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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia For other uses, see Argentina (disambiguation). Coordinates: 34��S 64��W Argentine Republic Rep��blica Argentina (Spanish) Flag of Argentina Flag Coat of arms of Argentina Coat of arms Motto: "En uni��n y libertad" ("In Unity and Freedom") Anthem: Himno Nacional Argentino ("Argentine National Anthem") Menu 0:00 Sol de Mayo (Sun of May) Sol de Mayo Location of Argentina (dark green) and its disputed territory (light green) in South America Location of Argentina (dark green) and its disputed territory (light green) in South America Capital and largest city Buenos Aires 34��36���S 58��23���W Official languages None National language Spanish Regional languages Guarani in Corrientes; Qom, Mocov�� and Wich�� in Chaco Religion 77.1% Roman Catholicism 10.8% Protestant 10.1% Non-religious 2.6% Other Demonym Argentine Argentinian Argentinean (uncommon) Government Federal presidential constitutional republic ��� President Mauricio Macri ��� Vice President Gabriela Michetti Legislature Congress ��� Upper house Senate ��� Lower house Chamber of Deputies Independence from Spain ��� May Revolution 25 May 1810 ��� Declared 9 July 1816 ��� Constitution 1 May 1853 Area ��� Total 2,780,400 km2 (1,073,500 sq mi) (8th) ��� Water (%) 1.57 Population ��� 2016 estimate 43,847,430 ��� 2010 census 40,117,096 (32nd) ��� Density 14.4/km2 (37.3/sq mi) (214th) GDP (PPP) 2018 estimate ��� Total $959.528 billion (25th) ��� Per capita $21,528 (56th) GDP (nominal) 2018 estimate ��� Total $625.921 billion (21st) ��� Per capita $14,043 (53rd) Gini (2014) Negative increase 42.7 medium HDI (2015) Increase 0.827 very high �� 45th Currency Peso ($) (ARS) Time zone ART (UTC���3) Date format dd.mm.yyyy (CE) Drives on the right Calling code +54 ISO 3166 code AR Internet TLD .ar ^ Though not declared official de jure, the Spanish language is the only one used in the wording of laws, decrees, resolutions, official documents and public acts. ^ Trains driven on left. Argentina (/������rd����n��ti��n��/ (About this sound listen); Spanish: ), officially the Argentine Republic (Spanish: Rep��blica Argentina), is a federal republic located mostly in the southern half of South America. Sharing the bulk of the Southern Cone with its neighbor Chile to the west, the country is also bordered by Bolivia and Paraguay to the north, Brazil to the northeast, Uruguay and the South Atlantic Ocean to the east, and the Drake Passage to the south. With a mainland area of 2,780,400 km2 (1,073,500 sq mi), Argentina is the eighth-largest country in the world, the second largest in Latin America, and the largest Spanish-speaking nation. It is subdivided into twenty-three provinces (Spanish: provincias, singular provincia) and one autonomous city (ciudad aut��noma), Buenos Aires, which is the federal capital of the nation (Spanish: Capital Federal) as decided by Congress. The provinces and the capital have their own constitutions, but exist under a federal system. Argentina claims sovereignty over part of Antarctica, the Falkland Islands (Spanish: Islas Malvinas), and South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands. The earliest recorded human presence in the area of modern-day Argentina dates back to the Paleolithic period. The country has its roots in Spanish colonization of the region during the 16th century. Argentina rose as the successor state of the Viceroyalty of the R��o de la Plata, a Spanish overseas viceroyalty founded in 1776. The declaration and fight for independence (1810���1818) was followed by an extended civil war that lasted until 1861, culminating in the country's reorganization as a federation of provinces with Buenos Aires as its capital city. The country thereafter enjoyed relative peace and stability, with massive waves of European immigration radically reshaping its cultural and demographic outlook. The almost-unparalleled increase in prosperity led to Argentina becoming the seventh wealthiest developed nation in the world by the early 20th century. After 1930, Argentina descended into political instability and periodic economic crises that pushed it back into underdevelopment, though it nevertheless remained among the fifteen richest countries until the mid-20th century. In 1976 a U.S.-backed coup occurred which forced Isabel Mart��nez de Per��n from power and installed a right-wing military dictatorship under Jorge Rafael Videla known as the National Reorganization Process, which lasted until the transition to democracy in 1983; the military government persecuted and murdered numerous political critics, activists, and leftists in the Dirty War, a period of state terrorism which lasted until the junta's dissolution. Public dissent and anger over the dictatorship's repressions led to a transition to democracy in 1983 when Ra��l Alfons��n was elected President; several of the junta's leaders were later convicted of their crimes and sentenced to imprisonment. Argentina retains its historic status as a middle power in international affairs, and is a prominent regional power in the Southern Cone and Latin America. Argentina has the second largest economy in South America, the third-largest in Latin America and is a member of the G-15 and G-20 major economies. It is also a founding member of the United Nations, World Bank, World Trade Organization, Mercosur, Union of South American Nations, Community of Latin American and Caribbean States and the Organization of Ibero-American States. It is the country with the second highest Human Development Index in Latin America with a rating of "very high". Because of its stability, market size and growing high-tech sector, Argentina is classified as an upper-middle-income economy in the 2018 fiscal year. Contents 1 Name and etymology 2 History 2.1 Pre-Columbian era 2.2 Colonial era 2.3 Independence and civil wars 2.4 Rise of the modern nation 2.5 Infamous Decade 2.6 Peronist years 2.7 Military dictatorship and the Dirty War 2.8 20th���21st centuries, Kirchner era 3 Geography 3.1 Regions 3.2 Biodiversity 3.3 Climate 4 Politics 4.1 Government 4.2 Provinces 4.3 Foreign relations 4.4 Armed forces 5 Economy 5.1 Industry 5.2 Transport 5.3 Media and communications 5.4 Science and technology 5.5 Tourism 6 Demographics 6.1 Ethnography 6.2 Languages 6.3 Religion 6.4 Urbanization 6.5 Education 6.6 Health care 7 Culture 7.1 Literature 7.2 Music 7.3 Theatre 7.4 Cinema 7.5 Visual arts 7.6 Architecture 7.7 Sport 7.8 Cuisine 7.9 National symbols 8 See also 9 Notes 10 References 11 Bibliography 12 External links Name and etymology The description of the country by the word Argentina has been found on a Venice map in 1536. In English the name "Argentina" comes from the Spanish language, however the naming itself is not Spanish, but Italian. Argentina (masculine argentino) means in Italian "(made) of silver, silver coloured", probably borrowed from the Old French adjective argentine "(made) of silver" > "silver coloured" already mentioned in the 12th century. The French word