COMPARATIVE STUDY ON BASIC PETROCHEMICALS IN MEXICO AND ARGENTINA BETWEEN 1950 AND 1990

Abstract

This article makes a comparative study on the evolution of the petrochemical production in Mexico and Argentina in the decades of consolidation, boom, and abandonment of the substitutive industrialization of imports. This industry was a fundamental link of this economic model. In the first place, and to better understand the context in which the industry was developed, we study the emergence and development of the petrochemical industry both in the world and in Latin America. Then, numerous variables are collected and analyzed on the sectoral evolution in the two countries to which this text refers; special attention is given to those related to the productive, market and external balance dimensions, as of the six petrochemicals goods considered "basic", fundamental inputs for the rest of the industry. Thus, we can identify both the common features in the economic strategy of both countries as well as those characteristics that distinguished the evolution of the Mexican petrochemicals from the Argentine between 1950 and 1990.