Page "Bunge y Born" Paragraph 6

Retaining their Argentine interests ( 44 companies, by the 1980s ), the families continued to suffer from ongoing disputes, and in 1987, CEO Mario Hirsch died suddenly.

The election of Carlos Menem to the Argentine Presidency in May 1989, however, resulted in an agreement between the President-elect and Jorge Born that gave the company partial control over national economic policy.

Bunge & Born provided the Menem government with its first two economy ministers, and the combination of large rate increases on public services ( around 500 %), a simplified exchange rate and a massive, mandatory wage hike led to a sharp economic turnaround between July and November 1989.

This foray into government policy making, however, ended in a new currency crisis that December and the failure ( compounded by the company's lackluster business performance ) resulted in Born's 1991 ouster from the board ; he was replaced by Chief Operations Officer Octavio Caraballo.