argentine is the feminine form of argentin and derives from argent "silver" with the suffix -in (same construction as Old French acerin "(made) of steel", from acier "steel" + -in or sapin "(made) of fir wood", from OF sap "fir" + -in). The Italian naming "Argentina" for the country implies Terra Argentina "land of silver" or Costa Argentina "coast of silver". In Italian, the adjective or the proper noun is often used in an autonomous way as a substantive and replaces it and it is said l'Argentina. The name Argentina was probably first given by the Venetian and Genoese navigators, such as Giovanni Caboto. In Spanish and Portuguese, the words for "silver" are respectively plata and prata and "(made) of silver" is said plateado and prateado. Argentina was first associated with the silver mountains legend, widespread among the first European explorers of the La Plata Basin. The first written use of the name in Spanish can be traced to La Argentina, a 1602 poem by Mart��n del Barco Centenera describing the region. Although "Argentina" was already in common usage by the 18th century, the country was formally named "Viceroyalty of the R��o de la Plata" by the Spanish Empire, and "United Provinces of the R��o de la Plata" after independence. The 1826 constitution included the first use of the name "Argentine Republic" in legal documents. The name "Argentine Confederation" was also commonly used and was formalized in the Argentine Constitution of 1853. In 1860 a presidential decree settled the country's name as "Argentine Republic", and that year's constitutional amendment ruled all the names since 1810 as legally valid. In the English language the country was traditionally called "the Argentine", mimicking the typical Spanish usage la Argentina and perhaps resulting from a mistaken shortening of the fuller name 'Argentine Republic'. 'The Argentine' fell out of fashion during the mid-to-late 20th century, and now the country is simply referred to as "Argentina". In the Spanish language "Argentina" is feminine ("La Argentina"), taking the feminine article "La" as the initial syllable of "Argentina" is unstressed. History Main article: History of Argentina Pre-Columbian era Main article: Indigenous peoples in Argentina Stencilled hands on the cave's wall The Cave of the Hands in Santa Cruz province, with indigenous artwork dating from 13,000���9,000 years ago The earliest traces of human life in the area now known as Argentina are dated from the Paleolithic period, with further traces in the Mesolithic and Neolithic. Until the period of European colonization, Argentina was relatively sparsely populated by a wide number of diverse cultures with different social organizations, which can be divided into three main groups. The first group are basic hunters and food gatherers without development of pottery, such as the Selknam and Yaghan in the extreme south. The second group are advanced hunters and food gatherers which include the Puelche, Querand�� and Serranos in the center-east; and the Tehuelche in the south���all of them conquered by the Mapuche spreading from Chile���and the Kom and Wichi in the north. The last group are farmers with pottery, like the Charr��a, Minuane and Guaran�� in the northeast, with slash and burn semisedentary existence; the advanced Diaguita sedentary trading culture in the northwest, which was conquered by the Inca Empire around 1480; the Toconot�� and H��n��a and K��m��are in the country's center, and the Huarpe in the center-west, a culture that raised llama cattle and was strongly influenced by the Incas. Colonial era Main article: Colonial Argentina See also: Spanish colonization of the Americas Painting showing the surrender during the British invasions of the R��o de la Plata. The surrender of Beresford to Santiago de Liniers during the British invasions of the R��o de la Plata Europeans first arrived in the region with the 1502 voyage of Amerigo Vespucci. The Spanish navigators Juan D��az de Sol��s and Sebastian Cabot visited the territory that is now Argentina in 1516 and 1526, respectively. In 1536 Pedro de Mendoza founded the small settlement of Buenos Aires, which was abandoned in 1541. Further colonization efforts came from Paraguay���establishing the Governorate of the R��o de la Plata���Peru and Chile. Francisco de Aguirre founded Santiago del Estero in 1553. Londres was founded in 1558; Mendoza, in 1561; San Juan, in 1562; San Miguel de Tucum��n, in 1565. Juan de Garay founded Santa Fe in 1573 and the same year Jer��nimo Luis de Cabrera set up C��rdoba. Garay went further south to re-found Buenos Aires in 1580. San Luis was established in 1596. The Spanish Empire subordinated the economic potential of the Argentine territory to the immediate wealth of the silver and gold mines in Bolivia and Peru, and as such it became part of the Viceroyalty of Peru until the creation of the Viceroyalty of the R��o de la Plata in 1776 with Buenos Aires as its capital. Buenos Aires repelled two ill-fated British invasions in 1806 and 1807. The ideas of the Age of Enlightenment and the example of the first Atlantic Revolutions generated criticism of the absolutist monarchy that ruled the country. As in the rest of Spanish America, the overthrow of Ferdinand VII during the Peninsular War created great concern. Independence and civil wars Main articles: Argentine War of Independence and Argentine Civil Wars Painting of San Mart��n holding the Argentine flag Portrait of General Jos�� de San Martin, Libertador of Argentina, Chile and Peru Beginning a process from which Argentina was to emerge as successor state to the Viceroyalty, the 1810 May Revolution replaced the viceroy Baltasar Hidalgo de Cisneros with the First Junta, a new government in Buenos Aires composed by locals. In the first clashes of the Independence War the Junta crushed a royalist counter-revolution in C��rdoba, but failed to overcome those of the Banda Oriental, Upper Peru and Paraguay, which later became independent states. Revolutionaries split into two antagonist groups: the Centralists and the Federalists���a move that would define Argentina's first decades of independence. The Assembly of the Year XIII appointed Gervasio Antonio de Posadas as Argentina's first Supreme Director. In 1816 the Congress of Tucum��n formalized the Declaration of Independence. One year later General Mart��n Miguel de G��emes stopped royalists on the north, and General Jos�� de San Mart��n took an army across the Andes and secured the independence of Chile; then he led the fight to the Spanish stronghold of Lima and proclaimed the independence of Peru. In 1819 Buenos Aires enacted a centralist constitution that was soon abrogated by federalists. The 1820 Battle of Cepeda, fought between the Centralists and the Federalists, resulted in the end of the Supreme Director rule. In 1826 Buenos Aires enacted another centralist constitution, with Bernardino Rivadavia being appointed as the first president of the country. However, the interior provinces soon rose against him, forced his resignation and discarded the