Argentina

Argentine Republic República Argentina
Flag Coat of arms
Motto: En unión y libertad "In Unity and Freedom"
Anthem: Himno Nacional Argentino
Map of Argentina, in orthographic projection.
Capital (and largest city)		Buenos Aires 34°36′S 58°23′W / 34.6°S 58.383°W / -34.6; -58.383
Official languages		Spanish
Ethnic groups		86.4% European (mostly Italian and Spanish) 8% Mestizo 1.6% Amerindian 4% Others [1][2]
Demonym		Argentine, Argentinian, Argentinean
Government		Federal presidential republic
-	President	Cristina Fernández de Kirchner
-	Vice President	Julio Cobos
-	Supreme Court President	Ricardo Lorenzetti
Independence		from Spain
-	May Revolution	25 May 1810
-	Declared	9 July 1816
Area
-	Total	2,766,890 km2 (8th) 1,068,302 sq mi
-	Water (%)	1.1
Population
-	2008 estimate	40,482,000 (33rd)
-	2001 census	36,260,130
GDP (PPP)		2008 estimate
-	Total	$572.860 billion[3] (23rd)
-	Per capita	$14,413[3] (57th)
GDP (nominal)		2008 estimate
-	Total	$326.474 billion[3] (31st)
-	Per capita	$8,214[3] (66th)
Gini (2006)		49[4] (high)
HDI (2006)		▲ 0.860 (high) (46th)
Currency		Peso (ARS)
Time zone		ART (UTC-3)
-	Summer (DST)	ART (UTC-2)
Drives on the		right (although trains ride on the left)
Internet TLD		.ar
Calling code		+54

Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic^[5] (Spanish: República Argentina, pronounced [reˈpuβlika aɾxenˈtina]), is a country in South America, constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires. It is the second largest country in South America and eighth in the world by land area and the largest among Spanish-speaking nations, though Mexico, Colombia and Spain are more populous. Its continental area is 2,766,890 km² (1,068,302 sq mi), between the Andes mountain range in the west and the southern Atlantic Ocean in the east and south. Argentina borders Paraguay and Bolivia to the north, Brazil and Uruguay to the northeast, and Chile to the west and south. Argentina claims the Falkland Islands and South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands which are controlled by the United Kingdom. It also claims 969,464 km² (374,312 sq mi) of Antarctica, known as Argentine Antarctica which overlaps other claims made by Chile and by the United Kingdom. These claims have been suspended by the Antarctic Treaty of 1961.

Argentina has the second highest Human Development Index level^[6] and Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita in purchasing power parity in Latin America.^[3] Argentina's nominal GDP is the 30^th largest in the world;^[7] but when purchasing power is taken into account, its total GDP makes it the 23^rd largest economy in the world.^[8]

According to article 35 of the Argentine constitution, the titles Argentine Republic, Argentine Confederation, Argentine Nation, and United Provinces of the River Plate are all valid. However Argentine Republic is the title used in practice.

The country is currently classified as an Upper-Middle Income Country^[9] or as a secondary emerging market by the World Bank.^[10][11] Argentina is also one of the G-20 major economies.

History

Etymology

Cover of the first edition of the poem La Argentina by Martín del Barco Centenera, 1602

The name of Argentina is derived from the Latin argentum (silver), which in turn comes from the Ancient Greek ἀργήντος (argēntos), gen. of ἀργήεις (argēeis), "white, shining"^[12]. Αργεντινός (argentinos) was an ancient Greek epithet meaning "silvery"^[13]. The first use of the name Argentina can be traced back to the first voyages made by the Spanish and Portuguese conquerors to the Río de la Plata which means "Silver River", on the first years of 16th century.

Alejo García, one of the survivors of the shipwrecked expedition mounted by Juan Díaz de Solís at 1516, heard notices about a powerful White King in a country very rich in silver, at the mountains, called "Sierra de Plata". García then organized an expedition and reached Potosi's area, gaining several silver objects and gifts. He was killed by the payaguas, returning to Santa Catarina, Brazil.

Because of this the Portuguese named the river found by Vespucio or Solis Río da Plata ("River of the Silver"). The news about the legendary Sierra del Plata (a mountain rich in silver) reached Portugal and Spain around 1524. The first mention of the Argentina name was in Martin del Barco Centenera's poem La Argentina, published in Spain in 1602.

Ten years later (1612) Ruy Díaz de Guzmán published the book Historia del descubrimiento, población, y conquista del Río de la Plata ("History of the discovery, population, and conquest of the Río de la Plata"), naming the territory discovered by Solís as Tierra Argentina ("Land of Silver", "Silvery Land"). In 1776 the Virreinato del Río de la Plata (Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata) was created, named after the river; it included present-day Argentina, Bolivia, Paraguay and Uruguay.

Pre-Columbian era

The Buenos Aires Cabildo, scene of the 1810 resolution that led to independence

The earliest evidence of human activity in Argentina found thus far is in Patagonia (Piedra Museo, Santa Cruz) and dates from 11,000 BC (Santa María, Huarpes, Diaguitas and Sanavirones, among others). The Inca Empire under the rule of King Pachacutec launched an offensive in 1480 and conquered present-day northwestern Argentina, integrating it into a region called Collasuyu; the Guaraní developed a culture based on yuca, sweet potato and yerba mate. The central and southern areas (Pampas and Patagonia) were dominated by nomadic cultures, unified in the 17th century by the Mapuches.

Colonial era

European explorers arrived in 1516. Spain established a permanent colony on the site of Buenos Aires in 1580, and the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata was created in 1776. This area was largely a country of Spanish immigrants and their descendants, known as criollos, and others of native cultures and of descendants of African slaves, present in significant numbers. A third of Colonial-era settlers gathered in Buenos Aires and other cities, others living on the pampas as gauchos, for instance. Indigenous peoples inhabited much of the rest of Argentina. The British Empire launched two invasions of Buenos Aires in 1806-07, but the criollo population repelled both attempts.

Independence

Gen. José de San Martín, Liberator of Argentina and Perú.

Pres. Julio Roca dominated politics and policy from 1880 to 1906.

On 25 May 1810, after confirmation of the rumors on the overthrow of King Ferdinand VII by Napoleon, citizens of Buenos Aires created the First Government Junta (May Revolution). Two nations emerged in what is now Argentina: the United Provinces of South America (1810) and the Liga Federal (1815). Other provinces, as a result of differences between autonomist and centralist quarters, delayed taking part in a unified State; Paraguay seceded, declaring its independence in 1811.

Gov. Juan Manuel de Rosas during his 1829-52 regime.

Military campaigns led by General José de San Martín between 1814 and 1817 made independence increasingly a reality. Argentines revere San Martín as the hero of national independence. General José de San Martín and his regiment crossed the Andes in 1817 to defeat royalist forces in Chile and Perú, thus securing independence. The Congress of Tucumán gathered on 9 July 1816 and finally issued a formal Declaration of Independence from Spain. The Liga Federal was crushed in 1820 by forces of the United Provinces of South America and some Portuguese brigades from Brazil, and its provinces were absorbed into United Provinces of South America. Bolivia declared itself independent in 1825, and Uruguay was created in 1828 as a result of a truce following the Argentina-Brazil War. The controversial truce led to the rise of Buenos Aires Province Governor Juan Manuel de Rosas, who, as a federalist, exercised a reign of terror and kept the fragile confederacy together.

