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Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic (), is a country in South America, constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city. 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 , between the Andes mountain range in the west and the southern Atlantic Ocean in the east and south.
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Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic (), is a country in South America, constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city. 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 , 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 also claimed of Antarctica, known as Argentine Antarctica, overlapping other claims made by Chile (Chilean Antarctic Territory) and the United Kingdom (British Antarctic Territory); all such claims have been suspended by the Antarctic Treaty of 1961.
Argentina has the second highest Human Development Index level and the third highest Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita in purchasing power parity in Latin America. Argentina's nominal GDP is the 31st largest in the world; but when purchasing power is taken into account, its total GDP makes it the 23rd largest economy in the world.
The country is currently classified as an Upper-Middle Income Country or as a secondary emerging market by the World Bank. Argentina is also one of the G-20 major economies.
Geography
Main features
The total surface area of Argentina (not including the Antarctic claim) is , of which is land and (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 meters (22,834 ft). It is the highest mountain in the Americas, the Southern, and Western Hemisphere. The lowest point is Laguna del Carbón in Santa Cruz, -105 meters (-344 ft) below sea level. 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 , the westernmost in the Mariano Moreno Range in Santa Cruz . The northernmost point is located at the confluence of the Grande de San Juan and Mojinete rivers, Jujuy , and the southernmost is Cape San Pío in Tierra del Fuego .
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
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 and Santa Cruz, 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 20,000 feet (6,000 m), 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
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):
|- align=center style="background:lavender; font-weight:bold;"
! !! Province !! Capital !! !! Province !! Capital
|-
| align=center style="background:#f0f0f0;" | || style="background:#f0f0f0;" align=left colspan="2" |Buenos Aires Autonomous City|| align=center style="background:#f0f0f0;" | || align=left style="background:#f0f0f0;" |Mendoza || align=left| Mendoza
|-
!style="background:#f0f0f0;" colspan="6"|
|-
| align=center style="background:#f0f0f0;" | || style="background:#f0f0f0;" align=left |Provincia
de Buenos Aires || align=left | La Plata || align=center style="background:#f0f0f0;" | || align=left style="background:#f0f0f0;" |Misiones || align=left| Posadas
|-
!style="background:#f0f0f0;" colspan="6"|
|-
| align=center style="background:#f0f0f0;" | || style="background:#f0f0f0;" align=left |Catamarca || align=left| San Fdo. del Valle
de Catamarca || align=center style="background:#f0f0f0;" | || align=left style="background:#f0f0f0;" |Neuquén || align=left| Neuquén
|-
!style="background:#f0f0f0;" colspan="6"|
|-
| align=center style="background:#f0f0f0;" | || align=left style="background:#f0f0f0;" |Chaco || align=left| Resistencia || align=center style="background:#f0f0f0;" | || align=left style="background:#f0f0f0;" |Río Negro || align=left| Viedma
|-
!style="background:#f0f0f0;" colspan="6"|
|-
| align=center style="background:#f0f0f0;" | || align=left style="background:#f0f0f0;" |Chubut || align=left| Rawson || align=center style="background:#f0f0f0;" | || align=left style="background:#f0f0f0;" |Salta || align=left| Salta
|-
!style="background:#f0f0f0;" colspan="6"|
|-
| align=center style="background:#f0f0f0;" | || align=left style="background:#f0f0f0;" |Córdoba || align=left| Córdoba || align=center style="background:#f0f0f0;" | || align=left style="background:#f0f0f0;" |San Luis || align=left| San Luis
|-
!style="background:#f0f0f0;" colspan="6"|
|-
| align=center style="background:#f0f0f0;" | || align=left style="background:#f0f0f0;" |Corrientes || align=left| Corrientes|| align=center style="background:#f0f0f0;" | || align=left style="background:#f0f0f0;" |San Juan || align=left| San Juan
|-
!style="background:#f0f0f0;" colspan="6"|
|-
| align=center style="background:#f0f0f0;" | || align=left style="background:#f0f0f0;" |Entre Ríos || align=left| Paraná || align=center style="background:#f0f0f0;" | || align=left style="background:#f0f0f0;" |Santa Cruz || align=left| Río Gallegos
|-
!style="background:#f0f0f0;" colspan="6"|
|-
| align=center style="background:#f0f0f0;" | || align=left style="background:#f0f0f0;" |Formosa || align=left| Formosa || align=center style="background:#f0f0f0;" | || align=left style="background:#f0f0f0;" |Santa Fe || align=left| Santa Fe
|-
!style="background:#f0f0f0;" colspan="6"|
|-
| align=center style="background:#f0f0f0;" | || align=left style="background:#f0f0f0;" |Jujuy || align=left| San Salvador