constitution. Centralists and Federalists resumed the civil war; the latter prevailed and formed the Argentine Confederation in 1831, led by Juan Manuel de Rosas. During his regime he faced a French blockade (1838���1840), the War of the Confederation (1836���1839), and a combined Anglo-French blockade (1845���1850), but remained undefeated and prevented further loss of national territory. His trade restriction policies, however, angered the interior provinces and in 1852 Justo Jos�� de Urquiza, another powerful caudillo, beat him out of power. As new president of the Confederation, Urquiza enacted the liberal and federal 1853 Constitution. Buenos Aires seceded but was forced back into the Confederation after being defeated in the 1859 Battle of Cepeda. Rise of the modern nation Main articles: List of Presidents of Argentina and Generation of '80 See also: Argentine���Chilean naval arms race and South American dreadnought race People gathered in front of the Buenos Aires Cabildo during the May Revolution Overpowering Urquiza in the 1861 Battle of Pav��n, Bartolom�� Mitre secured Buenos Aires predominance and was elected as the first president of the reunified country. He was followed by Domingo Faustino Sarmiento and Nicol��s Avellaneda; these three presidencies set up the bases of the modern Argentine State. The Argentina Centennial was celebrated on 25 May 1910. Starting with Julio Argentino Roca in 1880, ten consecutive federal governments emphasized liberal economic policies. The massive wave of European immigration they promoted���second only to the United States'���led to a near-reinvention of Argentine society and economy that by 1908 had placed the country as the seventh wealthiest developed nation in the world. Driven by this immigration wave and decreasing mortality, the Argentine population grew fivefold and the economy 15-fold: from 1870 to 1910 Argentina's wheat exports went from 100,000 to 2,500,000 t (110,000 to 2,760,000 short tons) per year, while frozen beef exports increased from 25,000 to 365,000 t (28,000 to 402,000 short tons) per year, placing Argentina as one of the world's top five exporters. Its railway mileage rose from 503 to 31,104 km (313 to 19,327 mi). Fostered by a new public, compulsory, free and secular education system, literacy skyrocketed from 22% to 65%, a level higher than most Latin American nations would reach even fifty years later. Furthermore, real GDP grew so fast that despite the huge immigration influx, per capita income between 1862 and 1920 went from 67% of developed country levels to 100%: In 1865, Argentina was already one of the top 25 nations by per capita income. By 1908, it had surpassed Denmark, Canada and The Netherlands to reach 7th place���behind Switzerland, New Zealand, Australia, the United States, the United Kingdom and Belgium. Argentina's per capita income was 70% higher than Italy's, 90% higher than Spain's, 180% higher than Japan's and 400% higher than Brazil's. Despite these unique achievements, the country was slow to meet its original goals of industrialization: after steep development of capital-intensive local industries in the 1920s, a significant part of the manufacture sector remained labor-intensive in the 1930s. In 1912, President Roque S��enz Pe��a enacted universal and secret male suffrage, which allowed Hip��lito Yrigoyen, leader of the Radical Civic Union (or UCR), to win the 1916 election. He enacted social and economic reforms and extended assistance to small farms and businesses. Argentina stayed neutral during World War I. The second administration of Yrigoyen faced an economic crisis, precipitated by the Great Depression. Infamous Decade Main article: Infamous Decade In 1930, Yrigoyen was ousted from power by the military led by Jos�� F��lix Uriburu. Although Argentina remained among the fifteen richest countries until mid-century, this coup d'��tat marks the start of the steady economic and social decline that pushed the country back into underdevelopment. Official presidential portrait of Juan Domingo Per��n and his wife Eva Per��n, 1948 Uriburu ruled for two years; then Agust��n Pedro Justo was elected in a fraudulent election, 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. The minister of welfare, Juan Domingo Per��n, was fired and jailed because of his high popularity among workers. His liberation was forced by a massive popular demonstration, and he went on to win the 1946 election. Peronist years Main article: Peronism Per��n created a political movement known as Peronism. 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 Per��n, played a central political role. She pushed Congress to enact women's suffrage in 1947, and developed an unprecedented social assistance to the most vulnerable sectors of society. However, her declining health did not allow her to run for the vice-presidency in 1951, and she died of cancer the following year. Per��n was reelected in 1951, surpassing even his 1946 performance. 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; nevertheless, Peronists kept an organized underground. Arturo Frondizi from the UCR won the following elections. He encouraged investment to achieve energetic and industrial self-sufficiency, reversed a chronic trade deficit and lifted Peronism proscription; yet his efforts to stay on good terms with Peronists and the military earned him the rejection of both and a new coup forced him out. But Senate Chief Jos�� Mar��a Guido reacted swiftly and applied the anti-power vacuum legislation, becoming president instead; elections were repealed and Peronism proscribed again. Arturo Illia was elected in 1963 and led to an overall increase in prosperity; however his attempts to legalize Peronism resulted in his overthrow in 1966 by the Juan Carlos Ongan��a-led coup d'��tat called the Argentine Revolution, creating a new military government that sought to rule indefinitely. Military dictatorship and the Dirty War Main article: Dirty War The "Dirty War" (Spanish: Guerra Sucia) was part of Operation Condor, originally planned by the CIA, and for which the United States government provided technical support and supplied military aid to during the Johnson, Nixon, Ford, Carter, and Reagan administrations. The Dirty War involved state terrorism in Argentina and elsewhere in the Southern Cone against political dissidents, with military and security forces employing urban and rural violence against left-wing guerrillas, political dissidents, and anyone believed to be associated with socialism or somehow contrary to the neoliberal economic policies of the regime. Victims of the state terrorism included an estimated 15,000 to 30,000 victims, included left-wing activists and militants, trade unionists, students, journalists, Marxists, Peronist guerrillas and alleged sympathizers. The guerrillas, whose number of victims are nearly 500���540 between military and police officials and up to 230 civilians were already inactive in 1976, so instead of a war the actual situation was a genocide practiced by the Junta over the civilian population. Ra��l