The centralist Unitarios and the Federales maintained an internecine conflict until Governor Rosas' 1852 overthrow after the Platine War, and to help prevent future struggle during the tenous times that followed, a Constitution was promulgated in 1853. The constitution, drafted by legal scholar Juan Bautista Alberdi, was defended by Franciscan Friar Mamerto Esquiú and endured through its first difficult years. National unity was reinforced by an 1865 attack on local British interests by Paraguay, resulting in the War of the Triple Alliance, which left more than 300,000 dead and devastated Paraguay.^[14][15]

Emergence of modern Argentina

The Port of Buenos Aires (1900). Maritime trade led to accelerated development after 1875.

Pres. Hipólito Yrigoyen, 1928. Patient activist for universal (male) suffrage and the country's first president so elected.

A wave of foreign investment and immigration from Europe after 1870 led to the development of modern agriculture and to a near-reinvention of Argentine society and the economy, leading to the strengthening of a cohesive state. The rule of law was consolidated in large measure by Dalmacio Vélez Sársfield, whose 1860 Commercial Code and 1869 Civil Code laid the foundation for Argentina's statutory laws. However, the "Conquest of the Desert" in the 1870s subdued the remaining indigenous tribes throughout the southern Pampas and Patagonia and left 1,300 indigenous dead.^[16][17]

Argentina increased in prosperity and prominence between 1880 and 1929, while emerging as one of the 10 richest countries in the world, benefiting from an agricultural export-led economy. Driven by immigration and decreasing mortality, the Argentine population grew fivefold and the economy by 15-fold.^[18] Conservative interests dominated Argentine politics through non-democratic means until, in 1912, President Roque Sáenz Peña enacted universal male suffrage and the secret ballot. This allowed their traditional rivals, the centrist Radical Civic Union, to win the country's first free elections in 1916. President Hipólito Yrigoyen enacted social and economic reforms and extended assistance to family farmers and small business. But having been politically imposing and beset by the Great Depression, the military forced him from power in 1930. This led to another decade of Conservative rule, whose economists turned to more protectionist policies and whose electoral policy was one of "patriotic fraud." The country was neutral during World War I and most of World War II, becoming an important source of foodstuffs for the Allied Nations.^[18]

From Perón to the last dictatorship

President Juan Perón (1946)

In 1946, General Juan Perón was elected president, creating a big tent movement referred to as "Peronism." His hugely popular wife, Evita, played a central political role until her death in 1952, mostly through the Eva Perón Foundation and the Peronist Women's Party.^[19] During Perón's tenure, wages and working conditions improved appreciably, the number of unionized workers quadrupled, government programs increased and urban development was prioritized over the agrarian sector.^[20] Formerly stable prices and exchange rates were disrupted, however: the peso lost about 70% of its value from early 1948 to early 1950, and inflation reached 50% in 1951.^[21] Foreign policy became more isolationist, straining U.S.-Argentine relations. Perón intensified censorship as well as repression: 110 publications were shuttered,^[22] and numerous opposition figures were imprisoned and tortured.^[23] Over time, he rid himself of many important and capable advisers, while promoting patronage. A violent coup, which bombarded the Casa Rosada and its surroundings killing many, deposed him in 1955. He fled into exile, eventually residing in Spain.

Arturo Frondizi (2^nd from left) hosts U.S. President John F. Kennedy, 1961. Frondizi's policies helped make Argentina nearly self-sufficient in energy and industry.

Following an attempt to purge the Peronist influence and the banning of Peronists from political life, elections in 1958 brought Arturo Frondizi to office. Frondizi enjoyed some support from Perón's followers, and his policies encouraged needed investment in energy and industry, both of which were chalking up sizable trade deficits for Argentina. The military, however, frequently interfered on behalf of conservative interests and the results were mixed.^[18] Frondizi was forced to resign in 1962. Arturo Illia, elected in 1963, enacted expansionist policies; but despite prosperity, his attempts to include Peronists in the political process resulted in the armed forces' retaking power in a quiet 1966 coup. Though repressive, this new regime continued to encourage domestic development and invested record amounts into public works. The economy grew strongly, and income poverty declined to 7% by 1975, still a record low. Partly because of their repressiveness, political violence began to escalate and, from exile, Perón skillfully co-opted student and labor protests, which eventually resulted in the military regime's call for free elections in 1973 and his return from Spanish exile.^[24] Taking office that year, Perón died in July 1974, leaving his third wife Isabel, the Vice President, to succeed him in office. Mrs. Perón had been chosen as a compromise among feuding Peronist factions who could agree on no other running mate; secretly, though, she was beholden to Perón's most fascist advisers. The resulting conflict between left and right-wing extremists led to mayhem and financial chaos and, on 24 March 1976, a coup d'état removed her from office.

Economist José Alfredo Martínez de Hoz and Dictator Jorge Videla, both of whose policies left a traumatic legacy in Argentina.

Raúl Alfonsín (left) greets supporters during the 1983 campaign with his trademark salute.

Pres. Leopoldo Galtieri's 1982 takeover of the Falkland Islands cost Argentina lives and prestige.

The self-styled National Reorganization Process intensified measures against armed groups on the far left such as People's Revolutionary Army and the Montoneros, which from 1970 had kidnapped and murdered people almost weekly.^[25] Repression was quickly extended to the opposition in general, however, and during the "Dirty War" thousands of dissidents "disappeared." These abuses were aided and abetted by the CIA in Operation Condor, with many of the military leaders that took part in abuses trained in the U.S.-financed School of the Americas.^[26] This new dictatorship at first brought some stability and built numerous important public works; but their frequent wage freezes and deregulation of finance led to a sharp fall in living standards and record foreign debt.^[18] Deindustrialization, the peso's collapse and crushing real interest rates, as well as unprecedented corruption, public revulsion in the face of alleged human rights abuses and, finally, the country's 1982 defeat by the British in the Falklands War discredited the military regime and led to free elections in 1983.

Democracy

Raúl Alfonsín's 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. The previous regime's foreign debt, however, left the Argentine economy saddled by the conditions imposed on it by both its private creditors and the IMF, and priority was given to servicing the foreign debt at the expense of public works and domestic credit. Alfonsín's failure to resolve worsening economic problems caused him to lose public confidence. Following a 1989 currency crisis that resulted in a sudden and ruinous 15-fold jump in prices, he left office five months early.^[27]

Newly elected President Carlos Menem began pursuing privatizations and, after a second bout of hyperinflation in 1990, reached out to economist Domingo Cavallo, who imposed a peso-dollar fixed exchange rate in 1991 and adopted far-reaching market-based policies, dismantling protectionist barriers and business regulations, while accelerating privatizations. These reforms contributed to significant increases in investment and growth with stable prices through most of the 1990s; but the peso's fixed value could only be maintained by flooding the market with dollars, resulting in a renewed increase in the foreign debt. Towards 1998, however, a series of international financial crises and overvaluation of the pegged peso caused a gradual slide into economic crisis. The sense of stability and well being which had prevailed during the 1990s eroded quickly, and by the end of his term in 1999, these accumulating problems and reports of corruption had made Menem unpopular.^[28]

President Néstor Kirchner (2^nd from right) hosts former Brazilian Presidents Lula da Silva and José Sarney (left two), as well as Raúl Alfonsín, to commemorate 20 years of productive trade talks.

