Argentina

**Argentina**, officially the **Argentine Republic**, is a country in South America. Its shares land borders with Brazil, Chile, Bolivia, Paraguay and Uruguay. The also share close maritime borders with the United Kingdom, who control the Falkland Islands off the Argentine coast. Argentina claims these islands under the name The Malvinas.

## History

### Twentieth and Early Twenty-First Century

In 1912, President Roque Sáenz Peña enacted universal and secret male suffrage, which allowed Hipólito Yrigoyen to win the 1916 election. Argentina stayed neutral during World War I. The second administration of Yrigoyen faced an economic crisis, influenced by the Great Depression. In 1930, Yrigoyen was ousted from power by the military led by José Félix Uriburu. Uriburu ruled for two years; then Agustín Pedro Justo was elected with fraud, and signed a controversial treaty with the United Kingdom. Argentina stayed neutral during World War II, a decision that had full British support but was rejected by the United States after the attack on Pearl Harbor. A new military coup toppled the government, and Argentina declared war on the Axis Powers a month before the end of World War II in Europe.

In 1946, Juan Perón was elected President. He nationalized strategic industries and services, improved wages and working conditions, paid the full external debt and achieved nearly full employment. The economy, however, began to decline in 1950 because of over-expenditure. His highly popular wife, Eva Perón, played a central political role. She pushed Congress to enact women suffrage in 1947, and developed an unprecedented social assistance to the most vulnerable sectors of society. In 1955 the Navy bombed the Plaza de Mayo in an ill-fated attempt to kill the President. A few months later, during the self-called Liberating Revolution coup, he resigned and went into exile in Spain.

The new head of State, Pedro Eugenio Aramburu, proscribed Peronism and banned all of its manifestations. Arturo Frondizi won the 1958 elections yet his efforts to stay in good terms with Peronists and the military earned him the rejection of both and a new coup forced him out. Arturo Illia was elected in 1963 but was overthrown in 1966 by the Juan Carlos Onganía-led coup d'état.

Cámpora won the March 1973 election, and then secured Perón's return from his exile in Spain. On the day Perón returned to Argentina, the clash between Peronist internal factions resulted in the Ezeiza Massacre. Cámpora resigned, overwhelmed by political violence, and Perón won the September 1973 election with his third wife Isabel as vice-president. Perón died in July 1974 and was succeeded by his wife, who was ousted one year later by a junta of the three armed forces, led by army general Jorge Rafael Videla.

In 1981, Leopoldo Galtieri became President and launched Operation Rosario, and invaded the British-held Falkland Islands. This escalated into the Falklands War, with British forces defeating Argentina and re-securing control of the Islands. Galtieri was toppled by Reyonaldo Bignone who organised the end of the last military dictatorship in Argentina.

Raúl Alfonsín won the 1983 elections campaigning for the prosecution of those responsible for human rights violations during the Junta. The worsening economic crisis and hyperinflation reduced his popular support and the Peronist Carlos Menem won the 1989 election. The 1994 Constitutional Amendment allowed Menem to be elected for a second term. The economy began to decline in 1995, with increasing unemployment and recession and Fernando de la Rúa won the presidency in the 1999 elections.

By the late 2002 the economic crisis began to recess, and Néstor Kirchner was elected president in 2003. Kirchner ended the economic crisis attaining significant fiscal and trade surpluses, and steep GDP growth. Under his administration Argentina restructured its defaulted debt with an unprecedented discount of about 70% on most bonds, paid off debts with the International Monetary Fund and purged the military of officers with doubtful human rights records. He did not run for reelection, promoting instead the candidacy of his wife, senator Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, who was elected in 2007 and reelected in 2011.
In 2016, Argentina offered to have a comprehensive discussion on the ownership of the Falkland Islands, yet no results have yet come about.

### Latin Spring Revolution

See Full Article: Latin Spring

During the Latin Spring, non-violent protests began across many Argentine cities, but as the protests grew in size, the police moved to restrain them leading to clashes between protesters and authorities. On 19 August 2022, authorities began using water cannons, tear gas and rubber bullets to try and control protesters, sparking riots across the country. These clashes with police cause more people to join the protests, and the protests spiral out of control.

## Government and Politics

Argentina is a federal constitutional republic and a representative democracy. The government is regulated by the Constitution of Argentina. The government is comprised of three branches:

* Legislative: The bicameral Congress comprised of the Senate and Deputy chambers.

The Chamber of Deputies is comprised of 257 voting members elected for four-year terms and represent the people.
The Chamber of Senators is comprised of 72 members elected to six-year terms and represent the provinces, with each province having three representatives.
* Executive: The President is the commander-in-chief of the military and can veto legislative bills. The President is directly elected by the people and serves a four-year term, renewable once.

* Judicial: The Supreme Court and all lower federal courts interpret laws and overturn those that are unconstitutional.

### Provinces

Argentina is a federation of twenty-three provinces and one autonomous city, the capital Buenos Aries. Provinces hold all the power that they chose not to delegate to the federal government, but must remain within the confines of the Constitution.

### Foreign Relations

A historical and current middle power, Argentina bases its foreign policies on the guiding principles of non-intervention, human rights, self-determination, international cooperation, disarmament and peaceful settlement of conflicts. The country is one of the G-15 and G-30 major economies of the world, and a founding member of the UN, WBG, WTO and OAS. A prominent Latin American and Southern Cone regional power, **Argentina** co-founded OEI, CELAC and UNASUR, of which the former president Néstor Kirchner was first Secretary General. It is also a founding member of the Mercosur block, having Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay and Venezuela as partners.

## Economy

During the 21st century, **Argentina** continued to be one of the world's breadbaskets while Argentine beef maintained a reputation for quality. American, European and Chinese investment helped **Argentina** fully mechanize and modernize its agricultural sector in the 21st century, further increasing production. This became crucial in helping to feed a global population that exceeded eleven digits by 2050.

## Military

Military service is voluntary, with enlistment age between 18 and 24 years old and no conscription. Argentina's defense has historically been one of the best equipped in the region, even managing its own weapon research facilities, shipyards, ordnance, tank and plane factories. However, real military expenditures declined steadily after 1981 and the defense budget in 2011 was about 0.74% of GDP, a historical minimum, below the Latin American average.