Rise of the Argentine Empire

At the Blanca Port City Hall, in the mayor's office,

Saint-Hesse met Otto. It must be said that he always wore a suit, his hair was meticulously combed, and his beard was cleanly shaven, looking energetic.

At least this guy seemed to have some ability. From the city appearance to the atmosphere, Blanca Port was the best of all the small Argentine cities he had visited.

This time, the Blanca Port City Hall held an enlarged meeting, inviting not only some councilors, but also some factory owners and school principals.

Strictly speaking, it was just a discussion, and in terms of political correctness, the councilors of the parliament should not have too much interaction with the city hall.

However, Argentina has not fully and strictly implemented the separation of powers, and is only carrying out a simple imitation, with more of a trend towards the disintegration of the autocratic politics led by Perón.

Many local laws and regulations are not so strict, especially in some small towns, because small means fewer people, and fewer people means less money.

It is impossible to completely separate the three teams, and the administrative expenses would be unsustainable.

For example, the original Maria Town Council was just a formality for them, but when Maria Town was upgraded, the council had to be expanded synchronously.

As the city scale expands, it will become more and more standardized, until the power of the council catches up with the power of the city hall, which is a continuous process of development and improvement.

"Cohen, this time our city hall still needs to learn from your experience, otherwise the people outside protesting will not agree."

"Mr. Mayor, you are too kind."

On the way Saint-Hesse had just arrived, some Blanca Port citizens were indeed holding demonstrations.

Compared to the general strike in northern Argentina, the scale here was very small, with some minor disturbances, and the people from the police department were maintaining order.

"I have to say, the security of our city has been too poor recently, which is really regrettable, especially for them."

Otto left his desk, shook Saint-Hesse's hand tightly, patted Saint-Hesse's back, and then slowly said.

"That's right, the only thing that makes people feel bad is that they are just high school graduates who lack suitable jobs, which is caused by our inadequate work."

Saint-Hesse's body was a little stiff, and his face was a little ugly as he spoke.

"Oh? Are there people from La Plata coming as well?"

"Yes, but they have changed their name to Eva Perón City, which always feels strange."

"It is indeed a bit."

Saint-Hesse echoed. At least Eva did not have such great power. Perón's imitation was a failure.

After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the Russians did not even want the names of cities like Leningrad and Stalingrad, and changed them back to their original names.

"Then, Mr. Mayor, please be busy first. I'll go to the venue first."

Saint-Hesse looked at his watch. The mayor's secretary and office staff had come back and forth several times, and he planned to take his leave from the office.

"Okay, it is indeed quite busy today, Cohen. We'll chat next time."

Under the guidance of the city hall staff, Saint-Hesse came to a small meeting room in the city hall, where many people had already arrived.

He met some acquaintances here, some of whom he had contacted before and after the establishment of the La Plata Steel Plant, and some had been promoted to the provincial government.

The reason was precisely because of the economic growth in the past two years, but their relationship had become much colder.

He was not particularly enthusiastic about maintaining old relationships, especially when his own value was not great.

Out of courtesy, Saint-Hesse also exchanged a few simple greetings with them.

The more he understood Blanca Port, the more he realized that many things were not as simple as they seemed on the surface, and what he had to do was to clear the obstacles to the city's development.

It was expected that he would stay in Blanca Port for a year and a half, at least that was the case at present.

Argentina in 1953 was not peaceful and was already in complete chaos, even possibly on the verge of civil war.

Because a very important thing seemed not to have happened, that was Perón's break with the church.

Even the armed forces of the Argentine police force had been strengthened a lot, and the Labor Federation had not been dissolved.

Among them was the role of the weapons provided by Saint-Hesse, although their training and combat level were still poor.

The butterfly effect had already occurred. Without Perón's wings being clipped, these local power factions did not dare to act rashly, and the people of the Young Officers Group did not dare to move around.

If it evolved into war, it was not something they could bear. They were afraid that Perón would really fight them, and the balance of victory might tilt towards Perón.

With Saint-Hesse's layout, it was still difficult to truly intervene in this coup.

The Córdoba Gang and the Thompson Gang only regarded him as a partner. Saint-Hesse did not have a truly own team base in the middle and high levels, at least not in the political situation.

Maria City and the Puna Plateau were just small-scale operations.

… …

The meeting started quickly, and the number of people in the venue had gradually arrived.

The people from the city hall spoke first.

Halfway through, Saint-Hesse was already feeling drowsy. Most of the proposals were clichés, such as increasing employment and combating crime, not seeking merit, but seeking no fault.

This was the method of self-preservation for most politicians in times of crisis.

After all, not making mistakes could allow them to continue, but making mistakes could lead to big trouble, impeachment at the lightest, and imprisonment at the heaviest, which was intolerable for Saint-Hesse.

"Today, everyone's speeches have been very good and very active. Now, I would like to hear the opinion of our Councilor Saint-Hesse."

