Argentina, republic (1,072,157 sq mi/2,776,889 sq km; 1991 estimated population 32,650,000; 2004 estimated population 39,144,753 ), S South America.
Geography
The second largest nation of South America, Argentina is composed of 22 provinces, one national territory, and one federal district that is the site of Buenos Aires, the country’s (cap.) and largest city. Argentina is triangular in shape and stretches c.2,300 mi/3,700 km from its broad N region near the Tropic of Capricorn S to Tierra del Fuego, an island shared with Chile. On the NE, Argentina fronts on the Río de la Plata (an estuary and one of the major waterways of the Western Hemisphere), which separates Argentina from S Uruguay; its tributaries also act as international boundaries—the Uruguay River, with W Uruguay and S Brazil, and the Paraná and Pilcomayo rivers, with Paraguay. The NW boundary with Bolivia lies in the Gran Chaco and the Andes mountains. The W boundary with Chile follows the crestline of the Andes. The Atlantic Ocean borders Argentina on the E; there, off S Argentina, are the Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas), and the South Georgia, South Sandwich, and South Orkney islands, all claimed by Argentina but administered by Great Britain. Argentina also claims a sector of Antarctica. The climate of Argentina varies from subtropical in the N to cold and windswept in the S, with temperate and dry areas found throughout much of the country. Precipitation, lowest along the E Andean slopes, increases markedly N and E across Argentina. The chief rivers of Argentina are the Paraná with its tributary, the Salado; the Colorado River; the Río Negro; and the Chubut. Argentina may be divided into six geographical regions—the Paraná Plateau, the Gran Chaco, the Pampa, the Monte, Patagonia, and the Andes mountains.
Paraná Plateau
The Paraná Plateau in the extreme NE is an extension of the highlands of S Brazil. It is the wettest part of Argentina and has a dense forest cover; tobacco, citrus, timber, and yerba maté are the chief products there. The spectacular Iguaçu Falls are in a national park located at the point where Argentina, Brazil, and Paraguay meet.
Gran Chaco
In N Argentina the Gran Chaco, with the physiographically similar Mesopotamia (between the Paraná and Uruguay rivers), is a predominantly flat alluvial plain with a subtropical climate. The region is seasonally flooded, and marshlands remain for long periods during the year because of poor drainage. Livestock, cotton, and quebracho are the main products. The Pampa, S of the Gran Chaco, is a vast, monotonous natural grassland that extends to the Colorado River (roughly from latitude 30°S to 40°S) and is c.400 mi/640 km wide from the Atlantic Ocean to the Andean foothills.
The Pampa
The Pampa’s deep, rich soil is the basic wealth of the country. The “Wet Pampa,” the more humid E part of the region, is Argentina’s principal agricultural area and produces most of the nation’s exports. It is the granary of South Amererica, with soybeans, wheat, alfalfa, corn, and flax as the principal crops. Cattle ranching is prevalent throughout the Pampa, especially in the SE and N; sheep are also raised there. Dairying and vegetable production are important in the vicinity of Buenos Aires. The Pampa has the densest transportation network of roads and railroads in South America. Most of the principal cities of Argentina and most of its industry are found in the region. Buenos Aires, a port city on the Río de la Plata, is one of the largest cities of South America and the chief industrial center and transportation hub of S South America; it is surrounded by smaller industrial cities. Elsewhere on the Pampa are La Plata, a meat-packing and oil-refining center; Rosario, an iron and steel and oil-refining center, and Argentina's third largest city and a huge grain port on the Paraná River; Santa Fe, a N commercial and industrial center at the junction of the Salado and Paraná rivers; Mar del Plata, a resort and fishing center on the Atlantic Ocean; and Bahía Blanca, the largest Argentine port directly on the Atlantic Ocean, a gateway to the S Pampa and the oil fields of Neuquén province, and a meat-packing and wool-processing center. On the W edge of the Pampa is Córdoba, the nation’s second largest city, which reflects the transition from the “Dry Pampa” to the Monte, the desolate Andean foothills.
The Monte
The Monte, an arid region in the rain shadow of the Andes, has natural vegetation varying from short grasses in the E to cacti in the W. Scattered throughout the great arid stretches are small but highly productive oases such as Jujuy, Salta, Tucumán, San Juan, and Mendoza, which were settled from Peru and Upper Peru (now Bolivia) in the second half of the 16th century. The oases, whose growth and importance greatly increased after they were linked by railroad to the E Coast, produce wine, sugar, fruits, and corn; stock raising is also carried on there. The varied mineral deposits of this region (especially oil, lead, zinc, tin, copper, and salt) are being exploited. Mendoza and Tucumán are major industrial areas engaged in food processing, oil refining, and chemical production.
