: Argentina (disambiguation).
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República Argentina
Argentine Republic
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Motto: Spanish: En Unión y Libertad
(English: "In Union and Freedom")
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| Anthem: Himno Nacional Argentino
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Capital
(and largest city)
| Buenos Aires
(1)) 34°20′S 58°30′W
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| Official languages
| Spanish
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| Government
| Federal republic
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| - President | Néstor Kirchner
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| - Vice President | Daniel Scioli
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| Independence
| From Spain
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| - May Revolution | 25 May 1810
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| - Declared | 9 July 1816
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| - Recognized | 1821 (by Portugal)
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| Area
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| - Total
| 2,780,400 (1) km² (8th)
1,073,514 sq mi
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| - Water (%)
| 1.1
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| Population
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| - 2006 estimate
| 39,921,833 (32nd)
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| - 2001 census
| 36,260,130
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| - Density
| 14/km² (195th)
36/sq mi
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| GDP (PPP)
| 2006 estimate
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| - Total
| US $548.754 billion (22nd)
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| - Per capita
| US $14,838 (48th)
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| HDI (2006)
| Image:Straight Line Steady.svg 0.863 (high) (36th)
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| Currency
| Peso (ARS)
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| Time zone
| ART (UTC-3)
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| - Summer (DST)
| ARST (UTC-3)
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| Internet TLD
| .ar
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| Calling code
| +54
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| (1) Argentina also has a territorial dispute with the United Kingdom over an additional 1,000,000 km² of Antarctica, the Falkland Islands and South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, for a total of 3,761,274 km² (1,452,236 sq mi).
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Argentina is a country in southern South America. It ranks second in land area in South America, and eighth in the world.
Argentina occupies a continental surface area of 2,791,810 km² (1,078,000 sq mi) between the Andes mountain range in the west and the southern Atlantic Ocean in the east and south. It is bordered by Paraguay and Bolivia in the north, Brazil and Uruguay in the northeast, and Chile in the west and south. The country claims the British overseas territories of the Falkland Islands (Spanish: Islas Malvinas) and South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands. Under the name of Argentine Antarctica, it claims 969,464 km² (374,312 sq mi) of Antarctica, overlapping other claims made by Chile and the United Kingdom.
The country is formally called the Argentine Republic (Spanish: República Argentina, IPA [reˈpuβlika aɾxenˈtina]). For many legal purposes, Nación Argentina (Argentine Nation) is used.
Origin and history of the name
"Argentina" derives from the Latin argentum (silver). When the first Spanish conquistadors discovered the RÃo de la Plata, they named the estuary Mar Dulce ('Sweet Sea', as in a fresh water sea). Indigenous people gave gifts of silver to the survivors of the shipwrecked expedition, who were led by Juan DÃaz de SolÃs. The legend of Sierra del Plata — a mountain rich in silver — reached Spain around 1524, and the name was first seen in print on a Venice map from 1536. The source of the silver was the area where the city of Potosà was to be founded in 1546. An expedition that followed the trail of the silver up the Paraná and Pilcomayo rivers finally reached the source only to find it already claimed by explorers who reached it from Lima, the capital of the Viceroyalty.
The name Argentina was first used extensively in Ruy DÃaz de Guzmán's 1612 book Historia del descubrimiento, población, y conquista del RÃo de la Plata (History of the discovery, population, and conquest of the RÃo de la Plata), naming the territory Tierra Argentina (Land of Silver).[What's our name? About the origin of "Argentina" (Spanish)][My name is Argentina About the origin of "Argentina" (Spanish)]
History
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The first signs of human presence in Argentina are located in the Patagonia ( Piedra Museo, Santa Cruz), and date from 11,000 BC.[Piedra Museo] Around 1 AD, several corn-based civilizations developed in the western Andean region (Santa MarÃa, Huarpes, Diaguitas, Sanavirones, among others). In 1480 the Inca Empire, under the rule of emperor Pachacutec, launched an offensive and conquered present-day northwestern Argentina, integrating it into a region called Collasuyu. In the northeastern area, the Guaranà developed a culture based on yuca and sweet potato. The central and southern areas (Pampas and Patagonia) were dominated by nomadic cultures, unified in the 17th century by the Mapuches.
Europeans arrived in 1502. Spain established a permanent colony on the site of Buenos Aires in 1580; the Viceroyalty of the RÃo de la Plata was created in 1776. In 1806 and 1807 the British Empire launched two invasions to Buenos Aires, but the creole population repelled both attempts. On May 25, 1810, after confirmation of the rumors about the overthrow of King Ferdinand VII by Napoleon, citizens of Buenos Aires took advantage of the situation and created the First Government Junta (May Revolution). Formal independence from Spain was declared on July 9, 1816 in Tucumán.
In 1817, General José de San MartÃn crossed the Andes to free Chile and Peru, thus eliminating the Spanish threat. Centralist and federalist groups (Spanish: Unitarios and Federales) were in conflict until national unity was established and the constitution promulgated in 1853.
