Rise of the Argentine Empire

On Saturday evening, Saint-Hesse returned from the Lingang Industrial Zone to his residence in the Fifth District, where he had dinner with Elena.

Sunday was a day off, and the workers also rested, with a few remaining on duty in shifts to handle some odd jobs on the construction site.

On Sunday morning, an intelligence officer from the Falcon Bureau delivered some telegrams and secret intelligence. He ate breakfast while reviewing the telegrams, noting that most of the other factories had nothing major to report. He mainly focused on reviewing and approving the telegrams from the steel mill, making arrangements for the next steps.

"The air pollution issue is quite interesting. Don't count on those swayed by public opinion. Hmm, have the New A Newspaper publish more articles about the benefits of electricity development and employment, while also confronting those behind the scenes. Find some new spokespeople, and then improve the production technology of the thermal power plant and steel mill..."

The existence of air pollution does require the thermal power plant to make some improvements. Currently, this is limited by technical issues. At the same time, to facilitate convenient connection with the newly established steel mill, the original rolling mill itself was located in the suburbs, with its area expanding from over 1,000 acres to over 3,000 acres. The new factory area is located on cheaper land in the east, away from the city center.

The thermal power plant is located 3 kilometers east of the rolling mill in an open space. A coking plant is also located there, with a distance of 5.7 kilometers from the easternmost part of the city. Therefore, it is highly likely that the pollution problem does not entirely originate from the La Plata thermal power plant.

Most citizens use low-quality brown coal or even firewood from Patagonia for heating in winter, as well as another large thermal power plant located west of the city, bordering Bu City – the Lanús Thermal Power Plant. Saint-Hesse knows a thing or two about who is behind this; just some clowns.

As for the reshuffle of the Ava Peron City Council, the original councilors have stepped down. Saint-Hesse did not respond in a timely manner, and now needs to arrange for some remedial action.

In the past year, the situation in Argentina has been turbulent, with incidents of power grabs occurring from time to time. Even several warlords have been brought down by Peron. However, with the warlord forces still existing,

it actually doesn't have much impact on the military. On the other hand, if there is a reshuffle in the Argentine provincial and municipal governments, the situation becomes very difficult to predict. This itself represents the increase or decrease of various forces, so he also needs to rearrange his layout.

Facts have proved that this location choice for the steel mill is beneficial to the steel market and workers in the later stages. It is relatively close to the city center. As the city with a large population in the country, it can recruit a large number of local workers, and it is also convenient to introduce foreign labor.

Argentina has a developed railway transportation system, which can transport steel to all parts of the country through nearby railway stations. In addition, the construction of the new trade port is also very fast. In the later stages, river-sea intermodal transport can be carried out, and steel can also be exported to Uruguay, and even Brazil, Paraguay, Chile, and other places. It does have some impact on the later urban expansion, but the problem is not very big.

Currently, the thermal power plant has stored a large amount of coal, and the coking plant has also begun to prepare coking coal for ironmaking.

The thermal power plant mainly supplies electricity and residual pressure steam to the steel mill, and the various factories of the steel mill supply fuel gas and high-pressure steam to the thermal power plant, forming a small cycle.

It adopts the world's mainstream British technology, and the designed power generation scale is 500 megawatts, with a power generation capacity of up to 500,000 kilowatt-hours per hour. Currently, with such a large power supply, before the steel mill has started construction, cheap electricity has attracted many small factories to settle in. In the later stages, the steam generated by the various links of the 1 million-ton steel mill is expected to have an installed capacity of 70 megawatts for recycling.

Cheap thermal power has effectively promoted the local urban economic development, and the employment rate in the entire Ava City is very high, with a very active private economy.

Although British thermal power generation technology is globally leading, the pollution problem is still somewhat serious, even in the UK itself.

London's pollution problem is quite well-known. Since the last century, with Dickens' "Oliver Twist", London has lived up to its nickname of "Fog City Orphan". From December 5th to 9th last year,

the London smog event caused more than 4,000 deaths, and another 8,000 deaths in January and February this year. The British House of Lords and House of Commons are still arguing about it.

