A Compass for Argentina’s Development
For decades, Argentina has been caught in a pendulum swing.
Fundar was created in 2020 out of the conviction that the pendulum can be stopped.
Viewed over the long run, Argentina’s trajectory has been erratic, with poor economic and social outcomes.
Since 1974, the country has been in recession nearly half the time, and per capita GDP has grown far below both regional and global averages. Today, our purchasing power is lower than it was fifty years ago. Over the past three decades, income poverty has never dipped below 25%.
Zooming in on the more recent past, since 2010 Argentina’s per capita GDP has recorded the worst performance in the region. The country has failed to establish a sustained process of job formalization or to halt inflation—an issue that fuels volatility and undermines both income distribution and poverty reduction.
To explain this elusive development journey, Argentine political science often turns to the metaphor of the “pendulum.” It captures how, since the twentieth century, the balance of power between “national-popular” and “liberal-conservative” coalitions has remained locked in stalemate.
The country is caught in this unresolved conflict: every economic or political crisis drives it toward the opposite pole. To date, neither side has managed to build a lasting path to greater well-being, deepening the frustration of a society weighed down by repeated disappointments.
We must face up to what is not working and acknowledge that we do not have everything under control
As a result of this pendulum, Argentina keeps falling further behind. That is a costly burden in a world being reshaped at breakneck speed by the climate crisis and energy transition, the rise of China, and the AI revolution. Without a radical shift in our performance, Argentina risks being pushed into an ever more peripheral and marginal position within the global economy.
No crisis can be overcome without first confronting the realities on the ground. Turning crisis into opportunity means being honest about what is failing and recognizing that not everything is under control. Persistent unemployment and inequality hold back human development. Macroeconomic volatility and low investment weaken the competitiveness of our productive fabric. The State is steadily losing its ability to plan and respond effectively.
However, this is not a call to despair; recognizing what works is just as important. Despite recurring crises, Argentina remains an “upper-middle” country. Our level of development is above both regional and global averages, and the claim that we are “worse than ever” simply does not hold water. In several key areas like health, education, democratic quality, and gender equality, Argentina has made steady gains—from longer life expectancy to more years of schooling to broader rights. These achievements are the foundation on which any effective development strategy must rest.
In several key areas, our country has made sustained progress
Our productive fabric has valuable capabilities. We have talent and infrastructure for scientific and technological innovation, thanks to a long-standing tradition of public investment in universities and science and technology. We are the only country in the region capable of exporting satellites, radars, and nuclear research reactors, and we host Latin America’s largest biotechnology hub. Our democracy has withstood repeated economic and political crises, and despite the advance of individualism, a dense network of social, union, and community organizations continues to thrive.
We are driven by the goal of charting a common path that brings together the best of our political traditions, guided by both realism and ambition
Fundar was founded on the conviction that it is possible to design a shared path combining the best of Argentina’s political traditions — rooted in realism and ambition. At the same time, we believe in expanding rights and protections, building a diversified and sophisticated productive structure, maintaining fiscal realism, and deepening integration into the global economy. Each of these elements has fallen short when pursued alone. But together, they can form the basis of a new project for Argentina — one that links production with competitiveness, stability with inclusion, and innovation with a strong State.
In practical terms, this means boosting production across value chains with potential spillovers outward and inward—more knowledge per ton, more employment per hectare, more exports per kilowatt—while also designing policies for income, care, and training that sustain well-being. True equity requires growth, but growth alone is not enough unless it expands rights as well.
We want to contribute to a development strategy for Argentina that is designed from within
We want to contribute to a development strategy for Argentina that is designed from within the country, yet responsive to the challenges of today’s global context, learning both from other nations’ experiences and from our own successes and failures. Our role is clear: to serve as a programmatic powerhouse, bridging technical expertise and political decision-making. We focus on both the “what” and the “how”: producing comparative, data-driven diagnostics and designs ready for implementation. We build consensus through transparency on the costs and benefits. We bring global questions into Argentina and, in turn, project Argentina’s questions onto the global arena. Through this iterative, deliberative process proposals gain strength and legitimacy. Diagnoses become sharper, analyses deeper, and public policies more relevant.
We focus on both the “what” and the “how”
We want to help break free from cycles of political mood swings and partisan shifts. We are not interested in managing the pendulum; we seek to dismantle its hinges. We would like to be judged by results: public policies that spark investment based on dynamic advantages rather than defensive schemes; quality jobs that broaden life opportunities; institutions that provide certainty, foster cooperation, and set limits.
Our work is an open invitation: to decision-makers and researchers, to entrepreneurs and educators, to those who govern, care, and create. We approach this mission from a non-partisan, yet profoundly political, perspective. To reverse decline, we must leverage what we already have and restore the link between productive transformation, shared well-being, and macroeconomic stability — while treating environmental sustainability not only as a necessity but as a strategic opportunity. Only with a State that is capable, efficient, and empowered to coordinate a development strategy, deliver effective public policies, and foster citizen participation, can we banish the specter of decline and the despair it feeds.
