For alternative meanings, see Argentina (disambiguation) and Argentine (disambiguation).

Argentine Republic[1] República Argentina (Spanish)
Flag Coat of arms
Motto: "En unión y libertad"  (Spanish) "In Unity and Freedom"
Anthem: "Himno Nacional Argentino"  (Spanish) "Argentine National Anthem"
Argentina in dark green, with territorial claims in light green.
Capital (and largest city)		Buenos Aires 34°36′S 58°23′W / 34.6°S 58.383°W / -34.6; -58.383
Official language(s)		Spanish (de facto)
Ethnic groups (2011[2][3][4])		86.4% European 8.5% Mestizo 3.3% Arab 1.6% Amerindian 0.4% Asian and others (self-reported)
Demonym		Argentine, Argentinian, Argentinean
Government		Federal representative presidential republic
-	President	Cristina Fernández de Kirchner
-	Vice President and President of the Senate	Amado Boudou
-	Supreme Court President	Ricardo Lorenzetti
Legislature		Congress
-	Upper house	Senate
-	Lower house	Chamber of Deputies
Independence		from Spain
-	May Revolution	25 May 1810
-	Declared	9 July 1816
-	Current constitution	1 May 1853
Area
-	Total	2,780,400 km2 [5](8th) 1,073,518 sq mi
-	Water (%)	1.1
Population
-	2012 estimate	41,281,631
-	2010 census	40,117,096[5] (32nd)
-	Density	15.17/km2 (207th) 39.30/sq mi
GDP (PPP)		2011 estimate
-	Total	$716.419 billion[6] (21st)
-	Per capita	$17,516[6] (51st)
GDP (nominal)		2011 estimate
-	Total	$447.644 billion[6] (27th)
-	Per capita	$10,944[6] (62nd)
Gini (2009)		0.458[7] (high)
HDI (2011)		0.797[8] (very high) (45th)
Currency		Peso ($) (ARS)
Time zone		ART (UTC−3)
Date formats		dd.mm.yyyy (CE)
Drives on the		right (trains ride on the left)
ISO 3166 code		AR
Internet TLD		.ar
Calling code		+54

Argentina ⁱ/ˌɑrdʒənˈtiːnə/, officially the Argentine Republic (Spanish: República Argentina [reˈpuβlika aɾxenˈtina]), is a country in South America, the continent's second largest by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires. It is the eighth-largest country in the world by land area and the largest among Spanish-speaking nations.

Argentina's continental area is between the Andes mountain range in the west and the Atlantic Ocean in the east. It borders Paraguay and Bolivia to the north, Brazil and Uruguay to the northeast, and Chile to the west and south. Argentine claims over Antarctica, as well as overlapping claims made by Chile and the United Kingdom, are suspended by the Antarctic Treaty of 1961. Argentina also claims the Falkland Islands (Spanish: Islas Malvinas) and South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, which are administered by the United Kingdom as British Overseas Territories.

A recognised middle power,^[9] Argentina is Latin America's third-largest economy,^[10] with a "very high" rating on the Human development index.^[8] Within Latin America, Argentina has the fifth highest nominal GDP per capita and the highest in purchasing power terms.^[11] Analysts^[12] have argued that the country has a "foundation for future growth due to its market size, levels of foreign direct investment, and percentage of high-tech exports as share of total manufactured goods", and it is classed by investors as middle emerging economy. Argentina is a founding member of the United Nations, Mercosur, the Union of South American Nations, the Organization of Ibero-American States, the World Bank Group and the World Trade Organization, and is one of the G-15 and G-20 major economies.

Etymology[link]

Argentina is derived from the Latin argentum ("silver"). La Plata Basin does not have any sources of silver, but the first Spanish conquerors arrived to the area following rumors of the existence of silver mountains, hence the name. The first use of the name Argentina can be traced to the 1602 poem La Argentina y conquista del Río de la Plata (Argentina and the conquest of the river of silver) by Martín del Barco Centenera. Although this name for the La Plata Basin was already in common usage by the 18th century, the area was formally called Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata in 1776. The autonomous governments that emerged from the 1810 May Revolution replaced "Viceroyalty" with "United Provinces".^[13]

One of the first prominent uses of the demonym "Argentine" was in the 1812 first Argentine National Anthem, which made reference to the ongoing Argentine War of Independence. The first formal use of the name was in the 1826 constitution, which used both the terms "Argentine Republic" and "Argentine Nation".^[14] The Constitution was repealed, and the territories were instead known as the "Argentine Confederation". This name was used in the 1853 Constitution, being changed to that of the "Argentine Nation" in 1859, and to the "Argentine Republic" per an 1860 decree, when the country achieved its current organization. Nevertheless, the names of the "United Provinces of the Río de la Plata", "Argentine Republic" and "Argentine Confederation" are acknowledged as legitimate names of the country.^[1][13]

