José Alfredo Martínez de Hoz
| José Alfredo Martínez de Hoz | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Minister of Economy of Argentina | |
|
In office 29 March 1976 – 31 March 1981 |
|
| President | Jorge Videla |
| Preceded by | Joaquín de la Heras |
| Succeeded by | Lorenzo Sigaut |
|
In office 21 May 1963 – 12 October 1963 |
|
| President | José María Guido |
| Preceded by | Eustaquio Méndez Delfino |
| Succeeded by | Eugenio Blanco |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
13 August 1925 Salta, Argentina |
| Died | 16 March 2013 (aged 87) Buenos Aires, Argentina |
| Nationality |
 Argentina
|
| Alma mater | University of Cambridge |
José Alfredo Martínez de Hoz (13 August 1925 – 16 March 2013) was an Argentine executive and policy maker. He served as Minister of the Economy under de facto President Jorge Rafael Videla between 1976 and 1981, and shaped economic policy during the National Reorganization Process military dictatorship.
Martínez de Hoz, scion of one Argentina's oldest cattle ranching families, was born in Salta, Argentina. Pursuing higher studies at the University of Cambridge, he returned and in 1955, following the coup against President Juan Domingo Perón, he was appointed his province's Minister of the Economy. Though democracy returned to Argentina three years later, the armed forces continued to exercise vetting power over most policy and in 1963, Martínez de Hoz became one of a series of conservative Argentine Economy Ministers during Jose Maria Guido's brief presidency (an interlude marked by squabbles among the military brass and recession).
Becoming an influential lobbyist for Acindar, one of Argentina's largest steel manufacturers, Martínez de Hoz became its CEO in 1968. Seven years later, after union laborers at Acindar's Villa Constitución plant elected a socialist shop steward, Martínez de Hoz retaliated by using his family's long-standing connections with the armed forces to have them brutally repressed. Supported by Metalworkers Union leader Lorenzo Miguel, security forces abducted the new shop steward, Alberto Piccinini, and about 300 others (most of whom were murdered).
By 1975, Argentina had considerably developed, but was nevertheless in the throes of some of the worst instability since 1930. Argentine public opinion turned to the military, who deposed Isabel Perón's weak regime in a March 1976 coup. Inheriting a wave of violence and 700% inflation, the new regime called on Martínez de Hoz, appointing him Minister of the Economy. Anxious to restore business confidence, announced a plan to further open Argentina's markets, believing that the country's national industry was inefficient and uncompetitive internationally. He moved to lessen Argentina's trade barriers quickly, which he believed to be a cause of economic isolation. He enjoyed the personal friendship of David Rockefeller, who facilitated Chase Manhattan and International Monetary Fund loans of nearly US$1 billion following his appointment.
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