Patagonia
Occupying the S part of Argentina is Patagonia, a vast, bleak, and windswept disected plateau. Several large rivers flow in deep valleys E across Patagonia to the sea. Patagonian hydroelectric potential has recently been developed, with a series of dams on the Limay and Neuquén rivers that generate almost 6,000 mega watts. Most electricity is sent to Buenos Aires. Sheep raising (chiefly for wool) and oil and natural gas production (the area around Comodoro Rivadavia is the chief oil-producing region of Argentina) are the principal economic activities of Patagonia. The poor soils of Patagonia and its cool and dry climate do not favor cultivation, although irrigated agriculture is practiced in the Negro and Colorado river valleys. Patagonia is sparsely populated and largely undeveloped, with a few small river-mouth ports on the Atlantic coast such as Viedma, Rawson, Puerto Deseado, and Río Gallegos. Ushuaia, S Tierra del Fuego, on Canal Beagle, is the world’s southernmost town.
The Andes
The Andes mountains region of Argentina, broad in the N, where it is similar to the Bolivian altiplano, and becoming narrower toward the S, extends along the length of Argentina’s W border. The region, which contains some of the world’s highest elevations. outside of Asia—including Aconcagua (22,835 ft/6,960 m high; the highest point of the Western Hemisphere), Bonete, Tupungato, Mercedario, and Llullaillaco—acts as a barrier to the moist W winds, thus giving the E slopes of the Andes a desert condition that contrasts with the heavy snowfall on the higher elevations. There are timber and mineral resources, but they are not readily exploitable because of the region’s inaccessibility. Cattle are raised on the grassy Andean foothills. There are many beautiful lakes in the region, especially where it merges with the Patagonian plateau; Lake Nahuel Huapí in Nahuel Huapí National Park, adjoining the Chilean lake district, is an attractive resort area.
Population
Argentina, unlike most Latin American nations, has a population that is principally of European descent, especially of Italian and Spanish origin. The Mestizo portion of Argentina’s population is very small, except in the NW, because there has been little mixture between European and indigenous peoples. The native population, which has steadily declined since the coming of the Europeans, is still strong only in parts of the Gran Chaco and the Andean highlands. Only in NW Argentina was there a native population with a material culture. They were an agricultural people (recalled today by ruins N of Jujuy), but their importance was eclipsed later by the Araucanians from Chile. Elsewhere, native inhabitants did much to hamper settlement, but European warfare and pressure soon decimated the native population and culture. Italian, Spanish (including Basque), French, German, British, Swiss, and East European immigrants came to Argentina during the 1880s; other large in-migrations of Europeans occurred in the 1930s and following World War II. The influx of Chileans into Argentina has been historically tied to boundary disputes between the two nations. The gaucho, or Argentine cowboy, the nomadic herdsman of the Pampas—depicted in Martín Fierro, the great Argentine folk epic by José Hernández—is still a legendary national symbol. Many gauchos were people of mixed Spanish and black descent who had crossed the border from Brazil to escape slavery. By the 1970s, Argentina had a predominantly urban population with nearly three-quarters of its people living in places with 2,000 or more inhabitants; nearly one-third of the total population lives in and around Buenos Aires. About 90% of the population is at least nominally Roman Catholic. Spanish is the country’s official language, although Italian is spoken as well. Argentina has one of South America's lowest population growth rates (1.02%) and one of its highest literacy rates (96%). Education is required until students become 15; the official attendance rate is 94%. Argentines have one of the highest per capita incomes in South America, and the wealth is fairly well distributed. However, high inflation rates in the early 1970s cut into the nation’s buying power and necessitated sharp cutbacks in imports in order to bring about a more favorable balance of trade.
