Menem was also supremely flexible as a politician, beginning his career as a self-styled disciple of Gen. Juan Domingo Peron, who founded the populist movement that bears his name and placed the economy largely under state control. Menem, who served two terms as president between 1989 and 1999, transformed the country but in the opposite direction.
“I don’t know if I’m going to get the country out of its economic problems, but I’m sure going to make a more fun country,” Menem once said. He relished the company of celebrities, hosting the Rolling Stones and Madonna in Buenos Aires, and memorably shrugged off criticism after receiving a red Ferrari as a gift from an Italian businessman in 1990.
Carlos Menem, a former Argentine president who delivered short-lived economic stability and forged close ties with the United States in the 1990s even as he navigated scandal and enjoyed an often flamboyant lifestyle, has died.
Menem was president of Argentina from 1989 to 1999; in 2003, despite winning the first round, he declined to continue in view of a looming defeat in the runoff. Menem was considered a lover of fast cars and beautiful women. He relished the company of celebrities, hosting the Rolling Stones and Madonna in Buenos Aires With foreign minister Guido Di Tella, Menem s government implemented a charm policy towards the disputed Falkland Islands
Former Argentine president Carlos Menem died at the age of 90 on Sunday in a clinic in Buenos Aires, where he was admitted in December with a urinary tract infection. The president ruled Argentina during a time of short-lived economic stability and he enjoyed an often flamboyant lifestyle.