Goodbye to weapons?

An approach to the Argentine national defense (1963-2019) from its armaments policy

Abstract

This article analyzes the evolution of the Argentine Armed Forces between 1963 and 2019, based on its armaments policy. In the first part of the article the Argentine budgetary system is analyzed in order to understand which item corresponds to the purchase of war material. Likewise, some key concepts linked to the armaments policy are defined. The second part studies how much the purchase of armaments represents with respect to the total defense budget of Argentina and, in addition, it is framed to the expenditure made in South America; discarding that there had been an arms race in the region. Subsequently, the evolution of the armaments policy of Argentina (1963-2019) is studied, relating budgetary policy with the state of the same. Although there is a recovery during the government of Mauricio Macri (2011-2019), it is maintained that this recovery implies a change in the model of the Armed Forces, mainly because the means that have been recovered and/or acquired are more focused on making in the face of transnational problems, more than armed forces with operational capabilities to defend the vital interests of that country.