Economy
Argentina’s economy is based on agriculture, with grains and livestock (cattle and sheep) the bulwark of its wealth. As an exporter of soybeans, wheat, corn, flax, oats, beef, mutton, hides, and wool, Argentina has traditionally rivaled the U.S., Canada, and Australia. Its cattle herds are among the world’s finest. Argentina is the world’s largest source of tannin and linseed oil. The Pampa is the nation’s chief agricultural area; however, since the 1930s there has been a great rise in production in other areas, especially in the oases of the Monte and the irrigated valleys of N Patagonia. Argentina is nearly self-sufficient in its agricultural needs. Although Argentina has a variety of minerals, they are of local importance and are not completely adequate to support the country’s industries. Domestic oil and gas production supplies most of the nation’s energy; pipelines connect the oil and gas fields with Buenos Aires and other major refining centers. Also, Argentina exploits its ample hydroeletric resources; hydroelectricity rivals petroleum as Argentina’s major source of energy. The large coal field of S Patagonia has low-grade coal. All mining operations in the country have been under federal control since 1954. Argentina has a highly developed industrial base. Developed after World War I and until recently protected by a strong nationalistic policy, Argentine industry made the country virtually self-sufficient in the production of consumer goods and many types of machinery. In recent years, the nation has adopted a policy of free trade, making it difficult for highly protected manufacturing to continue to operate. However, Argentina has experienced inflation, recession, and carries a massive national debt. Food processing (in particular meat packing, flour milling, and canning) is the chief manufacturing industry of Argentina; leather goods and textiles are also major products. Argentina’s principal imports are machinery, metals, and other manufactured goods. The chief trading partners are the U.S., Brazil, Italy and other members of the European Union.
History to 1850
The Europeans probably first arrived in the region in 1502 during the voyage of Amerigo Vespucci. The search for a Southwest Passage to the Orient brought Juan Díaz de Solís to the Río de la Plata in 1516. The S natives primarily hunted and fished, while the NW Incas were agricultural and quite advanced, having built a highway before the arrival of the Spanish Ferdinand Magellan entered (1520) the estuary, and Sebastian Cabot ascended (1536) the Paraná and Paraguay rivers. His delight in native ornaments may be responsible for the names Río de la Plata [=silver river] and Argentina [=of silver]. Pedro de Mendoza in 1536 founded the first settlement of the present Buenos Aires, but native attacks forced abandonment of the settlement, and Asunción became the unquestioned leading city of the Río de la Plata region. Buenos Aires was refounded in 1580 by Juan de Garay. His son-in-law, Hernando Arias de Saavedra (Hernandarias), secured the division of the Río de la Plata territories, and Buenos Aires achieved (1617) a sort of semiindependence under the viceroyalty of Peru. The mercantilist system, however, severely hampered the commerce of Buenos Aires, and smuggling, especially with Portugese traders in Brazil, became an accepted profession. While the cities of present W and NW Argentina grew by supplying the mining towns of the Andes, Buenos Aires was threatened by Portugese competition. By the 18th century, cattle (which were introduced to the Pampas in the 1550s) roamed wild throughout the Pampas in large herds and were hunted by gauchos for their skins and fat. In 1776 the Spanish government made Buenos Aires a free port and the capital of a viceroyalty that included present Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay, and (briefly) Bolivia. From this combination grew the idea of a Greater Argentina to include all the Río de la Plata countries, a dream that was to haunt many Argentine politicians after independence was won. A prelude to independence was the British attack on Buenos Aires; Admiral Sir Home Popham and General William Carr Beresford in 1806 took the city after the Spanish viceroy fled. An Argentine militia force under Jacques de Liniers ended the British occupation in 1807. On May 25, 1810 (May 25 is the Argentine national holiday), revolutionists, acting nominally in favor of the Bourbons dethroned by Napoleon (see Spain), deposed the viceroy, and the government was controlled by a junta. The result was war against the royalists. The patriots under Manuel Belgrano won (1812) a victory at Tucumán. On July 9, 1816, a congress in Tucumán proclaimed the independence of the United Provinces of the Río de La Plata. Uruguay and Paraguay went their own ways despite hopes of reunion. In Argentina, a struggle ensued between those who wanted to unify the country and those who did not want to be dominated by Buenos Aires. Independence was followed by virtually permanent civil war, with many coups d’etat by regional, social, or political factions. Anarchy was not ended by the election of Bernardino Rivadavia in 1826. The unitarians, who favored a centralized government dominated by Buenos Aires, were opposed to the federalists, who resented the oligarchy of Buenos Aires and were backed by autocratic caudillos with gaucho troops. The unitarians triumphed temporarily when Argentinians combined to help the Uruguayans repel Brazilian conquerors in the battle of Ituzaingó (1827), which led to the independence of Uruguay. The internal conflict was, however, soon resumed and was not even quelled when General Juan Manuel de Rosas, the most notorious caudillo, established a dictatorship that lasted from 1835 to 1852.