The main problem with the La Plata thermal power plant is more dust. The problem is not big after technical improvements. After all, the thermal power plant uses imported high-quality Australian coal, which is much better than Argentina's domestic brown coal. The target of their attacks is very problematic. The air in the city is much better than many cities in the country that burn brown coal, and the thermal power plant has also made a lot of contributions to winter heating. It's just that there was a lack of publicity in the early stages.

"Cohen, this is a steel mill that many countries are begging for. What they are doing is a bit too much. This problem really needs to be solved."

Elena has recently been involved in some of Saint-Hesse's affairs, helping him advise on some matters. There are no universities or physics research institutes in Puerto Blanca, so she basically rests at home. Saint-Hesse basically eats and lives on the construction site from Monday to Saturday, which is indeed quite busy, or he is on the road arranging factory signings.

This makes Saint-Hesse feel a little guilty. He asked people to purchase some physics materials and books and send them over for Elena to pass the time. There is also some less important intelligence, which the two discuss and handle on weekends. Elena has been influenced by her family since she was a child, and handles things very appropriately.

"It can only be said that the citizens of La Plata are relatively short-sighted... The decision to set up the steel mill in La Plata was also due to the requirements of the previous city council. As a result, after the reshuffle, they started to settle accounts."

Saint-Hesse said somewhat speechlessly.

Argentina's reshuffles are just repeated wrangling, and various policies and systems change and are abolished too quickly, especially in some areas where power is fiercely contested.

"Let the La Plata Steel Mill and Southern Energy jointly establish a Coal Research Institute to study and deal with dust pollution problems, and at the same time establish a Metal Research Institute and an Energy Research Institute to cooperate with the University of La Plata."

He is familiar with the matter of industry-academia research. Currently, Argentina's research in various basic materials, energy, and chemical industries is indeed too little. Higher education is a huge blank in this regard.

It would be best to establish a batch of steel colleges, coal colleges, petroleum colleges, textile colleges, electrical colleges, geology colleges, and the like to promote research in this area. The Soviets did a very good job in this regard. Their specialized university system has also influenced many countries. Law schools and business schools cannot save Argentina, but industrial development can.

As soon as Saint-Hesse finished speaking, Elena next to him suddenly covered her mouth and gagged. He quickly put down the report in his hand and patted Elena's back.

"I don't know what's going on lately, but I always feel a little nauseous. Could it be that I'm pregnant? It shouldn't be this fast."

Elena muttered and began to calculate the time according to the method her mother taught her, but she was not too sure in her heart.

Saint-Hesse heard Elena's words and saw that she was not choking, so he got up and poured a cup of hot water from the kettle next to him and handed it to Elena. This was a good habit inherited from his previous life, as Argentinians only drink hot water when drinking mate tea during the day.

"You drink some hot water first. I may still be busy this morning, or I'll have someone take you to the hospital for a check-up later? If it's in the afternoon, I'll have time to drive you there."

Saint Herse had to continue reading telegrams and making approvals later, so he could only apologize to Elena.

He estimated that the masterminds behind the pollution issue were the main opponents, possibly the British or the Americans. The construction efficiency displayed by the Argentinians this time was too terrifying. It was also Saint Herse who was too anxious, exposing his strength too early, but time was running out.

"Calculating the time, it should be possible. There are too many problems in backward countries, not only from the outside, but also from the inside, and even mainly from the inside. Everyone wants you to be good, but no one wants you to be better than them."

Elena felt that this was possible after calculating. After their marriage, Saint Herse was particularly "vigorous" for a period, and he was also relatively free then.

After making the approvals, he no longer looked at these domestic reports, but turned to the telegrams from the United States. The layout effect of Sequoia Investment Bank and Blackstone Fund in the brief economic crisis in the United States had begun to slowly manifest, reaping a wave in secret. The funds could be invested in his affiliated companies through Argentina's newly passed Foreign Investment Law, increasing the foreign exchange reserves of Barron Bank.

In fact, the United States had already begun the rehearsal of their most glorious economic miracle after the war. The main manifestation was the birth of the American baby boom. This was a very dazzling term, and it may not have been invented yet, or it may have been invented already. Saint Herse didn't care too much about this issue.

