Nancy Neff

In a recent speech before nearly 400 people in the Texas Union Ballroom, Menem took credit for the economic prosperity his country is experiencing, and said his policies are responsible for reconnecting Argentina to the rest of the world and opening the door to foreign investors. But there is still much to be done in the areas of health care and education, he said.

Menem's talk was the inaugural lecture sponsored by the newly created Argentine Studies Center at the UT Austin Institute of Latin American Studies (ILAS).

When he was first elected to the presidency in 1989, Argentina was a isolated country with a skyrocketing inflation rate, Menem pointed out. "We were a country without a future. We had to take urgent and painful measures -- we had to do major surgery on the country without an anesthesia."

Previously a country of state-run industries and a protected economy, Argentina under Menem enthusiastically embraced liberal economic policies, said Dr. Nicolas Shumway, director of ILAS. "Even Menem's detractors confess that his presidency transformed Argentina in many positive ways," he said, adding that privatization of state enterprises and the growth of foreign investment have greatly improved Argentina's infrastructure, particularly noticeable in telecommunications.

Menem told the audience that his country was suffering from a 5,000 percent a year inflation rate in 1989 and, today, Argentina has zero percent inflation rate with stable prices. Before he took office, the former president said it "was a true odyssey to obtain a telephone. It sometimes took years to get a telephone. Now, you ask for one and 24 hours later, you have it. If you don't, it's free." Menem also takes credit for raising the gross national production by 56 percent and to increasing the central bank reserves to $32 billion. Last year, he shocked many by proposing that Argentina join NATO and consider making the dollar its national currency.

"One of my primary concerns was building relations with the United States, which is now our chief investor," he said.

Menem was asked if he had any regrets about his 10 years in office. He told the audience that the shock measures he used to turn the country around economically unfortunately brought a growth in the unemployment rate. "Anti-inflation policies are always painful," he said, adding that he hopes his programs eventually will produce a higher living standard for everyone.