If there is a new president in two years (likely, I'd say), then fixes can START in two years. However, I wonder if Bass really understands Argentina politics and the thinking of a lot of people here when he says he thinks things could be REPAIRED in two years.
For example, seems to me that there are a majority of people who are Peronists and/or have a very socialistic view of how economies should work. Even should a pro-business leader come into power, he or she will have to overcome the inertia that exists related to all the powers-that-be (unions, judges, etc) that are so pro-laborer and anti-business. The new person will have quite a mess to clean up. Just opening up the floodgates wouldn't necessarily do, I'd think.
But it reminds me of a political sign I've seen hung up around Santa Fe recently: It has two guys (can't remember their names - one of them is Barbaro I think) running for office. The title? "El buen Peronismo". That says quite a bit about the political climate here. Of course, I think most people think Nestor's brand of Peronismo is much better than Cristina's, but does that mean his particular brand of Peronismo (or any other for that matter) would be effective for pulling Argentina out of its current hole?
And if anyone thinks that the energy concerns will be cleared up within these two years - well, I wouldn't be too sure, personally...
Obviously, Cristina stole the majority share of YPF from Repsol with the dreamy hope of fueling her strange policies with oil money. But YPF needs a partner to do exploration - that is a very expensive and expertise-required business (I have spent about 9 years working for an offshore drilling contractor and another 5 years or so working directly with engineers at Chevron, all as a programmer, not an engineer or accountant, but I got to see both sides of the business. Not an expert, but know a little something about it).
Fields like Vaca Muerta produce now, but there is not enough infrastructure and producing wells to make much of a difference - or else Argentina wouldn't be worried at the moment. Chevron was going to partner with Argentina to expand exploration and production, until one of the Argentine judges threw a monkey wrench into the deal by answering Ecuador's request to take money (from Chevron Argentine assets) that Chevron owed to Ecuador due to a lawsuit related to environmental problems created some thirty years or so ago by Texaco (bought by Chevron a long time ago). Last I heard, Chevron's assets in Argentina were tied up in that issue and I don't see much progress being made in oil production as a result.
There's China as well, who would be very interested in sharing oil production, but they're a little gun-shy because of the deals the Argentine government made related to trade with that country - and then broke them. Probably not enough to deter China from participating, but there is still some time needed to get deals, manpower and equipment into place and I wouldn't doubt if China is waiting to see if the other shoe drops here in Argentina economically before deciding how they're going to get involved.
I don't see Argentina being "repaired" economically in two years, but what the hell, I'm not an economist, just a small businessman who has lived here for a goodly amount of time and has experienced a lot of what Argentina, and Buenos Aires in particular, has to offer: the good, the bad and sometimes the downright ugly.
I don't know how Argentina's economic decline over the next couple of years will look, but I don't see it getting better while Cristina's president and not soon after with anyone else at the helm either.