Starting in 1946, the number of newborn babies in the United States basically remained at around 4 million each year, which was equivalent to giving birth to an Argentina's population in 5 years, which was extremely alarming, showing the potential of this world's largest economy.

Saint Herse knew that some of the geniuses in the United States in later generations were basically born in the baby boom era, such as Bill Gates and Jobs, and also the more famous figures active in the American political arena in later generations were these people.

The population growth of the other two important countries in North America, Canada and Mexico, was also extremely rapid, as were other North American countries, such as Cuba, whose population growth was also very fast.

On the contrary, South American countries, represented by Argentina, which was prosperous during World War II, except for Brazil, basically began an unprecedented stage of Great Depression, although the birth rate was still good.

"Should we consider using the media to influence public opinion and legislate to lower the marriage age for men and women, like the Germans? Then encourage preferential treatment for older women who have more children, maybe we should start with the current factories, and not recruit young people?"

In the afternoon, Saint Herse, who had finished his work, drove Elena to a private hospital in Blanca Port. The road conditions in Blanca Port were not good, and the cement roads in the Fifth District and Fourth District were also a bit bumpy.

They even encountered robbers on the road, but fortunately they had security guards, who decisively struck and escorted the two burly security guards directly to the police station.

Fortunately, the robbers in Blanca Port were relatively weak, and a strict gun ban was implemented here. The zero-dollar purchase was generally for money, using weapons such as sticks and knives.

Now the unemployment rate in Blanca Port is also quite serious, especially in the Fourth District and Fifth District. This private hospital is located in the First District and must pass through the most chaotic Fourth District, and the increase in the unemployment rate has made many young people take risks.

Saint Herse and his party arrived at Carlo Private Hospital. The environment here was good, and the security measures were good. It was the main medical center for the local upper class and wealthy citizens. The First District, as the oldest urban area, had a very good overall public security environment and a very good environment. The streets were clean, and it was simply heaven and earth compared to the adjacent Fourth District, just lacking a wall.

After a careful examination by the doctor, Elena was indeed pregnant, but the time was not yet three months. The doctor was also a little strange, maybe the equipment and medical skills were not up to par.

Saint Herse didn't know whether he should be excited or not. He felt rather calm and didn't know what to do for a moment.

He called his parents-in-law in Bu City from the hospital, informing them about the situation here. The medical environment in Blanca Port was not very good, so he still had to go to Bu City, and there was Delta Security to protect them, which was safer than in southern Argentina. Some of Saint Herse's actions in Blanca Port had also offended some people, and the two of them would probably be separated for a while.

Elena had already been examined, and the two of them returned to their residence under the escort of the police. He planned to let Elena return to the capital next week. Fortunately, he already had several houses in the capital, and he could arrange for people to take care of her.

After learning that Saint Herse had encountered robbers, Police Chief Sanchez was so angry that he almost pulled out the revolver from his waist and shot the two young men. If it weren't for the two subordinates stopping him, he would have rushed over to apologize to Saint Herse and personally escorted him.

Back at the residence, he let Elena go back to rest. Saint Herse then looked at Sanchez Bill, who had a big belly and thinning hair, and was sweating on his forehead in the middle of winter.

"I'm really sorry, Honorable Councilor Saint Herse, we will definitely strengthen public security management, but as you know, the unemployment rate in our Blanca Port has been very high recently, there are too many things to do, and the police station doesn't have enough manpower..."

In fact, the position of the chief of the Blanca Port Police Station was still quite high. If it were an ordinary person, it would be fine, but Saint Herse was indeed the "red man" of the entire Blanca Port at the moment, and also the "red man" of the mayor. Solving the employment problem depended on this God of Wealth. If something really happened, it was estimated that it would not be as simple as being dismissed, but being dismembered into eight pieces.

"Well, I understand, Chief Sanchez, you can go and be busy, it's not a big problem."

Saint Herse waved his hand, indicating that he didn't care too much. He would just arrange more security guards next time. He had actually seen a lot of this kind of scene, and the public security in Bu City was not much better.