Alfons��n, first democratically elected president following the military government Declassified documents of the Chilean secret police cite an official estimate by the Batall��n de Inteligencia 601 of 22,000 killed or "disappeared" between 1975 and mid-1978. During this period, in which it was later revealed 8,625 "disappeared" in the form of PEN (Poder Ejecutivo Nacional, anglicized as "National Executive Power") detainees who were held in clandestine detention camps throughout Argentina before eventually being freed under diplomatic pressure. The number of people believed to have been killed or "disappeared", depending on the source, range from 9,089 to 30,000 in the period from 1976 to 1983, when the military was forced from power following Argentina's defeat in the Falklands War. The National Commission on the Disappearance of Persons estimates that around 13,000 were disappeared. After democratic government was restored, Congress passed legislation to provide compensation to victims' families. Some 11,000 Argentines have applied to the relevant authorities and received up to US $200,000 each as monetary compensation for the loss of loved ones during the military dictatorship. The exact chronology of the repression is still debated, however, as in some senses the long political war started in 1969. Trade unionists were targeted for assassination by the Peronist and Marxist paramilitaries as early as 1969, and individual cases of state-sponsored terrorism against Peronism and the left can be traced back to the Bombing of Plaza de Mayo in 1955. The Trelew massacre of 1972, the actions of the Argentine Anticommunist Alliance since 1973, and Isabel Mart��nez de Per��n's "annihilation decrees" against left-wing guerrillas during Operativo Independencia (translates to Operation of Independence) in 1975, have also been suggested as dates for the beginning of the Dirty War. Ongan��a shut down Congress, banned all political parties and dismantled student and worker unions. In 1969, popular discontent led to two massive protests: the Cordobazo and the Rosariazo. The terrorist guerrilla organization Montoneros kidnapped and executed Aramburu. The newly chosen head of government, Alejandro Agust��n Lanusse, seeking to ease the growing political pressure, let H��ctor Jos�� C��mpora be the Peronist candidate instead of Per��n. C��mpora won the March 1973 election, issued a pardon for condemned guerrilla members and then secured Per��n's return from his exile in Spain. On the day Per��n returned to Argentina, the clash between Peronist internal factions���right-wing union leaders and left-wing youth from Montoneros���resulted in the Ezeiza Massacre. C��mpora resigned, overwhelmed by political violence, and Per��n won the September 1973 election with his third wife Isabel as vice-president. He expelled Montoneros from the party and they became once again a clandestine organization. Jos�� L��pez Rega organized the Argentine Anticommunist Alliance (AAA) to fight against them and the People's Revolutionary Army (ERP). Per��n died in July 1974 and was succeeded by his wife, who signed a secret decree empowering the military and the police to "annihilate" the left-wing subversion, stopping ERP's attempt to start a rural insurgence in Tucum��n province. Isabel Per��n was ousted one year later by a junta of the three armed forces, led by army general Jorge Rafael Videla. They initiated the National Reorganization Process, often shortened to Proceso. The Proceso shut down Congress, removed the judges of the Supreme Court, banned political parties and unions, and resorted to the forced disappearance of suspected guerrilla members and of anyone believed to be associated with the left-wing. By the end of 1976 Montoneros had lost near 2,000 members; by 1977, the ERP was completely defeated. A severely weakened Montoneros launched a counterattack in 1979, which was quickly annihilated, ending the guerrilla threat. Nevertheless, the junta stayed in power. Then head of state General Leopoldo Galtieri launched Operation Rosario, which escalated into the Falklands War (Spanish: Guerra de Malvinas); within two months Argentina was defeated by the United Kingdom. Reynaldo Bignone replaced Galtieri and began to organize the transition to democratic rule. 20th���21st centuries, Kirchner era Main articles: Argentine economic crisis (1999���2002) and Kirchnerism Photograph of Cristina Kirchner. Cristina Fern��ndez and N��stor Kirchner occupied the presidency of Argentina for 12 years, him from 2003 to 2007 and her from 2007 to 2015. Ra��l Alfons��n won the 1983 elections campaigning for the prosecution of those responsible for human rights violations during the Proceso: the Trial of the Juntas and other martial courts sentenced all the coup's leaders but, under military pressure, he also enacted the Full Stop and Due Obedience laws, which halted prosecutions further down the chain of command. The worsening economic crisis and hyperinflation reduced his popular support and the Peronist Carlos Menem won the 1989 election. Soon after, riots forced Alfons��n to an early resignation. Menem embraced neo-liberal policies: a fixed exchange rate, business deregulation, privatizations and dismantling of protectionist barriers normalized the economy for a while. He pardoned the officers who had been sentenced during Alfons��n's government. 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; led by Fernando de la R��a, the UCR returned to the presidency in the 1999 elections. Mauricio Macri, incumbent President of Argentina De la R��a kept Menem's economic plan despite the worsening crisis, which led to growing social discontent. A massive capital flight was responded to with a freezing of bank accounts, generating further turmoil. The December 2001 riots forced him to resign. Congress appointed Eduardo Duhalde as acting president, who abrogated the fixed exchange rate established by Menem, causing many Argentinians to lose a significant portion of their savings. By the late 2002 the economic crisis began to recede, but the assassination of two piqueteros by the police caused political commotion, prompting Duhalde to move elections forward. N��stor Kirchner was elected as the new president. Boosting the neo-Keynesian economic policies laid by Duhalde, 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, purged the military of officers with doubtful human rights records, nullified and voided the Full Stop and Due Obedience laws, ruled them as unconstitutional, and resumed legal prosecution of the Juntas' crimes. He did not run for reelection, promoting instead the candidacy of his wife, senator Cristina Fern��ndez de Kirchner, who was elected in 2007 and reelected in 2011. Fern��ndez de Kirchner's administration oversaw a positive foreign policy with good relations with other South American nations; however, relations between the United States and United Kingdom remained heavily strained. Jorge Rafael Videla, who had led the repression during the Dirty War, was sentenced to life in a civilian prison in 2010 under de