It is often repeated in Argentine economic discussion that the country should direct its development towards sectors in which it has natural comparative advantages. Mining, energy and agriculture thus appear to be the pillars of a productive future. It is true that Argentina has extraordinary resources – lithium, copper, gas, oil, and fertile land – and it is wrong to waste these resources. But reducing development to mere resource extraction constitutes a dangerous simplification in light of international evidence.
Studies on economic complexity conducted by Ricardo Hausmann and his team at Harvard University show this A country’s wealth depends not only on what it produces, but on the diversity, complexity and interconnectedness of its network of productive activities. Countries with more resources are not richer, but rather those that have built a more complex, integrated and dynamic production network.
In this sense, development does not arise from choosing a sector, but from building a system. A key lesson summary: Diversity generates complexity, complexity generates competitiveness, and competitiveness generates development.
The economies that have managed to develop have done so by building true industrial ecosystems: Sectors that share capabilities, transfer knowledge, generate common resources, and together expand value added. In this sense, productive diversity constitutes a basic condition for competitiveness.
Today, Argentina has a historic opportunity to move forward on this path, by designing a development model based on five large production centers that feed each other:
1. Mining.
Modern mining is not just extraction. It generates demand for metalworking, heavy machinery, specialized equipment, applied technology, industrial services, technical textiles, logistics, infrastructure and construction. In addition, it opens the possibility of advancement at higher stages of the value chain, including in the future mineral processing and development of related industries, such as battery inputs, cables and other derivative products.
2. Energy (gas, oil, renewable energy).
The value does not end when you export crude oil or gas. It expands when combined with petrochemicals, fertilizers, plastics, resins, advanced materials and industrial inputs. Competitive energy is an essential basis for the development of multiple and more complex industries.
3. Agriculture, food, forestry, cotton and leather industry.
The potential lies in the agricultural industry and the forestry industry: processed food, bioeconomy, biofuels, cellulose, paper and industrial wood. Added to this is the cotton and leather chain, which integrates agriculture, livestock and industry, and its linkage to the textile sector and footwear industry, leading to the expansion of value generation and employment opportunities in regional economies.
4. Construction and infrastructure.
It is the great physical hinge of the system: homes, industrial parks, roads, ports, oil pipelines, gas pipelines, and production plants.. Industries such as cement, steel, aluminium, glass, ceramics, wood, household appliances and various goods associated with urban and industrial development move around it.
5. Technology, digitalization and highly complex industries.
Artificial intelligence, automation, robotics, digitalization and Industry 4.0 redefine competitive advantages. Added to this are high-tech sectors such as pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, electric mobility, software and advanced electronics.
These cores do not compete with each other: they integrate and interconnect, integrating traditional sectors with emerging sectors in a more complex, modern and developed production network.
At the heart of this framework is an often underestimated asset: Argentine businessman muscle. Through decades of crises and instability, industry, SMEs and regional economies have demonstrated tremendous adaptability, flexibility and innovation. These companies are today generating employment across the region and have the practical know-how needed to integrate into new value chains.
The problem is not a lack of productive talent, but rather a hostile environment for investment: Excessive tax pressures, high logistics costs, lack of infrastructure and financial constraints. However, the industry continues to produce. So let’s imagine its potential under more competitive conditions.
The strategic question here is not which sector we should choose, but rather how to design a production structure where each activity reinforces the others. A system in which natural resources serve as the platform, industry as the structure, infrastructure as the support, and technology as the intelligence of the whole.
Argentina has the resources, land, knowledge, entrepreneurs and workers. But this potential can only be fully deployed if the necessary conditions are provided: Macroeconomic stability, clear rules, investment in infrastructure, access to finance, and a modern framework that encourages production and investment.
It’s a building opportunity new production contract, Able to integrate natural resources with Argentine industry, technology and labor to create a more complex, federal, competitive and sustainable value network over time.
Because development does not come from a deposit, a well, or a field. It arises from a society’s ability to connect its resources, knowledge and people into a living and constantly evolving productive ecosystem.
This is the real challenge facing Argentina today.