de Jujuy || align=center style="background:#f0f0f0;" | || align=left style="background:#f0f0f0;" |Santiago
del Estero || align=left| Santiago
del Estero
|-
!style="background:#f0f0f0;" colspan="6"|
|-
| align=center style="background:#f0f0f0;" | || align=left style="background:#f0f0f0;" |La Pampa || align=left| Santa Rosa || align=center style="background:#f0f0f0;" | || align=left style="background:#f0f0f0;" |Tierra del Fuego || align=left| Ushuaia
|-
!style="background:#f0f0f0;" colspan="6"|
|-
| align=center style="background:#f0f0f0;" | || align=left style="background:#f0f0f0;" |La Rioja || align=left| La Rioja || align=center style="background:#f0f0f0;" | || align=left style="background:#f0f0f0;" |Tucumán || align=left| San Miguel
de Tucumán
|}
Though declared the capital in 1853, Buenos Aires 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
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 in Río Negro 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.
The largest oil spill to ever occur in fresh water was caused by a Shell tanker ship in the Rio de la Plata, Magdalena, Argentina, on January 15, 1999, polluting the environment, drinkable water, plants and animals.
Coastal areas and seas
Argentina has of coastline. 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.
Climate
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 hail), 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 , was recorded at Villa de María, Córdoba, on 2 January 1920. The lowest temperature recorded was 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 descent from the Andes, Zonda winds can blow for hours with gusts up to , 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.
History
Pre-Columbian era
The earliest evidence of human presence 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
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.
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, 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 and devastating Paraguay.
Emergence of modern Argentina
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. 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.
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 five-fold and the economy by 15-fold. 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. The country was neutral during World War I and most of World War II, becoming a leading source of foodstuffs to the Allied Nations.
From Perón to the last dictatorship
Political change led to the presidency of Juan Perón in 1946, who worked to empower the working class and greatly expanded the number of unionized workers as well as social and educational programs. Perón's wife, Eva Perón (better known as "Evita") played an important role as first lady during Perón's first two administrations. She was a driving force behind Perón's success among the working class. In 1947, she created the Eva Perón Foundation, which provided for an array of social services.
This was the first time the country had seen such a shift in attention to aiding the poor by the government, and it did not sit well with the oligarchy. Evita was seen as the "bridge of love" between the unsentimental Perón and their supporters. She championed women's suffrage and organized the Peronist Women's Party. Throughout Perón's first and second term as president, his economists encouraged accelerated industrial and urban development. Following Evita's death in 1952 at age 33, Perón's administration became increasingly distracted by struggles with the Catholic Church and his movement. Perón 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.
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; 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. 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 military coup removed her from office.
The self-styled National Reorganization Process promptly repressed opposition and leftist groups using brutal, illegal measures (the "Dirty War"); thousands of dissidents "disappeared", while the SIDE cooperated with Chile's DINA, other South American intelligence agencies and with the CIA in Operation Condor. Many of the military leaders that took part in the Dirty War were trained in the U.S.-financed School of the Americas, among them Argentine dictators Roberto Viola and Leopoldo Galtieri. 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. Deindustrialization, the peso's collapse and crushing real interest rates, as well as unprecedented corruption, public revulsion in the face of 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.
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.
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 the derivatives markets. This 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.
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.
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.
Argentina has since been enjoying economic growth but despite his popularity, 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 controversial 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 robust economic growth quickly returned and double-digit inflation eased somewhat. 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.
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, Argentina is the only nation in Latin America with a net positive migration rate; about +0.4 net immigrants per 1,000 locals, yearly.