Kirchner's administration; he later died in prison in 2013. On 22 November 2015, after a tie in the first round of presidential elections on 25 October, Mauricio Macri won the first ballotage in Argentina's history, beating Front for Victory candidate Daniel Scioli and becoming president-elect. Macri is the first democratically elected non-radical or peronist president since 1916. He took office on 10 December 2015. In April 2016, the Macri Government introduced austerity measures intended to tackle inflation and public deficits. Geography Main article: Geography of Argentina Aconcagua is the highest mountain outside of Asia, at 6,960.8 metres (22,837 ft), and the highest point in the Southern Hemisphere. With a mainland surface area of 2,780,400 km2 (1,073,518 sq mi), Argentina is located in southern South America, sharing land borders with Chile across the Andes to the west; Bolivia and Paraguay to the north; Brazil to the northeast, Uruguay and the South Atlantic Ocean to the east; and the Drake Passage to the south; for an overall land border length of 9,376 km (5,826 mi). Its coastal border over the R��o de la Plata and South Atlantic Ocean is 5,117 km (3,180 mi) long. Argentina's highest point is Aconcagua in the Mendoza province (6,959 m (22,831 ft) above sea level), also the highest point in the Southern and Western Hemispheres. The lowest point is Laguna del Carb��n in the San Juli��n Great Depression Santa Cruz province (���105 m (���344 ft) below sea level, also the lowest point in the Southern and Western Hemispheres, and the seventh lowest point on Earth) The northernmost point is at the confluence of the Grande de San Juan and R��o Mojinete rivers in Jujuy province; the southernmost is Cape San P��o in Tierra del Fuego province; the easternmost is northeast of Bernardo de Irigoyen, Misiones and the westernmost is within Los Glaciares National Park in Santa Cruz province. The maximum north���south distance is 3,694 km (2,295 mi), while the maximum east���west one is 1,423 km (884 mi). Some of the major rivers are the Paran��, Uruguay���which join to form the R��o de la Plata, Paraguay, Salado, Negro, Santa Cruz, Pilcomayo, Bermejo and Colorado. These rivers are discharged into the Argentine Sea, the shallow area of the Atlantic Ocean over the Argentine Shelf, an unusually wide continental platform. Its waters are influenced by two major ocean currents: the warm Brazil Current and the cold Falklands Current. Regions Main article: Regions of Argentina Argentina is divided into seven geographical regions: Northwest, a continuation of the high Puna with even higher, more rugged topography to the far-west; the arid precordillera, filled with narrow valleys or quebradas to the mid-west; and an extension of the mountainous Yungas jungles to the east. Mesopotamia, a subtropical wedge covering the western Paran�� Plateau and neighboring lowlands enclosed by the Paran�� and Uruguay rivers. Gran Chaco, a large, subtropical and tropical low-lying, gently sloping alluvial plain between Mesopotamia and the Andes. Sierras Pampeanas, a series of medium-height mountain chains located in the center. Cuyo, a basin and range area in the central Andes piedmont, to the west. Pampas, a massive and hugely fertile alluvial plain located in the center east. Patagonia, a large southern plateau consisting mostly of arid, rocky steppes to the east; with moister cold grasslands to the south and dense subantarctic forests to the west. Biodiversity Main article: Environment of Argentina Puna Flamenco, typical of the Northwest region of Puna High precipitation along with cold temperatures in the west form permanent snowfields such as the Perito Moreno Glacier Argentina is a megadiverse country hosting one of the greatest ecosystem varieties in the world: 15 continental zones, 3 oceanic zones, and the Antarctic region are all represented in its territory. This huge ecosystem variety has led to a biological diversity that is among the world's largest: 9,372 cataloged vascular plant species (ranked 24th) 1,038 cataloged bird species (ranked 14th) 375 cataloged mammal species (ranked 12th) 338 cataloged reptilian species (ranked 16th) 162 cataloged amphibian species (ranked 19th) Climate Main articles: Climate of Argentina and Climatic regions of Argentina Although the most populated areas are generally temperate, Argentina has an exceptional amount of climate diversity, ranging from subtropical in the north to polar in the far south. The average annual precipitation ranges from 150 millimetres (6 in) in the driest parts of Patagonia to over 2,000 millimetres (79 in) in the westernmost parts of Patagonia and the northeastern parts of the country. Mean annual temperatures range from 5 ��C (41 ��F) in the far south to 25 ��C (77 ��F) in the north. Major wind currents 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 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 central coast and in the R��o de la Plata estuary. The Zonda, a hot dry wind, affects Cuyo and the central Pampas. Squeezed of all moisture during the 6,000 m (19,685 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; between June and November, when the Zonda blows, snowstorms and blizzard (viento blanco) conditions usually affect higher elevations. Politics Main article: Politics of Argentina Government Main articles: Government of Argentina and Ministries of the Argentine Republic Casa Rosada, workplace of the President Argentina is a federal constitutional republic and representative democracy. The government is regulated by a system of checks and balances defined by the Constitution of Argentina, the country's supreme legal document. The seat of government is the city of Buenos Aires, as designated by Congress. Suffrage is universal, equal, secret and mandatory. The federal government is composed of three branches: The Legislative branch consists of the bicameral Congress, made up of the Senate and Deputy chambers, which makes federal law, declares war, approves treaties and has the power of the purse and of impeachment, by which it can remove sitting members of the government. The Chamber of Deputies represents the people and has 257 voting members elected to a four-year term. Seats are apportioned among the provinces by population every tenth year. As of 2014 ten provinces have just five deputies while the Buenos Aires Province, being the most populous one, has 70. The Chamber of Senators represents the provinces, has 72 members elected at-large to six-year terms, with each province having three seats; one third of Senate seats are up for election every other year. At least one-third of the candidates presented by the parties must be women. In the Executive branch, the President is the commander-in-chief of the military, can veto legislative bills before they become law���subject to Congressional override���and appoints the members of the Cabinet and other officers, who administer and enforce federal laws and policies. The President is elected directly by the vote of the people, serves a four-year term and may be elected to