The Argentinian government is facing stark opposition for its plan to nationalize the company Vicentin SAIC, one of the world’s largest exporters of soy meal and oil. This move comes as Argentina struggles to restructure its more than $65 billion in sovereign debt. In early June 2020, President Alberto Fernández announced that the government would nationalize Vicentin, which was Argentina’s largest exporter of grain until the end of 2019. The company declared bankruptcy last year after over-stretching itself in credit to farmers.
Opponents of the company’s nationalization say that the move will only complicate the country’s critical debt. Moreover, the President’s decision has been compared to the expropriation of the oil company YPF in 2012 by then-President Fernández de Kirchner, who is also seen as a controversial figure in the country’s complex political history.
Argentina’s massive debt has come as an opportunity for some investors with a high risk appetite seeking to buy Argentina’s bonds during the country’s crisis.