Cities and metropolitan areas
Argentina's 25 largest metropolitan areas are:
| Rank | City | Province | Population | Region |
|---|
| 1 | Buenos Aires | City + 31 partidos in Buenos Aires Province | 12,789,000 | Pampas | | 2 | Córdoba | Córdoba | 1,372,000 | Pampas | | 3 | Rosario | Santa Fe | 1,242,000 | Pampas | | 4 | Mendoza | Mendoza | 885,000 | Cuyo | | 5 | San Miguel de Tucumán | Tucumán | 789,000 | NOA (northwest) | | 6 | La Plata | Buenos Aires | 732,000 | Pampas | | 7 | Mar del Plata | Buenos Aires | 604,000 | Pampas | | 8 | Salta | Salta | 516,000 | NOA (northwest) | | 9 | Santa Fe | Santa Fe | 493,000 | Pampas | | 10 | San Juan | San Juan | 453,000 | Cuyo | | 11 | Resistencia | Chaco | 377,000 | Gran Chaco | | 12 | Santiago del Estero | Santiago del Estero | 357,000 | Gran Chaco | | 13 | Corrientes | Corrientes | 345,000 | Mesopotamia | | 14 | Bahía Blanca | Buenos Aires | 304,000 | Pampas | | 15 | San Salvador de Jujuy | Jujuy | 298,000 | NOA (northwest) | | 16 | Posadas | Misiones | 287,000 | Mesopotamia | | 17 | Paraná | Entre Ríos | 268,000 | Mesopotamia | | 18 | Neuquén | Neuquén | 255,000 | Patagonia | | 19 | Formosa | Formosa | 229,000 | Gran Chaco | | 20 | San Fernando del Valle de Catamarca | Catamarca | 196,000 | NOA (northwest) | | 21 | San Luis | San Luis | 192,000 | Cuyo | | 22 | La Rioja | La Rioja | 172,000 | NOA (northwest) | | 23 | Río Cuarto | Córdoba | 161,000 | Pampas | | 24 | Concordia | Entre Ríos | 148,000 | Mesopotamia | | 25 | Comodoro Rivadavia | Chubut | 141,000 | Patagonia |
Demographics
Ethnicity
Argentina, as with other areas of new settlement such as Canada, Australia and the United States is considered a country of immigrants
Most Argentines are descended from colonial-era settlers and of the 19th and 20th century immigrants from Europe and around 86% of Argentina's population self-identify as of European descent
The majority of these European immigrants came from Italy and Spain. An estimated 8 % of the population is mestizo. A further 4 % of Argentines were of Arab or East Asian heritage. In the last national census, based on self-identification, 600,000 Argentines (1.6 %) declared to be Amerindians (see Demographics of Argentina for genetic studies on the matter).
Following the arrival Spanish colonists, over 6.2 million Europeans emigrated to Argentina from the mid-19th to mid-20th centuries. Major contributors included Italy (initially from Piedmont, Veneto and Lombardy; later from Campania and Calabria), Spain (mostly Galicians and Basques) and France. Smaller but significant numbers of immigrants came from Germany and Switzerland, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Greece, Portugal, the United Kingdom and Ireland. Eastern Europeans were also numerous from Russia, Ukraine, Lithuania and from Central Europe (particularly Poland, Hungary, Romania, Croatia and Slovenia). Sizable numbers of immigrants also arrived from Balkan countries (Macedonia and Montenegro). There is a large Armenian community and the Chubut Valley has a significant population of Welsh descent.
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.
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.
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 1.6% of the total population), the most numerous of whom are the Mapuche people.
Criticism 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. The 1887 national census was the final year where blacks were included as a separate category before it was discontinued by the government.
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. The Argentine government estimates that 750,000 inhabitants lack official documents and has launched a program called Patria Grande ("Great Homeland") to encourage illegal immigrants to regularize their status; so far over 670,000 applications have been processed under the program.
Urbanization
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. 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.
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.