President Fernando de la Rúa inherited diminished competitiveness in exports, as well as chronic fiscal deficits. The governing coalition developed rifts, and his returning Cavallo to the Economy Ministry was interpreted as a crisis move by speculators. The decision backfired and Cavallo was eventually forced to take measures to halt a wave of capital flight and to stem the imminent debt crisis (culminating in the freezing of bank accounts). A climate of popular discontent ensued, and on 20 December 2001 Argentina dove into its worst institutional and economic crisis since the 1890 Barings financial debacle. There were violent street protests, which clashed with police and resulted in several fatalities. The increasingly chaotic climate, amid riots accompanied by cries that "they should all go", finally resulted in the resignation of President de la Rúa.^[29]

Three presidents followed in quick succession over two weeks, culminating in the appointment of interim President Eduardo Duhalde by the Legislative Assembly on 2 January 2002. Argentina defaulted on its international debt, and the peso's 11 year-old tie to the U.S. dollar was rescinded, causing a major depreciation of the peso and a spike in inflation. Duhalde, a Peronist with a center-left economic position, had to cope with a financial and socio-economic crisis, with unemployment as high as 25% by late 2002 and the lowest real wages in sixty years. The crisis accentuated the people's mistrust in politicians and institutions. Following a year racked by protest, the economy began to stabilize by late 2002, and restrictions on bank withdrawals were lifted in December.^[30]

Current president Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, in office since December 2007.

Benefiting from a devalued exchange rate the government implemented new policies based on re-industrialization, import substitution and increased exports and began seeing consistent fiscal and trade surpluses. Governor Néstor Kirchner, a social democratic Peronist, was elected president in May 2003 and during Kirchner's presidency Argentina restructured its defaulted debt with a steep discount (about 66%) on most bonds, paid off debts with the International Monetary Fund, renegotiated contracts with utilities and nationalized some previously privatized enterprises. Kirchner and his economists, notably Roberto Lavagna, also pursued vigorous income policies and public works investments.^[31]

Argentina has since been enjoying economic growth with high inflation, a situation that some analysts consider stagflation. Néstor Kirchner forfeited the 2007 campaign in favor of his wife Senator Cristina Fernández de Kirchner. Winning by a landslide that October, she became the first woman elected President of Argentina and in a disputed result, Fabiana Ríos, a center-left (ARI) candidate in Tierra del Fuego Province became the first woman in Argentine history to be elected governor. President Cristina Kirchner, despite carrying large majorities in Congress, saw controversial plans for higher agricultural export taxes defeated by Vice President Julio Cobos' surprise tie-breaking vote against them on 16 July 2008, following massive agrarian protests and lockouts from March to July. The global financial crisis has since prompted Mrs. Kirchner to step up her husband's policy of state intervention in troubled sectors of the economy.^[32] A halt in growth and political missteps helped lead Kirchnerism and its allies to lose their absolute majority in Congress, following the 2009 mid-term elections.

Geography

Topographic map of Argentina (including some territorial claims).

Main features

The total surface area of Argentina (not including the Antarctic claim) is 2,766,891 km² (1,068,303 sq mi), of which 2,736,691 km² (1,056,642 sq mi) is land and 30,200 km² (11,700 sq mi) (1.1%) is water.

Argentina is about 3,900 km (2,500 mi) long from north to south, and 1,400 km (870 mi) from east to west (maximum values). It can roughly be divided into four parts: the fertile plains of the Pampas in the center of 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 m (22,841 ft). It is the highest mountain in America, the Southern,^[33] and Western Hemisphere.^[34] The lowest point is Laguna del Carbón in Santa Cruz, −105 meters (−344 ft) below sea level.^[35] 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.

Argentina's easternmost continental point is northeast of the town of Bernardo de Irigoyen, Misiones (26°15′S 53°38′W / 26.25°S 53.633°W / -26.25; -53.633 (Argentina's easternmost continental point)), the westernmost in the Mariano Moreno Range in Santa Cruz (49°33′S 73°35′W / 49.55°S 73.583°W / -49.55; -73.583 (Argentina's westernmost point)). The northernmost point is located at the confluence of the Grande de San Juan and Mojinete rivers, Jujuy (21°46′S 66°13′W / 21.767°S 66.217°W / -21.767; -66.217 (Argentina's northernmost point)), and the southernmost is Cape San Pío in Tierra del Fuego (55°03′S 66°31′W / 55.05°S 66.517°W / -55.05; -66.517 (Argentina's southernmost point)).^[36]

The country has a territorial claim over a portion of Antarctica (unrecognized by any other country), where, from 1904, it has maintained a constant presence.

Geographic regions

Source: CIA^[37] Political map of Argentina showing the area it controls. The Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas) are a British overseas territory but are claimed by Argentina.

The country is traditionally divided into several major geographically distinct regions:

Pampas

The plains west and south from Buenos Aires. Called the Humid Pampa, they cover most of the provinces of Buenos Aires and Córdoba and large portions of the provinces of Santa Fe and La Pampa. The western part of La Pampa and the province San Luis are also mostly plains (the Dry Pampa); but they are drier and used mainly for grazing. The Sierra de Córdoba in the homonymous province (extending into San Luis) is the most important geographical feature of the pampas.

Gran Chaco

The Gran Chaco region in the north of the country is seasonal dry/wet, mainly cotton growing and livestock raising. It covers the provinces of Chaco and Formosa. It is dotted with subtropical forests, scrubland, and some wetlands, home to a large number of plant and animal species. The province of Santiago del Estero lies in the drier region of the Gran Chaco.

Mesopotamia

The land between the Paraná and Uruguay rivers is called Mesopotamia, and it is shared by the provinces of Corrientes and Entre Ríos. It features flatland apt for grazing and plant growing, and the Iberá Wetlands in central Corrientes. Misiones Province is more tropical and belongs within the Brazilian Highlands geographic feature. It features subtropical rainforests and the Iguazú Falls.

Patagonia

The steppes of Patagonia, in the provinces of Neuquén, Río Negro, Chubut, Santa Cruz and Tierra del Fuego, are of Tertiary origin. Most of the region is semiarid in the north to cold and arid in the far south, but forests grow in its western fringes which are dotted with several large lakes. Tierra del Fuego is cool and wet, moderated by oceanic influences. Northern Patagonia (Río Negro, south of the homonymous river, and Neuquén) can also be referred as the Comahue region.