office no more than twice in a row. The Judicial branch includes the Supreme Court and lower federal courts interpret laws and overturn those they find unconstitutional. The Judicial is independent of the Executive and the Legislative. The Supreme Court has seven members appointed by the President���subject to Senate approval���who serve for life. The lower courts' judges are proposed by the Council of Magistrates (a secretariat composed of representatives of judges, lawyers, researchers, the Executive and the Legislative), and appointed by the President on Senate approval. The Palace of the Argentine National Congress, seat of the National Congress composed of the Senate and the Chamber of Deputies. Provinces Main article: Provinces of Argentina See also: List of Argentine provinces by population Provinces of Argentina. Click to explore. About this image Argentina is a federation of twenty-three provinces and one autonomous city, Buenos Aires. Provinces are divided for administration purposes into departments and municipalities, except for Buenos Aires Province, which is divided into partidos. The City of Buenos Aires is divided into communes. Provinces hold all the power that they chose not to delegate to the federal government; they must be representative republics and must not contradict the Constitution. Beyond this they are fully autonomous: they enact their own constitutions, freely organize their local governments, and own and manage their natural and financial resources. Some provinces have bicameral legislatures, while others have unicameral ones. During the War of Independence the main cities and their surrounding countrysides became provinces though the intervention of their cabildos. The Anarchy of the Year XX completed this process, shaping the original thirteen provinces. Jujuy seceded from Salta in 1834, and the thirteen provinces became fourteen. After seceding for a decade, Buenos Aires accepted the 1853 Constitution of Argentina in 1861, and was made a federal territory in 1880. An 1862 law designated as national territories those under federal control but outside the frontiers of the provinces. In 1884 they served as bases for the establishment of the governorates of Misiones, Formosa, Chaco, La Pampa, Neuqu��n, R��o Negro, Chubut, Santa Cruz and Tierra del Fuego. The agreement about a frontier dispute with Chile in 1900 created the National Territory of Los Andes; its lands were incorporated into Jujuy, Salta and Catamarca in 1943. La Pampa and Chaco became provinces in 1951. Misiones did so in 1953, and Formosa, Neuqu��n, R��o Negro, Chubut and Santa Cruz, in 1955. The last national territory, Tierra del Fuego, became the Tierra del Fuego, Ant��rtida e Islas del Atl��ntico Sur Province in 1990. Foreign relations Main article: Foreign relations of Argentina Presidents all standing together. Argentina is one of G-20 major economies. Foreign policy is officially handled by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, International Trade and Worship, which answers to the President. An 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-20 major economies of the world, and a founding member of the UN, WBG, WTO and OAS. In 2012 Argentina was elected again to a two-year non-permanent position on the United Nations Security Council and is participating in major peacekeeping operations in Haiti, Cyprus, Western Sahara and the Middle East. A prominent Latin American and Southern Cone regional power, Argentina co-founded OEI, CELAC and UNASUR, of which the former president N��stor Kirchner was first Secretary General. It is also a founding member of the Mercosur block, having Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay and Venezuela as partners. Since 2002 the country has emphasized its key role in Latin American integration, and the block���which has some supranational legislative functions���is its first international priority. Argentina claims 965,597 km2 (372,819 sq mi) in Antarctica, where it has the world's oldest continuous state presence, since 1904. This overlaps claims by Chile and the United Kingdom, though all such claims fall under the provisions of the 1961 Antarctic Treaty, of which Argentina is a founding signatory and permanent consulting member, with the Antarctic Treaty Secretariat being based in Buenos Aires. Argentina disputes sovereignty over the Falkland Islands (Spanish: Islas Malvinas), and South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, which are administered by the United Kingdom as Overseas Territories. Armed forces Main article: Armed Forces of the Argentine Republic Argentine Army The President holds the title of commander-in-chief of the Argentine Armed Forces, as part of a legal framework that imposes a strict separation between national defense and internal security systems: The National Defense System, an exclusive responsibility of the federal government, coordinated by the Ministry of Defense, and comprising the Army, the Navy and the Air Force. Ruled and monitored by Congress through the Houses' Defense Committees, it is organized on the essential principle of legitimate self-defense: the repelling of any external military aggression in order to guarantee freedom of the people, national sovereignty, and territorial integrity. Its secondary missions include committing to multinational operations within the framework of the United Nations, participating in internal support missions, assisting friendly countries, and establishing a sub-regional defense system. Argentine destroyer ARA Almirante Brown (D-10) 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. The Interior Security System, jointly administered by the federal and subscribing provincial governments. At the federal level it is coordinated by the Interior, Security and Justice ministries, and monitored by Congress. It is enforced by the Federal Police; the Prefecture, which fulfills coast guard duties; the Gendarmerie, which serves border guard tasks; and the Airport Security Police. At the provincial level it is coordinated by the respective internal security ministries and enforced by local police agencies. Argentina was the only South American country to send warships and cargo planes in 1991 to the Gulf War under UN mandate and has remained involved in peacekeeping efforts in multiple locations like UNPROFOR in Croatia/Bosnia, Gulf of Fonseca, UNFICYP in Cyprus (where among Army and Marines troops the Air Force provided the UN Air contingent since 1994) and MINUSTAH in Haiti. Argentina is the only Latin American country to maintain troops in Kosovo during SFOR (and later EUFOR) operations where combat engineers of the Argentine Armed Forces are embedded in an Italian brigade. In 2007, an Argentine contingent including helicopters, boats and water purification plants was sent to help Bolivia against their worst floods in decades. In 2010 the Armed Forces were also involved in Haiti and Chile humanitarian responses after their respective earthquakes. Economy Main article: Economy of Argentina See also: Argentine foreign trade Large