Otto summarized the speeches and looked at Saint-Hesse, who was boredly twirling a pen.

"Thank you for the recognition, Mr. Mayor. I believe that Blanca Port has reached the most critical moment.

Our first step is to organize production for self-rescue to ensure the stable operation of the city, and the second step is to carry out large-scale expansion and construction."

Saint-Hesse stood up and started with a sentence about the crisis.

"May I ask, how to carry out these?"

Someone asked.

"I believe that Blanca Port should develop industry and manufacturing, such as shipbuilding, metal smelting industry, clothing industry, textile industry, etc., while ensuring the development of agriculture and animal husbandry."

The Lingang Industrial Zone will cooperate with the Spanish shipyard to build a larger dock, located at the deepest part of Blanca Bay.

Compared to the La Plata Shipyard, Blanca Bay has a certain degree of concealment and is very suitable for developing some confidential projects, even developing small warship manufacturing.

Cooperating with the military is an old business.

Some metal smelting plants, even bullet production lines, and uranium extraction can be set up here. It is very close to the inland, which can also enhance concealment, and it is not the focus of foreign spies.

The mountainous area of La Pampa Province is very deceptive.

"But after all, our Blanca Port is still very remote, and all kinds of transportation are very expensive, and we lack the necessary high-quality workers, and we don't have funds."

"The transportation problem is easy to solve. Sea transportation is cheap and has a large capacity. Developing local supply is enough.

The south has most of the resources necessary for industrialization, and we only need to produce them."

"In terms of education, we also need to develop vocational and technical education, technical research, and combine industry with schools.

There is no need to worry about industrial investment, our investment promotion department can solve it."

To get rich, first build roads, which is an unbreakable truth. For a century-old plan, education is the foundation.

The transportation issue has always been Saint-Hesse's top priority, hidden among other construction issues, and the second is to cultivate an industrial supply system.

However, the price of road construction and other aspects are problems, so Saint-Hesse has always built his industries on transportation arteries.

Maria Town and the Puna Plateau at least have railway transportation as a backup, not to mention La Plata and Buenos Aires.

At the same time, large-scale import and export work is carried out through railway transportation and sea transportation, which is also the only thing he can do at present.

A clever woman cannot cook without rice. The construction of large-scale infrastructure requires huge investment, which cannot be achieved by one person alone.

Now, Saint-Hesse also feels the strain of his multi-industry investment.

Argentina's weakness in basic research makes it impossible to find many supporting industries. Without a basic industrial chain, many products, even the improvement of an aviation screw, or the application of a new material, require a huge price.

This is also why he urgently needs to open up a new and larger base in the south. This place has great advantages: a larger population potential than Maria City, developed surrounding agriculture, animal husbandry, and sea transportation, far away from the Presidential Palace and the Provincial Government, closer to Australian coal and iron ore mines, and not so far from Europe, Africa, and Southeast Asia.

In the future, investments in chemical industries will basically be ready-made. Only equipment installation is needed to get things done.

The clothing and beverage industries are also relatively short-cycle. The accessory investments involved can be solved by introducing equipment in the early stage.

However, shipyards and aircraft factories have already recruited or even supported many supporting factories as industrial investments.

"As long as these problems are solved, we really need to expand our Blanca Port and merge several surrounding towns. This can expand the city's potential, but it will also quickly lead to a labor shortage."

"Currently, the area of our Blanca Port City is only 28 square kilometers, but the suburbs around us consist of 21 small towns, with a total area of 3,688 square kilometers, which is 131 times our size. I propose to expand Blanca Port City through the Town Merger Act, especially expanding simultaneously to the north and west. The east already has a coastal industrial zone."

This is Saint Hesser's city system from the New China of later generations, not the approach of Europeans or Americans. He plans to establish a large urban area and a large suburban area, rather than just a central urban area. Saint Hesser has investigated that the 21 surrounding towns each have a population ranging from 1,000 to 6,000.

Together, they have more than 70,000 people, which, combined with the 180,000 people in the central 5 districts of Blanca Port, is enough to form a small city. It is not a problem to accelerate the expansion into a city with a population of 300,000 to 400,000 in the short term. After the city continues to develop for 5 to 10 years, the 5 districts will be merged into the central urban area of Blanca Port.

Merge Atar City, Tornquist County, and Medanos County on the south bank of Blanca Bay to establish several new urban areas and form Greater Blanca Port. The urban population can easily expand to 1 million to 2 million, surpassing Cordoba and becoming the second largest city in Argentina.

"May I ask, what are the benefits of this for Blanca Port?"

Mayor Otto is quite interested in this huge municipal plan, but it involves a very long time. A term of office is only five years. Paving the way for future generations? He doesn't think he is that great.

"This is proactive expansion, using our administrative power to make Blanca Port City bigger. I think it's time for Blanca Port to become stronger. I believe that the future Blanca Port will become one of the largest cities in Argentina, with a population of over 2 million, divided into several powerful districts, each with a population of 400,000 to 500,000. And everyone present is a hero of Argentina, and with the development of the city, it will inevitably be accompanied by amazing benefits."