Saint Herse returned home, and the housekeeper said that several calls had come through. Saint Herse returned the calls one by one. Most of them were just greeting Saint Herse, after all, it was quite strange for robbers to attack a councilor. It was outrageous for a councilor to be attacked.

In fact, the most fundamental problem was the large-scale unemployment rate in Blanca Port, which was also a headache for the mayor and the city hall.

Blanca Port did not have any state-owned enterprises, and most of them belonged to the four major families and factory owners. Layoffs and salary reductions were actually their main ways to overcome difficulties, and they were not afraid of strikes at all, after all, they were really in trouble.

As of now, the unemployment rate in the entire city had reached about 30% to 40%, reaching over one to two million people. Young people of the right age graduated from middle school, were not married, and did not have jobs, so how could public security not be chaotic?

Depression and unemployment were almost everywhere in Argentina and even throughout South America. Except for Argentina's public enterprises, which were not allowed to lay off employees, and even could not reduce salaries, even if salaries were reduced, due to the excessive issuance of currency, the peso depreciated, and inflation, wages were only about 2/3 of the original, or even lower, struggling to support themselves. The huge financial expenditure proved that Peron's economic policy had completely failed.

Most South American countries were in a recession, and the economic crisis swept across the entire South American continent. The only country with a relatively good situation was Brazil. After World War II, American capital massively invaded and invested in Brazilian industry, although it slowed down the development of Brazil's own industry,

For example, Mobil Oil Company controlled Brazil's oil industry, which objectively promoted Brazil's economic prosperity and temporarily缓了the crisis. Brazil's current investment in infrastructure such as electricity and factories, although not specifically aimed at the economy, had the meaning of Roosevelt's New Deal.

Brazil's employment rate is still decent, and the economy has basically emerged from the crisis, but the crisis in Brazilian politics is closing in.

The Vargas presidential palace is nearing its end. News has arrived that Vargas and his minister, Goulart, have taken measures to protect national resources, which have caused strong dissatisfaction among American monopoly capital.

American capital is seeking local Brazilian personnel to plot the overthrow of Vargas, and local military leaders also want to stage a military coup to rise to power. Of course, the Labor Party led by Vargas has the deep support of the people, but Vargas is already unable to lead Brazil today.

This man named João Goulart has played an important role on the Brazilian stage. Born into a ranching family in Rio Grande do Sul, he graduated from the Faculty of Law at the University of Porto Alegre in 1939 with a doctorate in law. He began his political career in 1945 and joined the Brazilian Labor Party in 1946, becoming a state assemblyman.

In 1950, he was elected to the Brazilian Congress as a member of the Chamber of Deputies. Last year, he became the head of the Labor Party, and this year, he serves as the Minister of Labor, Industry, and Commerce of Brazil, already the de facto number two figure in the Labor Party, presiding over many important matters of the presidential palace.

In Colombia this year, General Pinilla came to power through a military coup, serving as interim president and commander-in-chief of the National Armed Forces, and was warmly welcomed by the Colombian people.

Although this person is also called 'Commander Pi,' he is not the 'Commander Pinochet' of Chile in later generations. This president, named Pinilla, still has high prestige, but when he tried to expand his dictatorship, he also exacerbated Colombia's economic crisis.

The situation in Chile is slightly better. On July 8, the Ibanez presidential palace signed a cooperation treaty with Argentina. The contents of the treaty include: forming an economic committee to study ways and methods for the two countries' economies to complement each other, reducing excessively high taxes and tariffs,

revising foreign exchange regulations to facilitate trade between the two sides, relaxing border controls, improving transportation conditions between the two sides, establishing free ports, and developing tourism between the two countries. The relationship between Argentina and Chile has greatly improved, although it's not very useful, as Argentina itself is struggling to survive.

Peru is currently under military rule. In 1948, Odria, the Minister of Police, launched a military coup and came to power, overthrowing President Bustamante. After his success, Bustamante was forced to flee to Argentina. Like most military governments, they are not very good at managing the economy. The only good news is that the Peruvian economy is already in that state, so it's not too serious.