Cuyo

West-central Argentina is dominated by the imposing Andes Mountains. To their east is the arid region known as Cuyo. Melting waters from high in the mountains form the backbone of irrigated lowland oasis, at the center of a rich fruit and wine growing region in Mendoza and San Juan provinces. Further north the region gets hotter and drier with more geographical accidents in La Rioja Province. The region's easternmost border is marked by the Sierras Pampeanas, a series of three low mountain ranges that spread from north to south in the northern half of the province of San Luis.

NOA or Northwest

This region is the highest in average elevation. Parallel mountain ranges, several of which have peaks higher than 6,000 m (19,685 ft), dominate the area. These ranges grow wider in geographic extent towards the north. They are cut by fertile river valleys, the most important being the Calchaquí Valleys in the provinces of Catamarca, Tucumán, and Salta. Farther north Jujuy Province near Bolivia lies mainly within the Altiplano plateau of the Central Andes. The Tropic of Capricorn goes through the far north of the region.

Provinces

Provinces of Argentina. Argentina claims the Falkland Islands ("Islas Malvinas"), a UK overseas territory, as well as a slice of Antarctica, both of which it assigns to its Tierra del Fuego Province.

Argentina is divided into twenty-three provinces (provincias; singular provincia), and one autonomous city (commonly known as the capital federal, but officially Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires):

	Province	Capital		Province	Capital
	Buenos Aires Autonomous City			Mendoza	Mendoza
	Buenos Aires	La Plata		Misiones	Posadas
	Catamarca	San Fernando del Valle de Catamarca		Neuquén	Neuquén
	Chaco	Resistencia		Río Negro	Viedma
	Chubut	Rawson		Salta	Salta
	Córdoba	Córdoba		San Luis	San Luis
	Corrientes	Corrientes		San Juan	San Juan
	Entre Ríos	Paraná		Santa Cruz	Río Gallegos
	Formosa	Formosa		Santa Fe	Santa Fe
	Jujuy	San Salvador de Jujuy		Santiago del Estero	Santiago del Estero
	La Pampa	Santa Rosa		Tierra del Fuego	Ushuaia
	La Rioja	La Rioja		Tucumán	San Miguel de Tucumán

Though declared the capital in 1853, the city did not become the capital of the country until 1880. There have been moves to relocate the administrative centre elsewhere. During the presidency of Raúl Alfonsín, a law was passed ordering the transfer of the federal capital to Viedma, a city in the Patagonian province of Río Negro. Studies were underway when economic problems halted the project in 1989. Though the law was never formally repealed, it is now treated as a relic.

Provinces are divided into smaller secondary units called departamentos ("departments"), of which there are 376 in total. Buenos Aires Province 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.

Rivers and lakes

Sailboats on the Uruguay River

Major rivers in Argentina include the Pilcomayo, Paraguay, Bermejo, Colorado, Río Negro, Salado, Uruguay and the largest river, the Paraná. The latter two flow together before meeting the Atlantic Ocean, forming the estuary of the Río de la Plata. Regionally important rivers are the Atuel and Mendoza in the homonymous province, the Chubut in Patagonia, the Río Grande in Jujuy and the San Francisco River in Salta.

There are several large lakes in Argentina, many of them in Patagonia. Among these are lakes Argentino and Viedma in Santa Cruz, Nahuel Huapi between Río Negro and Neuquén and Fagnano in Tierra del Fuego and Colhué Huapi and Musters in Chubut. Lake Buenos Aires and O'Higgins/San Martín Lake are shared with Chile. Mar Chiquita, Córdoba, is the largest salt water lake in the country. There are numerous reservoirs created by dams. Argentina features various hot springs, such as those at Termas de Río Hondo with temperatures between 65°C and 89°C.^[38]

The largest oil spill to ever occur in fresh water was caused by a Shell tanker ship in the Río de la Plata, off Magdalena, on January 15, 1999, polluting the environment, drinking water, and local wildlife.^[39]

Coastal areas and seas

Argentina has 4,665 kilometres (2,899 mi) of coastline.^[40] The continental platform is unusually wide; this shallow area of the Atlantic Ocean is called Mar Argentino. The Argentine Atlantic coast has been a favorite among local vacationers for over a hundred years. The waters are rich in fisheries and suspected of holding important hydrocarbon energy resources. Argentina's coastline varies between areas of sand dunes and cliffs. The two major ocean currents affecting the coast are the warm Brazil Current and the cold Falkland Current. Because of the unevenness of the coastal landmass, the two currents alternate in their influence on climate and do not allow temperatures to fall evenly with higher latitude. The southern coast of Tierra del Fuego forms the north shore of the Drake Passage.

Panoramic view of Bristol Beach in the city of Mar del Plata in winter.

Climate

A mild climate typifies the region of the Pampas

The Andean range over the southern province of Santa Cruz.

Because of longitudinal and elevation amplitudes, Argentina is subject to a variety of climates. As a rule, the climate is predominantly temperate with extremes ranging from subtropical in the north to subpolar in the far south. The north of the country is characterized by very hot, humid summers with mild drier winters, and is subject to periodic droughts. Central Argentina has hot summers with thunderstorms (western Argentina produces some of the world's largest hails), and cool winters. The southern regions have warm summers and cold winters with heavy snowfall, especially in mountainous zones. Higher elevations at all latitudes experience cooler conditions.

The hottest and coldest temperature extremes recorded in South America have occurred in Argentina. A record high temperature of 49.1 °C (120.4 °F), was recorded at Villa de María, Córdoba, on 2 January 1920. The lowest temperature recorded was −39 °C (−38 °F) at Valle de los Patos Superior, San Juan, on 17 July 1972.

Major wind currents in Argentina include the cool Pampero Winds blowing on the flat plains of Patagonia and the Pampas; following the cold front, warm currents blow from the north in middle and late winter, creating mild conditions. The Zonda, a hot dry wind, affects west-central Argentina. Squeezed of all moisture during the 6,000-meter (20,000 ft) descent from the Andes, Zonda winds can blow for hours with gusts up to 120 km/h (75 mph), fueling wildfires and causing damage; when the Zonda blows (June-November), snowstorms and blizzard (viento blanco) conditions usually affect the higher elevations.

The Sudestada ("southeasterlies") could be considered similar to the Nor'easter, though snowfall is rarely involved (but is not unprecedented). Both are associated with a deep winter low pressure system. The sudestada usually moderates cold temperatures but brings very heavy rains, rough seas and coastal flooding. It is most common in late autumn and winter along the coasts of central Argentina and in the Río de la Plata estuary.

The southern regions, particularly the far south, experience long periods of daylight from November to February (up to nineteen hours) and extended nights from May to August. All of Argentina uses UTC-3 time zone. The country does observe daylight saving time occasionally.

