Resumo

POSSO ORDONEZ, Roberto Vinicio. HISTORY OF THE CREATION OF CENTRAL BANKS IN LATIN AMERICA -The past as the foundation of an essential present-. Tend. [online]. 2016, vol.17, n.2, pp.166-187. ISSN 0124-8693.  https://doi.org/10.22267/rtend.161702.9.

The role of Money is threefold: the first one is as a means of exchange, that is, when we use it to buy goods and services. Barter or exchange is rather inefficient because it demands a coincidence between the needs and desires of both the people who supply them and those who demand them. The second function is as a unit of account, which allows us to compare the value of goods and services through prices. The third function is as deposit of value. However, money is not the only way to “hold” wealth (deposit of value). Nevertheless, cash has the advantage of being “anonymous” since it is difficult to keep track of. It is important to note that inflation dilutes wealth. Money has a nominal value that is superior to its intrinsic value given by the metal or paper it is made of. Therefore, trust (from the Latin “fiducia”) is essential for the correct functioning of any modern monetary system. This essential trust was lost when the private banking system, which was in charge of minting fiduciary values (coins and bills), did so without any physical backup or pegging (to gold or silver) and therefore it became the State´s obligation to restore people´s trust in money. It is because of this that the existence of a central banking system is necessary. This research narrates the history of the creation of Latin American Central Banking Systems. We will start with a brief introduction to refer to the creation of banks about 5000 years ago. We will describe what happened in England and Spain regarding the creation of Central Banks in those nations because of the influence they had in Latin America. Then we will present an overview of what happened during the XVII and XX centuries, when central banks started being created around the world. Finally we will take a look at the process that created Central Banks in Argentina, Colombia, Ecuador, and Panamá y Peru. Finally, we will present some conclusions.

Palavras-chave : Money; Central Bank; Latin America.

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