Venezuela is also currently a military government, and a pro-American one at that. In November 1948, the United States supported Pérez Jiménez in launching a coup and establishing a pro-American military dictatorship. Venezuela is the territory of Shell Oil Company, and the economic situation is actually quite good, also due to the large-scale entry and control of American capital. After all, the oil reserves here are too large, much more than the United States, the world's largest oil reserve country is not a joke.

As for Bolivia, there is still no improvement. Although Bolivia has carried out nationalization and economic reforms, and began to distribute land to poor landless farmers, it has been welcomed by most Bolivians, but the national foundation is too poor, and without the help of foreign capital, development is quite difficult.

Although President Víctor succeeded in seizing power as Minister of Economy, he is helpless without resources. Saint Hérse mainly focuses on Bolivia's mineral resources, but Víctor is not easy to deal with, and Thunder Mining has only eaten some scraps, and is temporarily in a stalemate.

Ecuador and Paraguay are also the same. The population is too small, and the infrastructure is poor. Engaging in agriculture and animal husbandry doesn't result in much unemployment. Although the political situation in Uruguay is stable, except for an iron ore mine that Thunder Mining is still fighting for, it is only an agricultural and pastoral country, and the reason for the recession is the sharp drop in exports, and many agricultural and pastoral products cannot be sold.

In general, the whole of South America is somewhat depressed this year, with military governments in power everywhere, or on the road to power.

The situation in Puerto Blanca is the same. Even though Saint Hérse has tried his best to recruit some local construction workers and construction site workers, it cannot be completely resolved.

They are also not very willing to do it, mainly because the conditions in the port industrial zone are somewhat poor. It will be much better after the factories are established, and it will be much better after the canteens and dormitories are built.

At seven or eight o'clock in the evening, Saint Hérse personally cooked some of the food that Elena liked, some appetizers such as soup. The relationship between the two became deeper and deeper, but they could only be separated temporarily. However, it is his pleasure to make a small contribution to Argentina's population growth.

Elena, this time when you return to Bu City, take a good rest. It has already been arranged. Puerto Blanca is indeed not as safe as Bu City. Wait for me to build Puerto Blanca, and then you can come here.

Saint Hérse could only say apologetically again.

Okay, Cohen, I'll listen to you.

Elena said with a happy face.

The two sat on the edge of the bed, leaning together, their thoughts blank.

...

Currently, Argentina's population base is too low, and there are no policies to encourage population growth. There is no 'more children, more happiness' traditional culture in West Asia, the Middle East, India, and East Asia. Even Perón messed things up by stuffing all the rural people into nominal cities, which are actually slums, further reducing the birth rate. The rural areas of northern Argentina have already begun to decline.

Saint Hérse has always been anxious about Argentina's population growth problem. The Perón couple messed around, leading to the decline of Argentina's rural areas, and the population migrated to the cities. However, later generations know that urban and industrial development will actually only consume the population.

Now countries and regions such as Japan, New China, India, the United States, Europe, Nanyang, and even the Soviet Union have begun to experience rapid population growth. The first baby boom after the war has begun, but Argentina's population growth has stagnated somewhat, and such a huge contrast makes people feel uncomfortable.

The massive population born during the baby boom is mostly beneficial to the national authorities, among which can generate massive demand during this stage. Later, the Soviets ultimately lost to the Americans,

In addition to some political and economic factors, a major reason was that the war wiped out an entire generation of young and middle-aged people in the Soviet Union. In the end, the regime lacked successors, and in the 1980s, there was a leadership of eighty- and ninety-year-olds, and there was no successor.

Even garbage like Gorbachev could take the stage and become the Soviet * * *. As for the shock therapy and other things that followed, it was a feast for capital to divide up, and the strange practice of Russia abandoning Ukraine and Belarus' core territories at the time of the dissolution,

It is also somewhat confusing. It is estimated that there was more opposition from the Ukrainians at that time. Their subsequent stupid practices were watched by the world.

This also led to Russia being known as an 'armed gas station' for a long time after the dissolution. If Russia had retained the territories of Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, and even Kazakhstan, it would not have been so miserable.

The Americas are also different fates now. The three countries of the United States, Canada, and Mexico are doing well. Brazil, Chile, and Venezuela are okay, and the others are basically in recession.