Population

Contemporary figures

The National Institute of Statistics and Census of Argentina (INDEC) 2001 census showed the population of Argentina was 36,260,130. It ranks third in South America in total population and 30th globally. The 2008 estimate is 40,482,000. Argentina's population density is 15 persons per square kilometer of land area, well below the world average of 50 persons. The population is not evenly distributed with the city of Buenos Aires having a population density of over 14,000 inhab./km², while Santa Cruz province has fewer than 1 inhab./km². Benefiting from a moderate birth rate since the 1930s,^[41] Argentina is the only nation in Latin America with a net positive migration rate; about +0.4 net immigrants per 1,000 locals, yearly.^[42]

Cities and metropolitan areas

Argentina's 25 largest metropolitan areas are:

Puerto Madero Docklands, Buenos Aires.

Monument to the Argentine Flag, Rosario

Córdoba city centre

San Martin Boulevard, Mendoza

^[43]

Demographics

Fiesta del Inmigrante or "Immigrants' Festival" celebrates the immigration to Argentina during the 19th and 20th century in the town of Oberá, Misiones.

Ethnicity

Argentina, as with other areas of new settlement such as Canada, Australia and the United States is considered a country of immigrants^[44]

Most Argentines are descended from colonial-era settlers and of the 19th and 20th century immigrants from Europe, and 86.4% of Argentina's population self-identify as European descent^[45] An estimated 8% of the population is mestizo.^[45] A further 4% of Argentines were of Arab or East Asian heritage.^[1] In the last national census, based on self-identification, 600,000 Argentines (1.6%) declared to be Amerindians^[2] (see Demographics of Argentina for genetic studies on the matter)^[46]

Following the arrival of the initial Spanish colonists, over 6.2 million Europeans emigrated to Argentina from the mid-19th to mid-20th centuries^[47] At the end of the 19th century, Argentina became the second country to recieve European immigration only after the United States. Due to this large-scale immigration the national population doubled every two decades during the immediate post-war decades.^[48]

The majority of these European immigrants came from Italy and Spain. Italian immigrants arrived mainly from the Piedmont, Veneto and Lombardy regions, initially, and later from Campania and Calabria.^[49] Up to 25 million Argentines have some degree of Italian descent, around 60% of the total population.^[50] Spanish immigrants were mainly Galicians and Basques.^[51][52] Smaller but significant numbers of immigrants came from France, Germany and Switzerland, Denmark, Sweden, Ireland, Greece, Portugal, and the United Kingdom. Eastern Europeans were also numerous, and arrived from Russia, Ukraine, Lithuania and from Central Europe (particularly Poland, Hungary, Romania, Croatia and Slovenia).^[53] Sizable numbers of immigrants also arrived from Balkan countries (Macedonia and Montenegro).^[54] There is a large Armenian community and the Chubut Valley has a significant population of Welsh descent.^[55]

Built in 1876 to welcome hundreds of newcomers daily, the Immigrants' Hotel is now a national museum.

Percentage of Argentines born outside Argentina (1869-1991).

Minorities

Small but growing numbers of people from East Asia have also settled in Argentina, mainly in Buenos Aires. The first Asian-Argentines were of Japanese descent; Koreans, Vietnamese, and Chinese followed, now at over 60,000.^[56]

The majority of Argentina's Jewish community are Ashkenazi Jews, while about 15–20% are Sephardic groups, primarily Syrian Jews. Argentina's Jewish community is the fifth largest in the world.

Patagonia houses a unique community of South African Boers who settled there after their bitter war with England that ended in 1902. There are an estimated 100-120 Boer families still living on the land assigned to them by General Julio Roca. They are mainly an agricultural community.

Argentina is home to a large community from the Arab world, made up mostly of immigrants from Syria and Lebanon. Most are Christians of the Eastern Orthodox and Eastern Catholic (Maronite) Churches, with small Muslim and Jewish minorities. Many have gained prominent status in national business and politics, including former president Carlos Menem, the son of Syrian settlers from the province of La Rioja.

Although relatively few in number, English immigrants to Argentina have played a disproportionately large role in forming the modern state. Anglo-Argentines were traditionally often found in positions of influence in the railway, industrial and agricultural sectors. The history of the English Argentine position was complicated when their economic influence was finally eroded by Juan Perón's nationalisation of many British-owned companies in the 1940s and, more recently, by the Falklands War in 1982.

The officially recognized indigenous population in the country, according to the 2004-05 "Complementary Survey of Indigenous Peoples", stands at approximately 600,000 (around 1.4% of the total population), the most numerous of whom are the Mapuche people.^[2]

Criticisms of the national census state that data has historically been collected using the category of national origin rather than race in Argentina, leading to undercounting Afro-Argentines and mestizos.^[57] The 1887 national census was the final year where blacks were included as a separate category before it was discontinued by the government.^[58]

Illegal immigrants

Illegal immigration has been a recent factor in Argentine demographics. Most illegal immigrants come from Bolivia and Paraguay, countries which border Argentina to the north. Smaller numbers arrive from Peru, Ecuador and Romania.^[59] The Argentine government estimates that 750,000 inhabitants lack official documents and has launched a program called Patria Grande ("Great Homeland")^[60] to encourage illegal immigrants to regularize their status; so far over 670,000 applications have been processed under the program.^[61]

Urbanization

Governor's offices, Tucumán

Federal courthouse, La Plata

Argentina's population is highly urbanized with the country's ten largest metro areas being home to half the total population, and fewer than one in ten living in rural areas.^[43] About 3 million people live in the autonomous city of Buenos Aires and the Greater Buenos Aires metro area totals 12.8 million (2008), making it one of the largest conurbations in the world. Together with their respective metropolitan areas the second and third-largest cities in Argentina, Córdoba and Rosario, contain around 1.3 and 1.2 million inhabitants respectively with five other metro areas being home to at least half a million people.^[43]

Argentina's population is unequally distributed across the country: one-third lives in or around the city of Buenos Aires and, including Córdoba, Santa Fe Province and Buenos Aires Provinces, around 24 million people (61 %), live in the Pampas region (equivalent to 21 % of the total area).

Population distributon

The Province of Buenos Aires is the most populated province of the country with 15 million inhabitants (38% of the national population), of which 10 million live in Greater Buenos Aires and 5 million in the rest of the province. The neighboring provinces of Córdoba and Santa Fe follow with populations of around 3 million, each, and the city of Buenos Aires with another 3 million.

Seven other provinces are home to a little over one million people, each: Mendoza, Tucumán, Entre Rios, Salta, Chaco, Corrientes and Misiones. Still thinly populated, Argentina has only one province more densely populated than the World average (Tucumán, with 60 inhabitants/km²) while, in the far south, Santa Cruz Province has yet to exceed 1 inhabitant per km² and neighboring Tierra del Fuego Province is Argentina's least populated.

