The Comeback Kid

Carlos Menem wasn't President when Argentina's finances collapsed in December 2001 and the country defaulted on its $147 billion foreign debt. But he was President from 1989 to 1999 — a decade of economic growth but also of government profligacy and breakneck privatization that displaced tens of thousands of workers and produced corruption scandals. One of them got Menem placed under house arrest in 2001 for his alleged involvement in an illegal $100 million arms sale. (The charges against him were later dropped.) As a result, surveys show that most Argentines blame Menem for their deep economic depression, which has left...