Thanks for your comment! Yep, around 1910-1920 Argentina could have been called a rich country, although already a little mismanaged and with the power and money in the hands of an oligarchy. The problem is, Argentina sold beef, leather and other agribusiness products to the UK and received manufactured goods from Europe, but didn't develop industries and remained extremely dependent on the UK. When major disruptions like WWI, the -28 crisis and Great Depression, and WWII happened and rich countries turned inward and more protectionist, Argentina lost this support. So yeah, it's mismanagement but it's also an unhealthy dynamic in the world economy.

I agree on the currency freely floating to be the first step, and it's exactly what the Macri government did from 2016 to 2019. But it's not enough of a solution on its own when there are so many other structural issues.