Most European immigrants to Argentina settled in the cities which offered jobs, education and other opportunities enabling newcomers to enter the middle class. Many also settled in the growing small towns along the expanding railway system and since the 1930s many rural workers have moved to the big cities.^[24]

Urban areas resemble European style-cities, reflecting the influence of the European immigrants. Many cities are built in a Spanish grid style around a main square, or plaza, with a cathedral and important government buildings often facing the plaza. The general layout of the cities is called damero, meaning checkerboard, since it is based on a pattern of square blocks, though modern developments sometimes depart from it. The city of La Plata built at the end of the nineteenth century is organized as a checkerboard with added diagonal avenues at fixed intervals and was the first in South America with electric street illumination.^[62]

v • d • e Provinces of Argentina Provinces Buenos Aires · Catamarca · Chaco · Chubut · Córdoba · Corrientes · Entre Ríos · Formosa · Jujuy · La Pampa · La Rioja · Mendoza · Misiones · Neuquén · Río Negro · Salta · San Juan · San Luis · Santa Cruz · Santa Fe · Santiago del Estero · Tierra del Fuego · Tucumán Autonomous city Buenos Aires City (Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires)

v • d • e Provincial capitals of Argentina La Plata, Buenos Aires · San Fernando del Valle de Catamarca, Catamarca · Resistencia, Chaco · Rawson, Chubut · Córdoba, Córdoba · Corrientes, Corrientes · Paraná, Entre Ríos · Formosa, Formosa · San Salvador de Jujuy, Jujuy · Santa Rosa, La Pampa · La Rioja, La Rioja · Mendoza, Mendoza · Posadas, Misiones · Neuquén, Neuquén · Viedma, Río Negro · Salta, Salta · San Juan, San Juan · San Luis, San Luis · Río Gallegos, Santa Cruz · Santa Fe, Santa Fe · Santiago del Estero, Santiago del Estero · Ushuaia, Tierra del Fuego · Tucumán, Tucumán

Economy

The Buenos Aires waterfront and three sectors leading the recent economic recovery: construction, foreign trade and tourism.

Newbery Airfield, Buenos Aires. It connects the vast nation to its capital, and to neighbouring Uruguay. International flights operate through Ministro Pistarini airport at Ezeiza.

Freight rail yard in Rosario. The nations' railways move 25 million metric tons of cargo annually.^[64]

Argentina has abundant natural resources, a well-educated population, an export-oriented agricultural sector and a relatively diversified industrial base. Domestic instability and global trends, however, contributed to Argentina's decline from its noteworthy position as the world's 10th wealthiest nation per capita in 1913 to the world's 36th wealthiest in 1998.^[65] Though no consensus exists explaining this, systemic problems have included increasingly burdensome debt, uncertainty over the monetary system, excessive regulation, barriers to free trade, and a weak rule of law coupled with corruption and a bloated bureaucracy.^[65] Even during its era of decline between 1930 and 1980, however, the Argentine economy created Latin America's largest proportional middle class;^[18] but this segment of the population has suffered from a succession of economic crises between 1981 and 2002, when the relative decline became absolute.

Argentina's economy started to slowly lose ground after 1930^[66] when it entered the Great Depression and recovered slowly, afterwards. Erratic policies helped lead to serious bouts of stagflation in the 1949-52 and 1959-63 cycles and the country lost its place among the world's prosperous nations, even as it continued to industrialize.^[18] Following a promising decade, the economy further declined during the military dictatorship that lasted from 1976 to 1983 and for some time afterwards.^[67] The regime engaged in a disorganized and corrupt financial liberalization that increased the debt burden and interrupted industrial development and upward social mobility; over 400,000 companies of all sizes went bankrupt by 1982^[18] and economic decisions made from 1983 through 2001 failed to revert the situation.

Record foreign debt interest payments, tax evasion and capital flight resulted in a balance of payments crisis that plagued Argentina with serious stagflation from 1975 to 1990. Attempting to remedy this, economist Domingo Cavallo pegged the peso to the U.S. dollar in 1991 and limited the growth in the money supply. His team then embarked on a path of trade liberalization, deregulation and privatization. Inflation dropped and GDP grew by one third in four years;^[64] but external economic shocks and failures of the system diluted benefits, causing the economy to crumble slowly from 1995 until the collapse in 2001. That year and the next, the economy suffered its sharpest decline since 1930.^[64]

By 2002, Argentina had defaulted on its debt, its GDP had shrunk, unemployment reached 25% and the peso had depreciated 70% after being devalued and floated.

In 2003 expansionary policies and commodity exports triggered a rebound in GDP. This trend has been largely maintained, creating millions of jobs and encouraging internal consumption. The socio-economic situation has been steadily improving and the economy grew around 9% annually for five consecutive years between 2003 and 2007 and 7% in 2008.^[68] Inflation, however, though officially hovering around 9% since 2006, was privately estimated at 12-15% that year and over 15% in 2008,^[69] becoming a contentious issue again. The urban income poverty rate has dropped to 18% as of mid-2008, a third of the peak level observed in 2002, though still above the level prior to 1976.^[70][71] Income distribution, having improved since 2002, is still considerably unequal.^[72][73]

Argentina faces slowing economic growth in light of an international financial crisis. The Kirchner administration responded at the end of 2008 with a record US$32 billion public-works program for 2009-10 and a further US$4 billion in new tax cuts and subsidies.^[74][75] Kirchner has also nationalized private pensions, which required growing subsidies to cover, in a move designed to shed a budgetary drain as well as to finance high government spending and debt obligations.^[76][77]

Sectors

Natural resources

Argentina is one of the world's major agricultural producers, ranking third worldwide in production of honey, soybeans and sunflower seeds and is ranked as fifth in the production of maize and eleventh in wheat. In 2007, agricultural output accounted for 9.4% of GDP and nearly one third of all exports. Soy and its byproducts, mainly animal feed and vegetable oils, are major export commodities at 24% of the total. Wheat, maize, sorghum and other cereals totaled 8%.^[68] Cattle-raising is also a major industry, though mostly for domestic consumption. Beef, leather and dairy were 5% of total exports.^[68] Sheep-raising and wool are important in Patagonia, though these activities have declined by half since 1990.^[68]

View of pampas soy fields. Though Argentina is now an industrial and service economy, agriculture still earns more than half the foreign exchange.

Vineyards on the Andes foothills, San Juan province.

Fruits and vegetables made up 4% of exports: apples and pears in the Río Negro valley; oranges and other citrus in the northwest and Mesopotamia; grapes and strawberries in Cuyo and berries in the far south. Cotton and tobacco are major crops in the Gran Chaco, sugarcane and chile peppers in the northwest and olives and garlic in Cuyo. Yerba Mate (Misiones), tomatoes (Salta) and peaches (Mendoza) are grown for domestic consumption. Argentina is the world's fifth-largest wine producer, and fine wine production has taken major leaps in quality. A growing export, total viticulture potential is far from having been met. Mendoza is the largest wine region, followed by San Juan.^[78] A strike by farmers, protesting an increase in export taxes for their products, began 13 March 2008 and butchers and supermarkets were among the first affected by shortages.^[79] Following a series of failed negotiations and the 16 July defeat of the export tax-hike in the Senate, the strikes and lockouts largely subsided.^[80]

Argentine fisheries bring in about a million tons of catch annually^[68] and are centered around Argentine hake which makes up 50% of the catch, pollack, squid and centolla crab. Forestry has long history in every Argentine region, apart from the pampas, accounting for almost 14 million m³ of roundwood harvests^[81]; elm for cellulose, pine and eucalyptus for furniture as well as for paper products 1.5 million tons are all widely harvested. Fisheries and logging each account for 2% of exports.^[68]

Petroleum fuels, oil and natural gas are 12% of Argentina's exports. The most important oil fields lie in Patagonia and Cuyo. A network of pipelines send raw product to Bahia Blanca, center of the petrochemical industry, and to the La Plata-Rosario industrial belt.

