When Domingo Cavallo implemented at the start of December 2001 a restriction on cash withdrawals, he unwittingly unleashed a month of rioting and looting across Argentina that would leave 39 people dead. Police brutally cracked down on protests that quickly spread as the country’s economy fell to pieces.

The basket of laws enforced by the then-finance minister became known as the Corralito and were a desperate response to a devastating – and worsening – economic crisis.