Abstract

ODISIO, Juan. Lo que vendrá: Las "Tres cartas" de Emilio de Alvear  y el presagio de los debates proteccionistas de 1875 y 1876. Ciclos hist. econ. soc. [online]. 2014, vol.22, n.43, pp.00-00. ISSN 1851-3735.

Abstract The two crises that our country suffered in 1866 and 1873 originated an incipient movement in favor of industrial protectionism, arising from the breeder´s class itself, dominant at the time. This trend found its climax in the passionate parliamentary debates of 1875 and 1876 concerning the Customs Act. In this paper, we first try to trace some highlights of those discussions, analyzing the sectors that drove the postures for broader protectionism, the fields in which they expressed themselves and the repercussions they found. Incidentally, a glimpse of the scope of these proposals may be reached; much as if (in broad terms) they responded only to fiscal ends or, conversely, were trying to establish a stimulus to the domestic industry with a long-term vision. In particular, we want to point out an early contribution in this regard, perhaps little known, of one the members of that ruling elite, Emilio de Alvear. In a series of letters from 1869 he shows suggestive advances on what will be, years later, the main points defended by the "protectionist" group, personified in Parliament by the figures of Vicente Fidel López, Carlos Pellegrini, Dardo Rocha, Miguel Cané, Santiago Alcorta, among others. Then, the second issue addressed here includes the ostensible similarities between both points of view. While this does not allow us to directly infer the direct influence of the former over the latter, it raises at least the need to recognize the emergence of a particular "climate of ideas" conducive to a further industrialization of the country, critic of a merely "rentist" tariff conception and of an economic model based exclusively on the exploitation of its natural resources.

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