Mining is a growing industry where the northwest and San Juan Province are the main regions of activity. Coal is mined in Santa Cruz Province. Metals mined include gold, silver, zinc, magnesium, sulfur, tungsten, uranium and particularly copper. These exports soared from US$ 200 million in 1996 to US$1.2 billion in 2004^[82] and to over US$ 2 billion in 2007.^[68]

Manufacturing

The Yacyretá Dam hydroelectric complex is the second largest in the world

Manufacturing is the nation's largest single sector in the economy with 21.5% of the GDP in 2007 and is well-integrated into Argentine agriculture, accounting for nearly two-thirds of exports in all, with half the nation's industrial exports being agricultural in nature.^[68] Leading sectors by production value are: food processing, chemicals and pharmaceuticals, motor vehicles, farming equipment & auto parts, iron, steel & aluminum, petroleum, as well as home appliances and industrial machinery.

Other manufactured goods include textiles & leather, plastics & tires, forestry products, publishing, cement, glass and tobacco products. Nearly half the nation's industries are in and around Buenos Aires although Córdoba and Rosario are also home to significant industrial centers. Construction permits nationwide neared 16 million m² (170 million ft²) in 2005 and the sector is 6% of GDP. Two-thirds of this total was residential construction.^[68]

Argentina produces electricity in large part through well developed natural gas and hydroelectric resources. Nuclear energy is also of high importance^[83] and the country is one of the largest producers and exporters, alongside Canada and Russia, of Cobalt-60 which is a radioactive isotope widely used in cancer therapy.

Service Industries

Well-known for its productive agriculture, Argentina also benefits from a well-developed service sector

The service sector is the biggest contributor to total GDP, accounting for 58%. Argentina enjoys a diversified service sector, which includes well-developed social, corporate, financial, insurance, real-estate, transport and communication services, as well as vigorous commercial and tourist trades.

The telecommunications sector has been growing at a fast pace with an important penetration of mobile telephony (more than 75% of the population)^[84], the Internet (with more than 16 million people online),^[85] and broadband services (4.1%). Regular telephone services (with 9.5 million lines)^[86] and mail services are robust.

Tourism is increasingly important and provided 8% of economic output (over US$20 billion) in 2006.^[87] Argentines, who have long been active travelers within their own country,^[88] accounted for over 80% of this though growing international tourism (4.2 million visited Argentina in 2006) contributed almost US$3.4 billion that year.^[87] Stagnant for over two decades domestic travel has increased robustly in the last few years^[89] and visitors are flocking to a country seen as affordable, exceptionally diverse, and safe^[90]. Cosmopolitan Buenos Aires, Rosario and the ocean-fronts of Mar del Plata & Pinamar, the Iguazu Falls, colonial Salta & Jujuy are rich in indigenous culture. The scenic foothills of Córdoba, the wineries of Mendoza, the ski slopes and lakes near Bariloche, the grottoes at San Antonio Oeste, Perito Moreno Glacier and Tierra del Fuego.

Politics

Government

The Casa Rosada, seat of the Executive branch.

Argentina's political framework is a federal presidential representative democratic republic, in which the President of The Argentine Nation is both head of state and head of government, complemented by a pluriform multi-party system. The current president is Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, with Julio Cobos 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 the Cabinet. The President and Vice President are directly elected to four-year terms and are limited to two terms. Cabinet ministers are appointed by the president and are not subject to legislative ratification.

Legislative power is vested in the bicameral National Congress or Congreso de la Nación, consisting of a Senate (Senado) of seventy-two seats, and a Chamber of Deputies (Cámara de Diputados) of 257 members.

The Argentine Legislature, Buenos Aires.

Senators serve six-year terms, with one-third standing for reelection every two years. Members of the Chamber of Deputies are directly elected to four-year term via a system of proportional representation, with half of the members of the lower house being elected every two 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 seven 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.

The Argentine Supreme Court.

Argentina is a member of an international block, Mercosur, 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.

Safety and Security

Argentina has a relatively stable government, civil society and among the lowest crime rates in the region; however street crime in larger cities such as Buenos Aires is still a significant problem. Residents and tourists alike are often the targets of muggings, theft, and kidnappings—although most victims are not physically injured when robbed. One particularly dangerous crime reported in Argentina is “express kidnapping,” where victims are grabbed off the street based on their appearance and vulnerability, and made to withdraw money from ATMs. Their family members and associates are then contacted for an additional ransom of whatever money they have on hand or can collect within a short period of time - usually a couple of hours. If the ransom is paid, the victim is quickly released unharmed.^[91]

Public demonstrations are common in most big cities. While most demonstrations are peaceful, they sometimes serve as an occasion for violent confrontations with police. ^[92]

However, the U.S. Department of State warns that the greatest threat to life and limb in Argentina is from traffic accidents. The State Department warns that "drivers frequently ignore traffic laws and vehicles often travel at excessive speeds" and that "traffic accidents are the primary threat to life and limb in Argentina."^[93] Argentina has the highest traffic mortality rate in South America, with Argentine drivers causing 20 deaths each day (about 7,000 a year), and over 120,000 people injured or maimed each year. Pedestrians should exercise particular caution.^[94]

Foreign policy

While Argentina has employed threats and force to pursue its claims against Chile in the Beagle channel and Laguna del Desierto, against Britain in Antarctica^[95] and the Falklands, as well as against illegal trawlers, this behavior constituted the exception rather than the rule in Argentine international relations.

Argentina was the only country from Latin America to participate in the 1991 Gulf War under mandate of the United Nations. It was also the only Latin American country involved in every phase of the Haiti operation.^{[citations needed]} Argentina has contributed worldwide to 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. It was last elected as a temporary member of the UN Security Council in 2005.

The United Nations White Helmets, a bulwark of peacekeeping and humanitarian aid efforts, were first deployed in 1994 following an Argentine initiative.^[96]

On 4-5 November 2005, 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 Islands (Islas Malvinas), 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. Claimed by the United Kingdom, they have occupied this area since 1833, though since 1904 the Orcadas Base, an Argentine scientific post, has been maintained by mutual agreement.

Argentina is a founding signatory and permanent consulting member of the Antarctic Treaty System and the Antarctic Treaty Secretariat is established in Buenos Aires.^[97]

Military

Libertador Building (Ministry of Defense and Army Headquarters) and the flagship Sarmiento frigate.