It doesn't matter whether they are heroes or not. The last sentence about benefits is the key point. After the city expands, a large number of people will be promoted, and a huge amount of wealth can be created.

Saint Hesser's statement is still very conservative. His ultimate goal is to build a city with a population of 5 million to 10 million in southern Argentina, and an urban agglomeration with a population of over 20 million, a super industrial base.

Nearby, there are the Benelux countries in Europe, with a future population of over 20 million and an area of 70,000 to 80,000 square kilometers, creating an economic scale comparable to Spain and Italy.

In the more distant future, the Pearl River Delta in South Guangdong Province, with an area of 40,000 to 50,000 square kilometers and a population of 50 million, has created a powerful bay area in just a few decades, which can already rival the strongest of the Four Little Dragons. Its development model is very worthy of Blanca Port's learning. He now wants to build this point first, and then slowly expand and spread it to become a surface.

"How can this be done?"

At this time, many people stood up to ask questions. Such urban construction only exists in the capital of Argentina, and the development of the capital is also in small pieces, without this kind of large-scale district play at all, or even in the whole world.

Everyone's emotions seemed to be aroused. There is still this kind of gameplay, and it seems very likely to be realized. At least they can see the development of the coastal industrial zone.

"I think we can create more processing zones. There is a lot of land around the third and fourth districts in the north, which can be used for clothing factories, textile factories, food processing, and other industries."

Saint Hesser is also involved in these industries. It is not a big problem to find a few partners here. Even developing OEM manufacturing is possible. At present, these industries in Argentina are still relatively crude.

"Also, the most important thing for the development and growth of a city is to attract more talents and establish a talent department to attract high-end talents. At the same time, I suggest that the city hall introduce measures to encourage childbirth and increase the birth rate of the population."

"This can also stabilize a part of the employment rate, encourage women of childbearing age to have more children at home, and provide birth subsidies from the Blanca Port City Hall Finance Department. This is the way to long-term development, and it also reduces the unemployment rate."

Saint Hesser made his final remarks. In addition to having a broad vision, he also needs to be down-to-earth, otherwise it will be a castle in the air.

He put forward his views on the growth of the city's population. In terms of national population growth, increasing the birth rate is the most important link. For the cities of the country, grabbing young talents is the most important.

Argentina lacks coal and can import it from Australia, South Africa, Southeast Asia, and even Colombia and Venezuela.

It lacks oil and also has oil from Brazil and the Patagonian Plateau.

It lacks iron ore and can also import it from abroad.

However, in terms of population growth, it is definitely not possible to rely solely on foreign immigrants. It is easy to cause the division of the Argentine nation, and there needs to be its own main population.

The post-World War II period was the fastest period of population growth in human history. Countries such as India, New China, Egypt, Ethiopia, and Nigeria have an average annual growth rate of 6% or even higher.

Each couple has six or seven children or even eight or nine. The only two super-populated countries on earth are increasing their population by several million to tens of millions every year. On average, they can easily increase the population of an Argentina in two or three years.

"If we don't seize the opportunity, it will be too late."

Saint Hesser added, somewhat alarmist. Argentinians are different from Indians. Even if they lie flat, they will not starve to death, but that kind of future is too boring.

"Moreover, there is a great opportunity now. The north is very chaotic. Our Blanca Port can take this opportunity to absorb more population. At the same time, with the population policy, more than ten years later, our Blanca Port will be a city comparable to Cordoba City."

Compared to northern Argentina, the south is safer and more stable, and there are no very powerful forces or families in the south, far away from the political center of Argentina.

He is confident that he can build the south better, and by holding it, he can create a more powerful industrial base than Maria City and La Plata City.

"My proposals are roughly these."

Compared to the last coastal industrial zone development plan, Saint Hesser's speech this time is more shocking and impactful.

It not only involves changes in Blanca Port policies, but also economics, administrative divisions, future goals, population, and other aspects.

Most of the participants even began to look forward to that industrialized future, that urbanized future.

Most Argentinians actually envy the Americanized life, but most Argentinians have not enjoyed the convenience brought by the industrialized society.

Expensive imported products, agricultural exports account for a large part. Since the opening of the Panama Canal, Argentina has become the most remote corner of the world, even inferior to Africa.

"Mr. Councilor, can we really have such a future?"

Otto is not very confident. He wants to make achievements, but this is just Blanca Port, not Rosario, nor La Plata.

"Yes, I think we can. I propose to launch Blanca Port's first five-year plan, and strive to expand the industrial scale by 5-10 times or more. Among them, the coastal industrial zone will be the first key base, as well as investments including port construction and food processing."

"Many new cities are rising in Brazil now. Brazilians can do it. Why can't we Argentinians?"

Saint Hesser asked rhetorically, causing most people to be somewhat silent.