The 1990s saw many rural towns become ghost towns when train services ceased and local products manufactured on a small scale were replaced by massive amounts of cheap imported goods. Slums, villas miserias, which have long blighted the outskirts of a number of Argentine cities expanded during that decade and are thought to contain around 750,000 households (four million people). These are inhabited by impoverished lower-class urban dwellers, rural migrants from the interior (mainly from the north) and a large number of immigrants from neighbouring countries that settled in Argentine cities between the 1960s and the 1990s. Though a significant proportion ot those immigrants left during the 2001-2002 crisis, many have returned during the economic recovery that followed.
Many urban areas appear European 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.
Economy
Argentina has abundant natural resources, a well-educated population, an export-oriented agricultural sector and a relatively diversified industrial base. Though no consensus exists explaining this, political instability, erratic economic policies and global trends 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 Even during its era of decline between 1930 and 1980, the Argentine economy created Latin America's largest proportional middle class; 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 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. Following a promising decade, the economy further declined during the military dictatorship that lasted from 1976 to 1983 and for some time afterwards.
During this period, the military dictatorship took out large loans with high interest rates from, among others, the IMF and encouraged the private sector to borrow massively from foreign private banks. The country engaged in a disorganized and corrupt financial liberalization that interrupted industrial development and upward social mobility in Argentina; over 400,000 companies of all sizes went bankrupt 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; 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.
In 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. Inflation, however, though officially hovering around 9% since 2006, was privately estimated at 12-15% that year and over 15% in 2008, 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. Income distribution, having improved since 2002, is still considerably unequal.
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. Private pension funds, whose losses have required increasing public subsidies to cover, have been transferred to the social security system amid controversy. The newly nationalized pension funds will also help finance debt obligations and the new stimulus package.
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%. Cattle-raising is also a major industry, though mostly for domestic consumption. Beef, leather and dairy were 5% of total exports. Sheep-raising and wool are important in Patagonia, though these activities have declined by half since 1990.
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. 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. 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.
Argentine fisheries bring in about a million tons of catch annually 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; 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.
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$1.2 billion in 2004 and to over US$ 2 billion in 2007.
Manufacturing
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. 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.
Argentina produces electricity in large part through well developed natural gas and hydroelectric resources. Nuclear energy is also of high importance 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
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), the Internet (with more than 16 million people online), and broadband services (4.1%). Regular telephone services (with 9.5 million lines) and mail services are robust.
Tourism is increasingly important and provided 8% of economic output (over US$20 billion) in 2006. Argentines, who have long been active travelers within their own country, 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. Stagnant for over two decades domestic travel has increased robustly in the last few years and visitors are flocking to a country seen as affordable, fun because of its variety and safe. Cosmopolitan Buenos Aires, Rosario and the ocean-fronts of Mar del Plata & Pinamar, the Iguazu Falls, colonial Salta & Jujuy Provinceare 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
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.
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.
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.
Water supply and sanitation
Water supply and sanitation in Argentina faces five key challenges: (i) low coverage with higher levels of service provision for its income level; (ii) poor service quality; and (iii) high levels of pollution; (iv) low cost recovery; and (v) unclear allocation of responsibilities between institutions in the sector.
The 2001 Census revealed that, since 1980, very little progress had been made in reducing the prevalence of those without indoor running water or indoor plumbing (about 20% of the population, as of 2001). Great regional disparities continued to exist since the problem affected 2% of those in the city of Buenos Aires, and, in the historically underdeveloped provinces of Formosa and Santiago del Estero, a little over half lacked these amenities.
Foreign policy
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. 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.
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.
Military
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); 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.
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.
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
Argentina's transport infrastructure is relatively advanced. 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 and 1,575 km (980 mi) are expressways, many of which are privatized tollways. Having doubled in length in recent years, multilane expressways now connect several major cities with more under construction. 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).
The railway network has a total length of 34,059 km (21,170 mi). 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 and, though also privatized, metro rail services in Buenos Aires have continued; in part thanks to their easy access to the Buenos Aires subways, these continue to be in great demand.
Inaugurated in 1913, the Buenos Aires Metro was the first subway system built in Latin America and the Southern Hemisphere. It is no longer the most extensive in Latin America; but, its of track carry nearly 900,000 passengers daily.
Argentina has around 11,000 kilometers of navigable waterways, and these carry more cargo than do the country's renown freight railways. 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
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.
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).
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
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. 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.