History 1850 to 1930
Rosas was overthrown (1852) by General Justo José de Urquiza, who called a constituent assembly at Santa Fe. A constitution was adopted (1853) based on the principles enunciated by Juan Bautista Alberdi. Mitre, denouncing Urquiza as a caudillo, brought about the temporary secession of Buenos Aires province (1861) and the downfall of the Urquiza plans. The War of the Triple Alliance (1865–1870) brought little advantage to Argentina. In 1880 federalism triumphed, and General Julio A. Roca became president (1880–1886); Buenos Aires remained the capital, but the federal district was set up, and Buenos Aires province was given La Plata as its capital. Already the Pampa had begun to undergo its agricultural transformation. The immigration of Europeans helped to fill the land and to make Argentina one of the world’s granaries. Establishment of refrigerating plants for meat made expansion of commerce possible. The British not only became the prime consumers of Argentine products but also invested substantially in the construction of railroads, factories, and public utilities, (which were nationalized in 1948). Efforts to end the power of the great landowners, however, were not genuinely successful, and the military tradition continued to play a part in politics, the army frequently combining with the conservatives and later with the growing ranks of labor to alter the government by coup d’etat. The second administration of Roca (1898–1904) was marked by recovery from the crises of the intervening years; a serious boundary dispute with Chile was settled (1902), and perpetual peace between the two nations was symbolized in the Christ of the Andes. However, a portion of this boundary with Chile is still disputed. Even before World War I, in which Argentina maintained neutrality, the wealthy nation had begun to act as spokesman for the rights and interests of Latin America as a whole. Internal problems, however, remained vexing. Electoral reforms introduced by Roque Sáenz Peña (1910–1914) led to the victory of the radical party under Hipólito Irigoyen (1916–1922). He introduced social legislation, but when, after the presidency of Marcelo T. de Alvear, Irigoyen returned to power in 1928, his policies aroused much dissatisfaction even in his own party.
History 1930 to 1970
In 1930 he was ousted by General José F. Uriburu, and the conservative oligarchy—now with Fascist leanings—was again in power. The Radical leader Roberto M. Ortiz became president (1938), but serious illness caused him to withdraw (1942), and the conservative Ramón S. Castillo succeeded him. In 1943, Castillo was overthrown by a military coup. After two provisional presidents a “palace revolt” in 1944 brought to power a group of army colonels, chief among them Juan Perón. After four years of pro-Axis “neutrality” Argentina belatedly (March 1945) entered World War II on the side of the Allies and became a member of the UN. A return to liberal government momentarily seemed probable, but Perón was overwhelmingly victorious in the election of February 1946. His regime was marked by curtailment of freedom of speech, confiscation of liberal newspapers such as La Prensa, imprisonment of political opponents, and transition to a one-party state.The popular Eva Duarte de Perón, his second wife, helped him gain the support of the trade unions, thereafter the main foundation of Perón’s political power. To cure Argentina’s serious economic ills, Perón inaugurated a program of industrial development—which advanced rapidly in the 1940s and early 1950s, but was severely hampered by the lack of power resources and machine tools—supplemented by social welfare programs. Perón also placed the sale and export of wheat and beef under government control, thus undermining the political and economic power of the rural oligarchs. In the early 1950s, with recurring economic problems and with the death (1952) of his wife, Perón’s popular support began to diminish. Agricultural production, long the chief source of revenue, dropped sharply, and the economy faltered. The Roman Catholic church, alienated by the reversal of close church-state relations, excommunicated Perón, and, finally, the armed forces became disillusioned with him. In 1955, Perón was ousted by a military coup. After the overthrow of Perón, Argentina experienced a long period of political instability. Control passed between military and civilian regimes throughout the late 1950s and early 1960s, and guerrilla activity increased. In 1958, Dr. Arturo Frondizi was elected president. Faced with the economic and fiscal crisis inherited from Perón, Frondizi, with U.S. advice and the promise of financial aid, initiated a program of austerity to “stabilize” the economy and check inflation. Outraged by a resurgence of Peronista strength, the military arrested Frondizi in 1962. José María Guido assumed the presidency, but the military remained in power. In 1963, after months of political crisis and control by the military, presidential elections were held. The Peronista and Communist parties were banned before the election, and many persons were placed under arrest. Following the election as president of the moderate liberal Dr. Arturo Illía, many political prisoners were released, and relative political stability returned. In elections in 1965 and 1966 the Peronists showed that they remained the strongest political force in the country; unwilling to tolerate another Peronist resurgence in 1966, a junta of military leaders, supported by business interests, seized power (1966) and placed General Juan Carlos Onganía, a long-time right-wing opponent of Illía, in the presidency. Under Onganía, and with the strong backing of the military, the new government dissolved the legislature, banned all political parties, and exercised unofficial press censorship.