city skyline. Buenos Aires is the second largest city in South America. It is one of the only three "Alpha -" cities in South America. and it's the most visited city in South America. It is also the 13th richest city in the world. It has the highest per capita income in the Southern Cone. Field Argentine agriculture is relatively capital intensive, today providing about 7% of all employment. Benefiting from rich natural resources, a highly literate population, a diversified industrial base, and an export-oriented agricultural sector, the economy of Argentina is Latin America's third-largest, and the second largest in South America. It has a "very high" rating on the Human Development Index and a relatively high GDP per capita, with a considerable internal market size and a growing share of the high-tech sector. Oil driller. YPF petroleum perforation in General Roca, Rio Negro Province A middle emerging economy and one of the world's top developing nations, Argentina is a member of the G-20 major economies. Historically, however, its economic performance has been very uneven, with high economic growth alternating with severe recessions, income maldistribution and���in the recent decades���increasing poverty. Early in the 20th century Argentina achieved development, and became the world's seventh richest country. Although managing to keep a place among the top fifteen economies until mid-century, it suffered a long and steady decline and now it's just an upper middle-income country. High inflation���a weakness of the Argentine economy for decades���has become a trouble once again, with an annual rate of 24.8% in 2017. Income distribution, having improved since 2002, is classified as "medium", still considerably unequal. Argentina ranks 85th out of 180 countries in the Transparency International's 2017 Corruption Perceptions Index, an improvement of 22 positions over its 2014 rankings. Argentina settled its long-standing debt default crisis in 2016 with the so-called Vulture funds after the election of Mauricio Macri, allowing Argentina to enter capital markets for the first time in a decade. Industry Main article: Industry in Argentina Atucha Nuclear Power Plant was the first nuclear power plant in Latin America. The electricity comes from 3 operational nuclear reactors: The Embalse Nuclear Power Station, the Atucha I and II. In 2012 manufacturing accounted for 20.3% of GDP���the largest goods-producing sector in the nation's economy. Well-integrated into Argentine agriculture, half of the industrial exports have rural origin. With a 6.5% production growth rate in 2011, the diversified manufacturing sector rests on a steadily growing network of industrial parks (314 as of 2013) In 2012 the leading sectors by volume were: food processing, beverages and tobacco products; motor vehicles and auto parts; textiles and leather; refinery products and biodiesel; chemicals and pharmaceuticals; steel, aluminum and iron; industrial and farm machinery; home appliances and furniture; plastics and tires; glass and cement; and recording and print media. In addition, Argentina has since long been one of the top five wine-producing countries in the world. However, it has also been classified as one of the 74 countries where instances of child labor and forced labor have been observed and mentioned in a 2014 report published by the Bureau of International Labor Affairs. The ILAB's List of Goods Produced by Child Labor or Forced Labor shows that many of the goods produced by child labor and/or forced labor comes from the agricultural sector. C��rdoba is Argentina's major industrial center, hosting metalworking, motor vehicle and auto parts manufactures. Next in importance are the Greater Buenos Aires area (food processing, metallurgy, motor vehicles and auto parts, chemicals and petrochemicals, consumer durables, textiles and printing); Rosario (food processing, metallurgy, farm machinery, oil refining, chemicals, and tanning); San Miguel de Tucum��n (sugar refining); San Lorenzo (chemicals and pharmaceuticals); San Nicol��s de los Arroyos (steel milling and metallurgy); and Ushuaia and Bah��a Blanca (oil refining).[unreliable source?] Other manufacturing enterprises are located in the provinces of Santa Fe (zinc and copper smelting, and flour milling); Mendoza and Neuqu��n (wineries and fruit processing); Chaco (textiles and sawmills); and Santa Cruz, Salta and Chubut (oil refining).[unreliable source?] The electric output of Argentina in 2009 totaled over 122 TWh (440 PJ), of which about 37% was consumed by industrial activities. Transport Main article: Transport in Argentina Ministro Pistarini International Airport opened in 1949. It was at the time of its inauguration, the largest airbase in the world. Argentina has the largest railway system in Latin America, with 36,966 km (22,970 mi) of operating lines in 2008, out of a full network of almost 48,000 km (29,826 mi). This system links all 23 provinces plus Buenos Aires City, and connects with all neighboring countries. There are four incompatible gauges in use; this forces virtually all interregional freight traffic to pass through Buenos Aires. The system has been in decline since the 1940s: regularly running up large budgetary deficits, by 1991 it was transporting 1,400 times less goods than it did in 1973. However, in recent years the system has experienced a greater degree of investment from the state, in both commuter rail lines and long distance lines, renewing rolling stock and infrastructure. In April 2015, by overwhelming majority the Argentine Senate passed a law which re-created Ferrocarriles Argentinos (2015), effectively re-nationalising the country's railways, a move which saw support from all major political parties on both sides of the political spectrum. Argentina rail passenger services (interactive map) Underground railway. Buenos Aires Underground, is the first underground railway in Latin America, the Southern Hemisphere and the Spanish speaking world. By 2004 Buenos Aires, all provincial capitals except Ushuaia, and all medium-sized towns were interconnected by 69,412 km (43,131 mi) of paved roads, out of a total road network of 231,374 km (143,769 mi). Most important cities are linked by a growing number of expressways, including Buenos Aires���La Plata, Rosario���C��rdoba, C��rdoba���Villa Carlos Paz, Villa Mercedes���Mendoza, National Route 14 General Jos�� Gervasio Artigas and Provincial Route 2 Juan Manuel Fangio, among others. Nevertheless, this road infrastructure is still inadequate and cannot handle the sharply growing demand caused by deterioration of the railway system. In 2012 there were about 11,000 km (6,835 mi) of waterways, mostly comprising the La Plata, Paran��, Paraguay and Uruguay rivers, with Buenos Aires, Z��rate, Campana, Rosario, San Lorenzo, Santa Fe, Barranqueras and San Nicolas de los Arroyos as the main fluvial ports. Some of the largest sea ports are La Plata���Ensenada, Bah��a Blanca, Mar del Plata, Quequ��n���Necochea, Comodoro Rivadavia, Puerto Deseado, Puerto Madryn, Ushuaia and San