Culture
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
Argentina has a rich history of world-class literature, including one of the twentieth century's most critically acclaimed writers, Jorge Luis Borges. The country has been a leader in Latin American literature since becoming a fully united entity in the 1850s, with a strong constitution and a defined nation-building plan. The struggle between the Federalists (who favored a loose confederation of provinces based on rural conservatism) and the Unitarians (pro-liberalism and advocates of a strong central government that would encourage European immigration), set the tone for Argentine literature of the time.
The ideological divide between gaucho epic Martín Fierro by José Hernández, and Facundo by Domingo Faustino Sarmiento, is a great example. Hernández, a federalist, opposed to the centralizing, modernizing and Europeanizing tendencies. Sarmiento wrote immigration was the only way to save Argentina from becoming subject to the rule of a small number of dictatorial caudillo families, arguing such immigrants would make Argentina more modern and open to Western European influences and therefore a more prosperous society.
Argentine literature of that period was fiercely nationalist. It was followed by the modernist movement, which emerged in France in the late nineteenth century, and this period in turn was followed by vanguardism, with Ricardo Güiraldes as an important reference. Jorge Luis Borges, its most acclaimed writer, found new ways of looking at the modern world in metaphor and philosophical debate and his influence has extended to writers all over the globe. Borges is most famous for his works in short stories such as Ficciones and The Aleph.
Argentina has produced many more internationally noted writers, poets and intellectuals: Juan Bautista Alberdi, Roberto Arlt, Enrique Banchs, Adolfo Bioy Casares, Silvina Bullrich, Eugenio Cambaceres, Julio Cortázar, Esteban Echeverría, Leopoldo Lugones, Eduardo Mallea, Ezequiel Martínez Estrada, Tomás Eloy Martínez, Victoria Ocampo, Manuel Puig, Ernesto Sabato, Osvaldo Soriano, Alfonsina Storni and María Elena Walsh. A number of Argentine caricaturists have also become influential: Roberto Fontanarrosa's grotesque characters captured life's absurdities with quick-witted commentary and Quino (born Joaquin Salvador Lavado), has entertained readers the world over, while dipping into current events with soup-hating Mafalda and her comic strip gang.
Film and theatre
Argentina is a major producer of motion pictures. The world's first animated feature films were made and released in Argentina, by cartoonist Quirino Cristiani, in 1917 and 1918. Argentine cinema enjoyed a 'golden age' in the 1930s through the 1950s with scores of productions, many now considered classics of Spanish-language film. The industry produced actors who became the first movie stars of Argentine cinema, often tango performers such as Libertad Lamarque, Floren Delbene, Tito Lusiardo, Tita Merello, Roberto Escalada and Hugo del Carril.
More recent films from the "New Wave" of cinema since the 1980s have achieved worldwide recognition, such as The Official Story (La historia official), Nine Queens (Nueve reinas), Man Facing Southeast (Hombre mirando al sudeste), Son of the Bride (El hijo de la novia), The Motorcycle Diaries (Diarios de motocicleta), or Iluminados por el fuego. Argentine composer Gustavo Santaolalla, Eugenio Zanetti and Luis Enrique Bacalov all are Academy Award winners. Although rarely rivaling Hollywood-type movies in popularity, local films are released weekly and widely followed in Argentina and internationally. Even low-budget films have earned prizes in cinema festivals (such as Cannes). The city of Mar del Plata organizes its own film festival, while Buenos Aires has its independent cinema counterpart. The per capita number of screens is one of the highest in Latin America, and viewing per capita is the highest in the region. A new generation of Argentine directors has caught the attention of critics worldwide. Argentina is a major center of cinema; it is compared to European countries in terms of people who attend movie theaters. An example of this was Spider-Man 3 which took in 466,586 the first day—a record in Argentina. In Italy it took in 400,000 and Germany 486,571, breaking all records for first day release.
Buenos Aires is one of the great capitals of theater. The Teatro Colon is a national landmark for opera and classical performances. Built at the end of the 19th century, Teatro Colon's acoustic is considered the best in the world. Currently it is undergoing major refurbishment, in order to preserve its outstanding sound characteristics, the French-romantic style, the impressive Golden Room (a minor auditorium targeted to Chamber Music performances) and the museum at the entrance.
