Going for Broke

The Argentine people were prepared for the worst when President Pedro Aramburu and Finance Minister Roberto Verrier went on the air last week--and the worst is just what they got. In blunt introductory remarks, the President lambasted both "egotistical businessmen" and workers who believe "that the supreme social achievement is well-paid laziness." Then he turned the microphone over to Economist Verrier, who told the story in terms of pesos. Argentina, according to the minister's figures, is consuming and featherbedding its way to 'bankruptcy.

On the basis of current estimates, said Verrier, the 1957 budget will be in the red by $350 million (at the free rate), and a foreign-trade deficit of $250 million is in sight by year's end. This would more than wipe out the nation's $237 million in gold and dollar reserves.

To get out of this desperate corner, Banker Verrier proposes austere terms. He wants to 1) keep wages frozen but abolish most price controls, 2) remove all subsidies, in particular the $100 million annual handout to the railroads, and 3) import capital goods freely but cut imports of consumer goods. Otherwise, he warns, the government will be forced to grind out enough printing-press money to make ends meet.

If the Aramburu government was short on cash, the cronies of ex-Dictator Juan Peron were not. By crossing plenty of palms with plenty of pesos, five of Peron's highest-ranking lieutenants jumped prison in Patagonia last week and made it across the border to Chile.

The man with the money was Prisoner Jorge Antonio, 39, who parlayed a friendship with Juan Peron's brother-in-law into a fortune estimated at $215 million. At Rio Gallegos Prison, Antonio allied himself with four fellow prisoners, all well known Peronista politicos. Rumors of their plotting reached Buenos Aires, and an "absolutely trustworthy" assistant warden was assigned specifically to foil any escape. His salary for this task: $86 a month. One midnight last week, while other penitentiary officials made merry at a local fiesta, the special warden unlocked the prison doors and escorted Antonio & Co. to a waiting yellow Ford station wagon. Soon they were sipping tea at Punta Arenas, Chile. "There are ways of fulfilling any difficult task," joshed Millionaire Antonio.

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