Argentina's armed forces are controlled by the Defense Ministry, with the country's President as their Commander-in-Chief. Historically, Argentina's military has been one of the best equipped in the region (for example, developing its own advanced jet fighters as early as the 1950s);^[98] but, of late, it has faced sharper expenditure cutbacks than most other armed forces in Latin America. Indeed, since 1981, real military expenditures have fallen by about half and are today less than US$3 billion.^[99]

The age of allowable military service is 18 years; there is no obligatory military service and currently no conscription. Recently, Argentina's armed forces have numbered about 70,000 active duty personnel, a reduction of over a third from levels before the return to democracy in 1983.^[100]

The armed forces are 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 arms however maintain liaison with the Defense Ministry. Argentina's Armed Forces are currently undertaking major operations in Haiti and Cyprus, in accordance with UN mandates.

Transportation

Motorway in Buenos Aires (Av. General Paz)

A cargo ship in front of the Rosario-Victoria Bridge.

Light rail in Buenos Aires

Argentina's transport infrastructure is relatively advanced.^[101] There are over 230,000 km (144,000 mi) of roads (not including private rural roads) of which 72,000 km (45,000 mi) are paved^[102] and 1,575 km (980 mi) are expressways,^[103] many of which are privatized tollways. Having doubled in length in recent years, multilane expressways now connect several major cities with more under construction.^[104] Expressways are, however, currently inadequate to deal with local traffic, as 9.2 million motor vehicles are registered nationally as of 2008 (230 per 1000 population).^[105]

The railway network has a total length of 34,059 km (21,170 mi).^[106] After decades of declining service and inadequate maintenance, most intercity passenger services shut down in 1992 when the rail company was privatized, and thousands of kilometers of track (excluding the above total) are now in disuse. Intercity rail services are currently being reactivated among several cities.

Inaugurated in 1913, the Buenos Aires Metro was the first subway system built in Latin America and the Southern Hemisphere.^[107] Thanks to easy access to the Buenos Aires subway, these services continue to be in great demand. It is no longer the most extensive in Latin America; but, its 33 miles (53 km) of track carry nearly 900,000 passengers daily.^[64]

Argentina has around 11,000 km (6,835 mi) of navigable waterways, and these carry more cargo than do the country's renown freight railways.^[108] This includes an extensive network of canals, though Argentina is blessed with ample natural waterways, as well; the most significant among these being the Río de la Plata, Paraná, Uruguay, Río Negro and Paraguay rivers.

Flora

The ceibo is the National Flower of Argentina

Palo borracho (Argentina

Caldén trees in the semi-arid Pampas

Subtropical plants dominate the north, part of the Gran Chaco region of South America. The genus Dalbergia of trees is well disseminated with representatives like the Brazilian Rosewood and the quebracho tree; also predominant are white and black algarrobo trees (prosopis alba and prosopis nigra). Savannah-like areas exist in the drier regions nearer the Andes. Aquatic plants thrive in the wetlands dotting the region.

In central Argentina the humid pampas are a true tallgrass prairie ecosystem. The original pampa had virtually no trees; today along roads or in towns and country estates (estancias), some imported species like the American sycamore or eucalyptus are present. The only tree-like plant native to the pampa is the ombú, an evergreen. The surface soils of the pampa are a deep black color, primarily mollisols, known commonly as humus. This is what makes the region one of the most agriculturaly productive on Earth; however, this is also responsible for decimating much of the original ecosystem, to make way for commercial agriculture. The western pampas receive less rainfall, this dry pampa is a plain of short grasses or steppe.^[109]

Most of Patagonia in the south lies within the rain shadow of the Andes. The flora, shrubby bushes and plants, is well suited to withstand dry conditions. The soil is hard and rocky, making large-scale farming impossible except along river valleys. Coniferous forests grow in far western Patagonia and on the island of Tierra del Fuego. Conifers native to the region include alerce (Fitzroya cupressoides), ciprés de la cordillera (Austrocedrus chilensis), ciprés de las guaitecas (Pilgerodendron uviferum), huililahuán (Podocarpus nubigenus), lleuque (Prumnopitys andina), mañío hembra (Saxegothaea conspicua) and pehuén (Araucaria araucana), while native broadleaf trees include several species of Nothofagus including coigüe or coihue, lenga (Nothofagus pumilio) and ñire (Nothofagus Antarctica). Other introduced trees present in forestry plantations include spruce, cypress and pine. Common plants are the copihue and colihue (Chusquea culeou).^[110]

In Cuyo, semiarid thorny bushes and other xerophile plants abound. Along the many river oasis, grasses and trees grow in significant numbers. The area presents optimal conditions for the large scale growth of grape vines. In the northwest of Argentina there are many species of cacti. In the highest elevations (above 4,000 m or 13,000 ft), no vegetation grows because of the extreme altitude.

The ceibo flower, of the tree Erythrina crista-galli, is the national flower of Argentina.

Fauna

The hornero is one of the national emblems of Argentina.

Male sea lion in Mar del Plata

The puma inhabits the northeast of the country

Many species live in the subtropical north. Big cats like the jaguar, cougar, and ocelot; primates (howler monkey); large reptiles (crocodiles) and a species of caiman. Other animals include the tapir, peccary, capybara, bush dog, raccoon and various species of turtle and tortoise. There are a wide variety of birds, notably hummingbirds, flamingos, toucans and swallows.

The central grasslands are populated by the giant anteater, armadillo, pampas cat, maned wolf, mara, cavias and the rhea (ñandú), a flightless bird. Hawks, falcons, herons and tinamous (perdiz, Argentine "false partridges") inhabit the region. There are also pampas deer and pampas foxes. Some of these species extend into Patagonia.

The western mountains are home to different animals. These include the llama, guanaco, vicuña, among the most recognizable species of South America. Also in this region are the fox, viscacha, Andean Mountain Cat, kodkod and the largest flying bird in the New World, the Andean Condor.

Southern Argentina is home to the cougar, huemul, pudú (the world's smallest deer), and introduced, non-native wild boar.^[110] The coast of Patagonia is rich in animal life: elephant seals, fur seals, sea lions and species of penguin. The far south is populated by cormorants.

The territorial waters of Argentina have abundant ocean life; mammals such as dolphins, orcas, and whales like the southern right whale, a major tourist draw for naturalists. Sea fish include sardines, argentine hakes, dolphinfish, salmon, and sharks; also present are squid and spider crab (centolla) in Tierra del Fuego. Rivers and streams in Argentina have many species of trout and the South American dorado fish. Outstanding snake species inhabiting Argentina include boa constrictors and the very venomous yarará pit viper and South American rattle snake. The Hornero was elected the National Bird after a survey in 1928.^[111]

Culture

Architect Alejandro Bustillo and sculptor Lola Mora's work, Rosario.

Street in Buenos Aires CBD.

Second Empire and Neoclassical architecture at Buenos Aires city centre.

Argentine culture has significant European influences. Buenos Aires, considered by many its cultural capital, is often said to be the most European city in South America, as a result both of the prevalence of people of European descent and of conscious imitation of European styles in architecture. The other big influence is the gauchos and their traditional country lifestyle of self-reliance. Finally, indigenous American traditions (like yerba mate infusions) have been absorbed into the general cultural milieu.

Literature