REPUBLIC OF ARGENTINA

Official name: Republica de Argentina (Republic of Argentina)
Location: South America
International organisations: Organisation of American States, United Nations, World Trade Organisation
Borders: Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Paraguay, Uruguay
Coastline: South Atlantic Ocean
Land area: 2,766,890 Km2
Population: 37,800,000
Ethnicity: Nearly all Argentines are of European descent, the large majority Spanish but including many of Italian, German, British and other.
Languages: Spanish is the official language and is univerally used.
Religion: Over 90% are at least nominally Catholic Christians, but Argentina is the most secularised country in South America. There are small Protestant and Jewish minorities.
Form of government: Presidential democratic republic. Argentina is divided into 23 Provinces and one Federal District.
Capital: Buenos Aires
Constitution: The Consitution of the Argentine Nation dates from 1 May 1853, but has been revised many times, most recently in 1994.
Head of state: The President, elected by direct universal suffrage for a four-year term.
Head of government: The President, who appoints the members of the Cabinet.

Legislature: Argentina has a bicameral legislature, the National Congress (Congreso Nacional). The Chamber of Deputies of the Nation (Cámara de Diputados de la Nación) has 257 members, elected for four-year terms by proportional representation, with half the members facing re-election every two years. The Senate of the Nation (Senado de la Nación) has 72 members, elected for six-year terms, three from each province.
Electoral authority: The National Election Chamber administers national elections.
Freedom House 2005 rating: Political Rights 2, Civil Liberties 2

Political history

The territory which is now Argentina was brought under Spanish control in the mid 16th century. In 1776 Buenos Aires became capital of the Viceroyalty of La Plata. In 1810 patriots in Buenos Aires declared independence, and the Spanish were finally evicted in 1816. At first called the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata, Argentina did not acquire its present boundaries and a stable government until 1862.

The later 19th century saw Argentina become one of the wealthiest countries in the world through the export of beef, and during this period Argentina enjoyed constitutional government, with presidents being chosen by an indirectly elected Electoral College. This system broke down in the 1930s under the impact of the Depression, and there was a series of coups and outbreaks of violence, culminating in the rise to power of Juan Domingo Perón in 1946.

Perón established a populist or semi-fascist regime, and Peronism became a permanent part of Argentine politics. Perón was overthrown in a coup in 1955, but there was no return to stable government. A further coup in 1966 established a military regime which held power until 1973, when Perón was permitted to return. But his death in 1974 led to another coup, and the military held power until the debacle of the Falklands war in 1982.

Argentina's defeat by Britain in the Falklands led to the disgrace of the military and a permanent return to civilian government. The Peronist tradition of conservative populism is represented by the Justicialist Party, which has provided Argentina's most successful recent president, Carlos Saúl Menem. The Radical Civic Union stands for civic liberalism and financial orthodoxy. The left is represented by FREPASO (the Front for a Country in Solidarity). Although democratic government and the rule of law now seem secure in Argentina, neither major party has been able to deal with the country's chronic economic weakness, stemming from the loss of its traditional export markets in Europe. In 2001 there was a major crisis which forced the resignation of Radical President Fernando de la Rúa. After a prolonged political crisis, in April 2003 the Peronist Nestor Kirchner was elected President after Menem abandoned his attempt to return to power.