Antonio Oeste. Buenos Aires has historically been the most important port; however since the 1990s the Up-River port region has become dominant: stretching along 67 km (42 mi) of the Paran�� river shore in Santa Fe province, it includes 17 ports and in 2013 accounted for 50% of all exports. In 2013 there were 161 airports with paved runways out of more than a thousand. The Ezeiza International Airport, about 35 km (22 mi) from downtown Buenos Aires, is the largest in the country, followed by Cataratas del Iguaz�� in Misiones, and El Plumerillo in Mendoza. Aeroparque, in the city of Buenos Aires, is the most important domestic airport. Media and communications Main article: Communications in Argentina "Estudio Pais 24, the Program of the Argentines" in Channel 7, the first television station in the country Print media industry is highly developed in Argentina, with more than two hundred newspapers. The major national ones include Clar��n (centrist, Latin America's best-seller and the second most widely circulated in the Spanish-speaking world), La Naci��n (center-right, published since 1870), P��gina/12 (leftist, founded in 1987), the Buenos Aires Herald (Latin America's most prestigious English language daily, liberal, dating back to 1876), La Voz del Interior (center, founded in 1904), and the Argentinisches Tageblatt (German weekly, liberal, published since 1878) Argentina began the world's first regular radio broadcasting on 27 August 1920, when Richard Wagner's Parsifal was aired by a team of medical students led by Enrique Tel��maco Susini in Buenos Aires' Teatro Coliseo. By 2002 there were 260 AM and 1150 FM registered radio stations in the country. The Argentine television industry is large, diverse and popular across Latin America, with many productions and TV formats having been exported abroad. Since 1999 Argentines enjoy the highest availability of cable and satellite television in Latin America, as of 2014 totaling 87.4% of the country's households, a rate similar to those in the United States, Canada and Europe. By 2011 Argentina also had the highest coverage of networked telecommunications among Latin American powers: about 67% of its population had internet access and 137.2%, mobile phone subscriptions. Science and technology Main article: Science and technology in Argentina Satellite launching SAC-D is an Argentine earth science satellite built by INVAP and launched in 2011. Argentines have three Nobel Prizes laureates in the Sciences. Bernardo Houssay, the first Latin American among them, discovered the role of pituitary hormones in regulating glucose in animals. C��sar Milstein did extensive research in antibodies. Luis Leloir discovered how organisms store energy converting glucose into glycogen and the compounds which are fundamental in metabolizing carbohydrates. Argentine research has led to the treatment of heart diseases and several forms of cancer. Domingo Liotta designed and developed the first artificial heart successfully implanted in a human being in 1969. Ren�� Favaloro developed the techniques and performed the world's first ever coronary bypass surgery. Argentina's nuclear programme has been highly successful. In 1957 Argentina was the first country in Latin America to design and build a research reactor with homegrown technology, the RA-1 Enrico Fermi. This reliance in the development of own nuclear related technologies, instead of simply buying them abroad, was a constant of Argentina's nuclear programme conducted by the civilian National Atomic Energy Commission (CNEA). Nuclear facilities with Argentine technology have been built in Peru, Algeria, Australia and Egypt. In 1983, the country admitted having the capability of producing weapon-grade uranium, a major step needed to assemble nuclear weapons; since then, however, Argentina has pledged to use nuclear power only for peaceful purposes. As a member of the Board of Governors of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Argentina has been a strong voice in support of nuclear non-proliferation efforts and is highly committed to global nuclear security. In 1974 it was the first country in Latin America to put in-line a commercial nuclear power plant, Atucha I. Although the Argentine built parts for that station amounted to 10% of the total, the nuclear fuel it uses are since entirely built in the country. Later nuclear power stations employed a higher percentage of Argentine built components; Embalse, finished in 1983, a 30% and the 2011 Atucha II reactor a 40%. Team of astronauts President Macri in the INVAP with the SAOCOM A and B, two planned Earth observation satellite constellation of Argentine Space Agency CONAE. the scheduled launch dates for 1A and 1B were further pushed back to October 2017 and October 2018. Despite its modest budget and numerous setbacks, academics and the sciences in Argentina have enjoyed an international respect since the turn of the 1900s, when Dr. Luis Agote devised the first safe and effective means of blood transfusion as well as Ren�� Favaloro, who was a pioneer in the improvement of the coronary artery bypass surgery. Argentine scientists are still on the cutting edge in fields such as nanotechnology, physics, computer sciences, molecular biology, oncology, ecology, and cardiology. Juan Maldacena, an Argentine-American scientist, is a leading figure in string theory. Space research has also become increasingly active in Argentina. Argentine built satellites include LUSAT-1 (1990), V��ctor-1 (1996), PEHUENSAT-1 (2007), and those developed by CONAE, the Argentine space agency, of the SAC series. Argentina has its own satellite programme, nuclear power station designs (4th generation) and public nuclear energy company INVAP, which provides several countries with nuclear reactors. Established in 1991, the CONAE has since launched two satellites successfully and, in June 2009, secured an agreement with the European Space Agency for the installation of a 35-m diameter antenna and other mission support facilities at the Pierre Auger Observatory, the world's foremost cosmic ray observatory. The facility will contribute to numerous ESA space probes, as well as CONAE's own, domestic research projects. Chosen from 20 potential sites and one of only three such ESA installations in the world, the new antenna will create a triangulation which will allow the ESA to ensure mission coverage around the clock Tourism Main article: Tourism in Argentina Tourism in Argentina is characterized by its cultural offerings and its ample and varied natural assets. The country had 5.57 million visitors in 2013, ranking in terms of the international tourist arrivals as the top destination in South America, and second in Latin America after Mexico. Revenues from international tourists reached US$4.41 billion in 2013, down from US$4.89 billion in 2012. The country's capital city, Buenos Aires, is the most visited city in South America. There are 30 National Parks of Argentina including many World Heritage Sites in Argentina.

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