Domingo Cavallo

Domingo Cavallo is an Argentine economist and politician who served as economy minister of Argentina (1991–96, 2001).

Cavallo was trained as a certified public accountant (1966) and earned master’s (1968) and doctoral (1969) degrees in economics from the National University of Córdoba. In 1977 he earned a Ph.D. in economics from Harvard University. He taught at the National University of Córdoba (1969–84), the Catholic University of Córdoba (1970–74), and New York University (1996–97). He wrote a number of books and articles and was the publisher of Forbes Global in 1998–99.

Cavallo served as governor of Argentina’s central bank in 1982, minister of foreign affairs from 1989 to 1991, and economy minister from 1991 to 1996. In the early 1990s the Argentine economy was suffering from runaway inflation, which Cavallo controlled by pegging the value of the peso to the U.S. dollar. He also instituted an extensive privatization plan. The economy revived, but in 1996 Cavallo left the government of Pres. Carlos Menem, which was charged with widespread corruption. The following year Cavallo founded the Action for the Republic (Acción por la República; AR), a centre-right party, and won his first term to the Chamber of Deputies. He was unsuccessful in a bid for the presidency in 1999 and was defeated in a run for mayor of Buenos Aires in 2000.

When Cavallo was reappointed economy minister on March 20, 2001, by Pres. Fernando de la Rúa, Argentines hailed him as a reformer who could rescue the economy from its dire straits. He was the third person to hold the position within a month. The Argentine economy, one of the largest in South America, had been in recession for nearly three years, with an unemployment rate of 15 percent and large budget deficits. The government had been unable to meet targets set by the International Monetary Fund, and there was widespread fear that it would default on loans. Thus, the task before Cavallo, both to invigorate the economy and to restore confidence, was enormous.

Upon taking the position, Cavallo acted quickly. His program called for increased tax revenues coupled with spending cuts, and he took steps to stimulate investment. These measures, however, failed to pull the Argentine economy out of its slump, and public confidence in the government tanked. After a $2 billion bank run on November 30, 2001, Cavallo limited cash withdrawals to $250 per week—a move that in part triggered the massive street protests that erupted in Buenos Aires in December. Argentina could not avoid defaulting on its $132 billion foreign debt, and both Cavallo and de la Rúa resigned office on December 20.

In 2002 Cavallo was arrested on charges of signing decrees that resulted in arms being smuggled to Croatia and Ecuador in the early 1990s. He was held in custody for two months, but the charges ultimately were dropped for lack of evidence. Later he became the chairman and chief executive officer of a consulting firm and also served as president of the AR. He was a member of the Group of 30, an international nonprofit body on economics and monetary affairs based in Washington, D.C.

Cavallo’s legal difficulties continued, however. In 2015 he, along with Menem and a former justice minister, were convicted of embezzlement for illegal bonuses paid to cabinet members during Menem’s presidency. Cavallo was sentenced to 3.5 years in prison.