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In-Depth Information
also came up in connection with hush money he allegedly received
from foreign terrorists to cover up a bombing in downtown Buenos
Aires. In 1994, a car bomb exploded outside the city's Jewish com-
munity center, killing 86 people. Afterward, Menem reputedly filled
a Swiss bank account with $10 million in bribes. For a while in 2002,
the ex-president was under house arrest for the illegal arms sales, but
charges were dropped.
As it turned out, President Menem was building economic prosper-
ity based on borrowing from abroad, following the example of the
military regime. Under Menem, the neoliberal reformer, the country's
international debt obligations jumped from $62 billion to $127 billion
(see figure). Ironically, the government had undertaken privatization to
retire the international debt burden; however, President Menem could
no more reduce government expenditures than he could cajole the
well-off to pay their taxes. International borrowing made up the gap
between public spending and the shortfall of tax revenues. Menem and