Artists, composers and conductors who have performed in this opera house include Enrico Caruso, Beniamino Gigli, Felix Weingartner, Artur Nikisch, Richard Strauss, Arturo Toscanini, Igor Stravinsky, Paul Hindemith, Camille Saint-Saëns, Manuel de Falla, Aaron Copland, Krzysztof Penderecki, Gian-Carlo Menotti, Wilhelm Furtwängler, Herbert von Karajan, Tullio Serafin, Gino Marinuzzi, Albert Wolff, Víctor De Sabata, Leonard Bernstein, Mstislav Rostropovich, Sir Malcolm Sargent, Karl Böhm, Fernando Previtali, Sir Thomas Beecham, Ferdinand Leitner, Lorin Maazel, Igor Markevitch, Bernard Haitink, Zubin Mehta, Marek Janowsky, Aldo Ceccato, Riccardo Muti, Kurt Masur, Michel Corboz, Franz-Paul Decker, Riccardo Chailly, Sir Simon Rattle, Claudio Abbado and René Jacobs
With its program of national and international caliber, Calle Corrientes, or Corrientes Avenue, is synonymous with the art. It is thought of as 'the street that never sleeps' and sometimes referred to as the Broadway of Buenos Aires. Many great careers in acting, music, and film have begun in its many theaters. The Teatro General San Martín is one of the most prestigious along Corrientes Avenue and the Teatro Nacional Cervantes functions as the national stage theater of Argentina. The El Círculo in Rosario, Independencia in Mendoza and Libertador in Córdoba are also prominent. Griselda Gambaro, Roberto Cossa and Carlos Gorostiza are Argentine playwrights well-known internationally. Julio Bocca and Jorge Donn are two of the great ballet dancers of the modern era.
Architecture, painting and sculpture
Numerous Argentine architects have enriched their own country's cityscapes and, in recent decades, those around the world. Juan Antonio Buschiazzo helped popularize Beaux-Arts architecture and Francisco Gianotti combined Art Nouveau with Italianate styles, each adding flair to Argentine cities during the early 20th century. Francisco Salamone and Viktor Sulcic left an Art Deco legacy. Clorindo Testa introduced Brutalist architecture locally and César Pelli's and Patricio Pouchulu's Futurist creations have graced cities, worldwide. Pelli's 1980s throwbacks to the Art Deco glory of the 1920s, in particular, made him one of the world's most prestigious architects.
One of the most influential Argentine figures in fine arts was Xul Solar, whose surrealist work used watercolors as readily as unorthodox painting media; he also "invented" two imaginary languages. The works of Cándido López (in Naïve art style), Ernesto de la Cárcova (realism), Fernando Fader (impressionism), Emilio Pettoruti (cubist), Antonio Berni (neo-figurative), Gyula Košice (constructivism) and Guillermo Kuitca (abstract) are appreciated internationally.
Benito Quinquela Martín is considered to be the quintessential 'port' painter, for which the city of Buenos Aires and the working class and immigrant-bound La Boca neighborhood, in particular, was excellently suited. A similar environment inspired Adolfo Bellocq, whose lithographs have been influential since the 1920s. Realist sculptors Lola Mora's and Rogelio Yrurtia's evocative monuments became the part of the national landscape and today, Lucio Fontana and Leon Ferrari are acclaimed sculptors and conceptual artists. Ciruelo is a world-famous fantasy artist and sculptor and Eduardo Mac Entyre's geometric designs have influenced advertisers worldwide since the 1970s.
Food and drink
Besides many of the pasta, sausage and dessert dishes common to continental Europe, Argentines enjoy a wide variety of indigenous creations, which include empanadas (a stuffed pastry), locro (a mixture of corn, beans, meat, bacon, onion, and gourd), humitas and yerba mate, all originally indigenous Amerindian staples, the latter considered Argentina's national beverage. Other popular items include chorizo (a spicy sausage), facturas (Viennese-style pastry) and Dulce de Leche.
