company on the agenda.

This idea is actually to use work as relief, while increasing control over the economy, but adding a free port development idea. The most important thing is to develop and expand the city scale, increase population and tax revenue.

After Saint Hesser finished chatting with the others and was preparing to leave the city hall, a middle-aged man in his forties walked towards him and extended his hand.

"Hello, Senator Saint Hesser, I am Durant, the president of the National Southern University of Argentina. I had an appointment with you a few days ago, but you didn't have much time at the time. This time I was also invited to this meeting and made some suggestions, but not as detailed as yours. I think the suggestions you made are very likely to be realized."

Durant seemed a little nervous and directly revealed his title. The National Southern University of Argentina is a very powerful title.

"Hello, President Durant, these are just some trivial suggestions. The main thing is to see the leadership of Mayor Otto."

Saint Hesser's expression was gentle, and he also extended his hand to hold Durant's hand, which was slightly rough and with some fine sweat.

"Senator, how about I treat you to lunch and visit our school in the afternoon? To be honest, I'm not used to the food here at the city hall. I'm of German descent. Blanca Port is good in everything, but there are too many Italians. I'm not very used to the dishes."

Durant said somewhat insincerely, obviously saying this because he saw that Saint Hesser was not planning to eat here. After all, Italian cuisine is not bad, at least much better than British cuisine. Durant glanced at his wallet with some heartache. In order to get sponsorship, he had to bleed a little.

Saint Hesser looked at his watch. It was already 1:30 in the afternoon. He was indeed not used to the city hall's cafeteria. After thinking for a moment, he nodded. He originally planned to meet Durant.

"Okay, I'm not used to the dishes here either. How about taking my car?"

Durant didn't seem to have driven over, and he also nodded in agreement.

"Okay, then I'll trouble you, Senator."

Bragg drove Saint Hesser's car over.

"How about going to a French restaurant, Senator? I know a good French restaurant in the city."

Durant seemed to have made a decision before speaking.

"Okay, let's go eat some French food then."

Saint Hesser hadn't eaten French food for a long time. The last time was with Elena.

On the car, he simply chatted with Durant in the car. No wonder Saint Hesser didn't know much about this school, because this school was just pre-listed and not officially established, equivalent to the National Southern University (in preparation).

The National Southern University of Argentina is located at 80 Columbus Avenue in Blanca Port City. The original site was a middle school, which is a very small university, but the background is indeed not small. It is the seventh national university in the country.

Strictly speaking, the National Southern University has not been formally established, but only a framework has been preliminarily built. The funds given by the Presidential Palace and the Provincial Government are too small, and Blanca Port's financial expenditure cannot support a national university, so Durant goes to alms to those who have money.

On October 9, 1946, the National Southern University was established according to the Provincial Law No. 5051, and teaching activities were carried out with the support of the National University of La Plata.

In 1947, the Presidential Palace and the Province of Buenos Aires jointly signed an agreement, in which both parties will provide funds for the operation and maintenance of the institute.

On February 12, 1948, the Presidential Palace appointed Dr. Miguel López Durant as the president of the university.