Foreign investment and immigration from Europe led to the adoption of modern agricultural techniques. In the 1880s, the "Conquest of the Desert" subdued or exterminated the remaining indigenous tribes throughout the southern Pampas and Patagonia.[ Carlos A. Floria and César A. GarcÃa Belsunce, 1971. Historia de los Argentinos I and II; ISBN 84-599-5081-6 ]
From 1880 to 1930, Argentina enjoyed increasing prosperity and prominence through an export-led economy, and the population of the country swelled sevenfold. Conservative forces dominated Argentine politics until 1916, when their traditional rivals, the Radicals, won control of the government. The military forced Hipólito Yrigoyen from power in 1930, leading to another decade of Conservative rule. Political change led to the presidency of Juan Perón in 1946, who tried to empower the working class and greatly expanded the number of unionized workers. The Revolución Libertadora of 1955 deposed him.
From the 1950s to 1970s, soft military and weak civilian administrations traded power. During those years the economy grew strongly and poverty declined (less than 7% in 1975), but became increasingly protectionist. At the same time political violence continued to escalate. In 1973, Perón returned to the presidency, but he died within a year of assuming power. His third wife Isabel, the Vice President, succeeded him in office, but the military coup of March 24, 1976 removed her from office.
The armed forces took power through a junta in charge of the self-appointed National Reorganization Process until 1983. The military government repressed opposition and terrorist leftist groups using harsh illegal measures (the "Dirty War"); thousands of dissidents "disappeared", while the SIDE cooperated with DINA and other South American intelligence agencies, and with the CIA in Operation Condor. Many of the military leaders that took part in the Dirty War were trained in the U.S.-financed School of the Americas, among them Argentine dictators Leopoldo Galtieri and Roberto Viola. Economic problems, charges of corruption, public revulsion in the face of human rights abuses and, finally, the country's 1982 defeat by the British in the Falklands War discredited the Argentine military regime.
Democracy was restored in 1983. Raúl AlfonsÃn's Radical government took steps to account for the "disappeared", established civilian control of the armed forces, and consolidated democratic institutions. The members of the three military juntas were prosecuted and sentenced to life terms. Failure to resolve endemic economic problems and an inability to maintain public confidence led to AlfonsÃn's early departure six months before his term was to be completed.
President Carlos Menem imposed a peso-dollar fixed exchange rate in 1991 to stop hyperinflation and adopted far-reaching market-based policies, dismantling protectionist barriers and business regulations, and implementing a privatization program. These reforms contributed to significant increases in investment and growth with stable prices through most of the 1990s. Toward the end of the 1990s, large fiscal deficits and overvaluation of the pegged peso caused a gradual slide into economic crisis. By the end of his term in 1999, these accumulating problems and perceived corruption had made Menem unpopular.
The Menem and de la Rúa administrations faced diminished competitiveness of exports, massive imports which damaged national industry and reduced employment, chronic fiscal and trade deficits, and the contagion of several economic crises. The Asian financial crisis in 1998 precipitated an outflow of capital that mushroomed into a recession, and culminated in a financial panic in November of 2001. The next month, amidst bloody riots, President de la Rúa finally resigned.
In two weeks, several presidents followed in quick succession, culminating in Eduardo Duhalde being appointed interim President of Argentina by the Legislative Assembly on 2 January 2002. Argentina defaulted on its international debt obligations. The peso's almost 11-year-old linkage to the U.S. dollar was abandoned, resulting in major depreciation of the peso and a spike in inflation.
With a more competitive and flexible exchange rate, the country started implementing new policies based on re-industrialization, import substitution, increased exports, and consistent fiscal and trade surpluses. By the end of 2002, the economy began to stabilize. In 2003, Néstor Kirchner was elected president. During Kirchner's presidency, Argentina restructured its defaulted debt with a steep discount (about 75 percent) on most bonds, paid off outstanding debts with the International Monetary Fund, renegotiated contracts with utilities, and nationalized some previously privatized industries. Currently, Argentina is enjoying a period of high economic growth and increased political stability.
Politics
Government
- Main articles on politics and government of Argentina can be found at the Politics and government of Argentina series.
Argentina's political framework is a federal presidential representative democratic republic, in which the President of Argentina is both head of state and head of government, complemented by a pluriform multi-party system. Argentina's current president (2006) is Néstor Kirchner, with Daniel Scioli as vice president.
The Argentine Constitution of 1853 mandates a separation of powers into executive, legislative, and judicial branches at the national and provincial level.
Executive power resides in the President and his cabinet. The President and Vice President are directly elected to 4-year terms, limited to two consecutive terms, and the cabinet ministers are appointed by the president.
Legislative power is vested in the bicameral National Congress or Congreso de la Nación, consisting of a Senate (Senado) of 72 seats, and a Chamber of Deputies (Cámara de Diputados) of 257 members.
Senators serve 6-year terms, with one-third standing for reelection every 2 years. Members of the Chamber of Deputies are directly elected to 4-year term via a system of proportional representation, with half of the members of the lower house being elected every 2 years. A third of the candidates presented by the parties must be women.
The judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature. The Argentine Supreme Court of Justice has 9 members who are appointed by the President in consultation with the Senate. The rest of the judges are appointed by the Council of Magistrates of the Nation, a secretariat composed of representatives of judges, lawyers, the Congress, and the executive. (see also law of Argentina)
Foreign relations
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Argentina is a member of Mercosur, an international bloc which has some legislative supranational functions. Mercosur is composed of five full members: Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay, and Venezuela. It has five associate members without full voting rights: Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru.
Argentina was the only country from Latin America to participate in the 1991 Gulf War under mandate of the United Nations, and in every phase of the Haiti operation. It has also contributed worldwide in peacekeeping operations, including in El Salvador-Honduras-Nicaragua, Guatemala, Ecuador-Peru, Western Sahara, Angola, Kuwait, Cyprus, Croatia, Kosovo, Bosnia and Timor Leste. In recognition of its contributions to international security, U.S. President Bill Clinton designated Argentina as a major non-NATO ally in January 1998. In 2005, it was elected as a temporary member of the UN Security Council.
In 2005, on November 4 and November 5, the Argentine city of Mar del Plata hosted the Fourth Summit of the Americas. This summit was marked by a number of anti-U.S. protests. As of 2006, Argentina has been emphasizing Mercosur as its first international priority; by contrast, during the 1990s, it relied more heavily on its relationship with the United States.
Argentina has long claimed sovereignty over the Falkland/Malvinas Islands, the South Shetland Islands, the South Sandwich Islands and almost 1 million km² in Antarctica, between the 25°W and the 74°W meridians and the 60°S parallel. This slice of the continent is known as Argentine Antarctica, which Argentina considers part of the national territory. For more than a century, there has been an Argentine presence at the Orcadas Base.
Argentina is a founding signatory and permanent consulting member of the Antarctic Treaty System and the Antarctic Treaty Secretariat is established in Buenos Aires [1]
Military
The President is the Commander-in-Chief, and the military is under the control of the Defense Ministry. Argentina's military establishement has historically been one of the best equipped in the region (for example, developing its own advanced jet fighters as early as the 1950s),[Pulqui: Argentina's Jet AdventureIPMStockholm.org] but has faced expenditure cutbacks in comparison to other regional militaries. The age of allowable military service is 18 years; there is no obligatory military service and currently no conscription.
The military is composed of a traditional Army, Navy, and Air Force. Controlled by a separate ministry (the Interior Ministry), Argentine territorial waters are patrolled by the
Naval Prefecture, and the border regions by the National Gendarmerie; both branches however maintain liasions with the Defense Ministry. They mostly perform patrols against organized crime, drug smuggling, and rescue operations of civilians in distress. Argentina's Armed Forces are currently performing major operations in Haiti and Cyprus, in accordance to specified UN mandates.
- See also: Military of Argentina
Administrative divisions
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- See also: Governors in Argentina
Argentina is divided into 23 provinces (provincias; singular: provincia), and 1 autonomous city (commonly known as capital federal but constitutionally: "Capital de la República" or "Capital de la Nación"), marked with an asterisk:
* The current official name for the federal district is Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires.
Buenos Aires has been the capital of Argentina since its unification, but there have been projects to move the administrative centre elsewhere. During the presidency of Raúl AlfonsÃn a law was passed ordering the transfer of the federal capital to Viedma, a city in the Patagonian province of RÃo Negro. Studies were underway when economic problems killed the project in 1989. Though the law was never formally repealed, it has become a mere historical relic, and the project has been forgotten.
Provinces are divided into smaller secondary units called departamentos, or departments. There are 376 departments. The province of Buenos Aires has 134 similar divisions known as partidos. Departamentos and partidos are further subdivided into municipalities or districts.
In descending order by number of inhabitants, the major cities in Argentina are Buenos Aires, Córdoba, Rosario, Mendoza, Tucumán, La Plata, Mar del Plata, Salta, Santa Fe, San Juan, Resistencia, and Neuquén.
Geography
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Main features
The total surface area of Argentina (not including the Antarctic claim), is as follows:
Argentina is nearly 3,700 km long from north to south, and 1,400 km from east to west (maximum values). It can roughly be divided into four parts: the fertile plains of the Pampas in the center the country, the source of Argentina's agricultural wealth; the flat to rolling, oil-rich plateau of Patagonia in the southern half down to Tierra del Fuego; the subtropical flats of the Gran Chaco in the north, and the rugged Andes mountain range along the western border with Chile.
The highest point above sea level in Argentina is located in Mendoza. Cerro Aconcagua, at 6,962 meters (22,834 feet), is the highest mountain in the Americas, the Southern,[Mountains of the Earth The Highest Mountain Peak on Each Continent] and Western Hemisphere.[Aconcagua, the highest in the Western Hemisphere] The lowest point is Laguna del Carbón in Santa Cruz, −105 meters (−344 feet) below sea level.[Depressions The Lowest Surface Point on Each Continent] This is also the lowest point on the South American continent. The geographic center of the country is located in south-central La Pampa province.
The country has a territorial claim over a portion of
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