History 1970 to Present
Faced with labor and student unrest, the military, led by Lanusse, deposed (1970) Onganía and dismissed Levingston (1971) to initiate an active program for economic growth, distribution of wealth, and political stability. His direct negotiations with Juan Perón and his call for national elections and a civilian government led to the return of Perón to Argentina in 1972. After failing to achieve unity among the various Peronist groups, Perón declined the nomination from his supporters to run for president in the March 1973, elections, which were won by Dr. Hector Cámpora, a Peronist candidate who subsequently resigned from office to make way for Perón’s return. When new elections were held in September 1973, Perón was elected president and his third wife, Isabel Martínez Perón, vice president. Perón died in July 1974 and, as provided for in the constitution, was succeeded as president by his widow, the nation’s vice president. The government’s program of economic austerity and soaring inflation caused widespread unrest. In 1974 Isabel Perón was deposed by a military coup led by General Jorge Rafael Videla. With Videla as president, the three man junta suspended political and trade union activity, dissolved the Congress, made alterations to the Constitution, and removed most government officials. A vicious offensive by the military known as the “dirty war” against left-wing guerrillas and other suspected opposition groups, including students, provoked domestic and international protests against human rights violations. Persecutions continued until 1978, when repression was eased after all opposition had been eliminated. The policy of liberalization continued with the brief presidency of General Roberto Viola (1981) and of Lieutenant-General Leopoldo Galtieri, who took over in late 1981. In a move to distract attention from domestic political and financial instability, Galtieri ordered the invasion of the Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas) to settle a long-standing sovereignty claim against Great Britain. Argentina was defeated and surrendered after the brief conflict which ensued, but remained officially at war with Britain until 1989. The humiliation of the military and disastrous economic conditions led to a transfer of power to a civilian government. Dr. Raúl Alfonsín took over the presidency (1983) and court-martialled and jailed the military juntas responsible for the “dirty war” as well as the junta responsible for the Falklands conflict, including General Galtieri. These measures led to continuing military disaffection, followed by legislation providing limited amnesty to human rights violators, and to further public unrest. In 1989 Juan Carlos Meném, backed by Peronistas, was elected president. His policy of appeasement of the military and pardons to former military leaders, along with stringent austerity measures, provoked opposition. Meném’s program of fiscal deregulation and privatization of state enterprises, reduction in the size of the armed forces, settlement of territorial disputes with Chile, and the establishment of diplomatic relations with Great Britain brought increased political and economic stability in the 1990s.
Government
Argentina is governed by the 1853 constitution as modified in 1898 and subsequently amended. It has a federal system of government, consisting of the Federal District of Buenos Aires, the National Territory of Tiera del Fuego, and twenty-two provinces: Buenos Aires, Catamarca, Córdoba, Corrientes, Chaco, Chubut, Entre Rios, Formosa, Jujuy, La Pampa, La Rioja, Mendoza, Misiones, Neuquén, Rio Negro, Salta, San Juan, San Luis, Santa Cruz, Santa Fe, Santiago del Estero, and Tucumán. The president and the vice president are elected for six-year terms by popular vote. The popularly elected bicameral national congress is composed of forty-six senators (two from each province and two from the federal district), who serve nine-year terms, and 254 deputies (from each province and the federal district based on proportional representation), who serve four-year terms. The supreme court of justice, the nation’s highest court, has five members. Each province has its own elected governor and legislature and its own judicial system. The chief political parties of Argentina are the Frente Justicialista de Liberación (Peronista), the Unión Cívica Radical, and the Union of the Democratic Center.
The last presidential election was held April 23, 2003 (the next election is to be held in 2007). A runoff election in May 2003 between the two candidates receiving the highest votes in the April primary was awarded to Nestor Kirchner by defualt after Carolos Saul Menem withdrew his candidacy on the eve of the election.