The Argentine barbecue, asado as well as a parrillada, includes various types of meats, among them chorizo, sweetbread, chitterlings, and morcilla (blood sausage). Thin sandwiches, sandwiches de miga, are also popular. Argentines have the highest consumption of red meat in the world.
The Argentine wine industry, long among the largest outside Europe, has benefited from growing investment since 1992; in 2007, 60% of foreign investment worldwide in viticulture was destined to Argentina. The country is the fifth most important wine producer in the world, with the annual per capita consumption of wine among the highest. Malbec grape, a discardable varietal in France (country of origin), has found in Province of Mendoza an ideal environment to successfully develop and turn itself into the world's best Malbec. Mendoza is one of the eight wine capitals of the world and accounts for 70% of the country's total wine production. "Wine tourism" is important in the Province of Mendoza, with the impressive landscape of Cordillera de Los Andes and the highest peak in America, Mount Aconcagua, 6952 meters high, providing a very desirable destination for international tourism.
Sports
Football (Association football) is the most popular sport in Argentina, whose national team was twice FIFA World Cup Champion and Olympic Gold medalist, as well as Copa América winners fourteen times. Including other international cups and club tournaments, Argentine football is the most decorated in the world, counting 227 international titles as of early 2008; Argentine players contribute greatly to other countries' football, as well: in early 2008, 1095 Argentine footballers played professionally in 63 other nations. Over 540,000 people are registered football players; this is about one in twenty-five adult males, though the sport has become increasingly popular among girls and women, who have organized their own national championships since 1991 and were South American champions in 2006.
The Argentine Football Association was formed in 1893 and is the eighth oldest national football association in the world. The 1891 league tournament organized in Argentina made it the third in football history, following the ones in the United Kingdom and the Netherlands. The AFA today counts 390 professional teams, of which only 20 at any one time belong to the Premier Division. Among the fifteen teams honored with a national tournament title since the AFA went professional in 1931, River Plate has won 33 and Boca Juniors, 23. Other "big" teams are: Independiente (14 national titles), San Lorenzo de Almagro (10) and Racing (7). Over the last twenty years, futsal and beach football have garnered a growing following. The Argentine beach football team was one of four competitors in the first international championship for the sport, held in Miami, Florida, in 1993.
Also widespread are volleyball and basketball; a number of basketball players participate in the United States National Basketball Association and European leagues. Manu Ginobili, Andres Nocioni, Carlos Delfino, and Fabricio Oberto are a few, and the national team won Olympic Gold in the Athens Olympics and the bronze medal in 2008. Argetina is currently ranked first at FIBA. Argentina has an important rugby union football team, "Los Pumas" (see Argentina national rugby union team), with many of its players playing in Europe. Argentina beat host nation France twice in the Rugby World Cup 2007, placing them third in the competition. The Pumas are currently fourth in the International Rugby Board's official world rankings. Argentine tennis is very competitive on the world stage, with dozens of players, male and female, in active tour.
Other popular sports include field hockey (the top female sport, see Las Leonas), golf, and sailing. Argentina has the highest number of highly ranked polo players in the world, and the national squad has been the uninterrupted world champion since 1949. Cricket is growing in popularity because of the National Team's recent successes where they came as the underdogs and finished runner's up of the Inaugural World Cricket League Division 3. Baseball is played in a most limited fashion, as well as the Gridiron.
Motorsports are well represented in Argentina, with Turismo Carretera and TC 2000 being the most popular car racing formats. The Rally Argentina is part of the World Rally Championship (currently held in Córdoba Province). In Formula 1 racing, the country produced one world champion (Juan Manuel Fangio, five times) and two runners-up (Froilán González and Carlos Reutemann, once each)
Enjoying a small, though loyal, following, the official national sport of Argentina is pato, played with a six-handle ball on horseback.
Music
Tango, the music and lyrics (often sung in a form of slang called lunfardo), is Argentina's musical symbol. The Milonga dance was a predecessor, slowly evolving into modern tango. By the 1930s ,tango had changed from a dance-focused music to one of lyric and poetry, with singers like Carlos Gardel, Roberto Goyeneche, Hugo del Carril, Tita Merello and Edmundo Rivero. The golden age of tango (1930 to mid-1950s) mirrore | |
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