History[link]

Early history and colonial period[link]

The earliest evidence of humans in Argentina dates from 11,000 BC and was found in Patagonia. These finds were of the Diaguitas, Huarpes, and Sanavirones indigenous peoples, among others. The Inca Empire, under Sapa-Inca Pachacutec, invaded and conquered present-day north-western Argentina in 1480, a feat usually attributed to Túpac Inca Yupanqui. The local tribes were defeated and integrated into a region called Collasuyu. Others, such as the Sanavirones, Lule-Tonocoté, and Comechingones, resisted the Incas and remained independent from them. The Guaraní developed a culture based on yuca, sweet potato, and yerba mate. The central and southern areas were dominated by nomadic cultures, the most populous among them being the Mapuches.^[15] The Atacaman settlement of Tastil in the north had an estimated population of 2,000 people, the highest populated area in pre-Columbian Argentina.

The first European explorer, Juan Díaz de Solís, arrived to the Río de la Plata in 1516. Spain established the Viceroyalty of Peru, encompassing all its holdings in South America. Buenos Aires was established in 1536 but was destroyed by natives. The city was established again in 1580. The colonization of modern Argentina came from 3 different directions: from Paraguay, establishing the Governorate of the Río de la Plata, from Peru and from Chile.^[16]

Buenos Aires became the capital of the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata in 1776, with territories from the Viceroyalty of Peru. Buenos Aires and Montevideo resisted two ill-fated British invasions in 1806 and 1807. The resistance was headed both times by the French Santiago de Liniers, who would become viceroy through popular support. The ideas of the Age of Enlightenment and the example of the Atlantic Revolutions generated criticism to the Absolute monarchy. The overthrow of the Spanish King Ferdinand VII during the Peninsular War created great concern in the Americas, so many cities deposed the monarchic authorities and apppointed new ones, working under the new political ideas. This started the Spanish American wars of independence across the continent. Buenos Aires deposed the viceroy Baltasar Hidalgo de Cisneros in 1810, during the May Revolution.^[17]

Independence and civil wars[link]

The May Revolution began the Argentine War of Independence between patriots and royalists. The Primera Junta, the new government in Buenos Aires, sent military campaigns to Córdoba, Upper Peru and Paraguay, and supported the rebellions at the Banda Oriental. The military campaigns were defeated, so Buenos Aires signed an armistice with Montevideo.^[18] Paraguay stayed Non-interventionist during the remainder of the conflict, Upper Peru defeated further military campaigns, and the Banda Oriental would be captured by William Brown during renewed hostilities. The national organization, either under a centralized government located in Buenos Aires or as a federation, began the Argentine Civil Wars as well, with the conflicts of Buenos Aires and José Gervasio Artigas.^[19]

The Argentine Declaration of Independence was issued by the Congress of Tucumán in 1816. Martín Miguel de Güemes kept royalists at bay on the North, while José de San Martín made the Crossing of the Andes, securing the independence of Chile. With the Chilean navy at his disposal he then took the fight to the royalist stronghold of Lima. San Martín's military campaigns complemented those of Simón Bolívar in Gran Colombia and led to the independent's victory in the Spanish American wars of independence.^[20]

Historical states in present-day Argentina
before 1500 Inca Empire (1438-1533) Indigenous peoples in Argentina
1500-1600 Governorate of New Castile (1528–1542) Viceroyalty of Peru (1542–1824)
1600-1700 Governorate of the Río de la Plata (1617–1782)
1700-1800 Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata (1776–1811)
1800-1830 United Provinces of the Río de la Plata (1810–1831) Liga Federal (1815–1820) Republic of Entre Ríos (1820–1821)
1830-present Argentine Confederation (1831–1861) State of Buenos Aires (1852–1861) Kingdom of Araucanía and Patagonia (1860-present, unrecognized) Argentine Republic (1861-present)
more

The 1820 Battle of Cepeda, fought between the Centralists and the Federalists, resulted in the end of the centralized national authority. A new centralist constitution was enacted in 1826, during the War with Brazil, and Bernardino Rivadavia was appointed the first President of Argentina. It was rejected by the provinces, forcing Rivadavia to resign. The new governor Manuel Dorrego was deposed and executed by Juan Lavalle, which exacerbated the civil war. Juan Manuel de Rosas organized the resistance against Lavalle and restored the deposed authorities. The provinces then reorganized themselves as a loose confederation of provinces that lacked a common head of state. They would instead delegate some important powers to the governor of Buenos Aires Province, such as debt payment or the management of international relations.^[21]

Juan Manuel de Rosas ruled from 1829 to 1832, and from 1835 to 1852. During his first term he convened the Federal pact and defeated the Unitarian League. After 1835 he received the "Sum of public power". He faced several a French blockade from 1838 to 1840, the War of the Confederation in the north, an Anglo-French blockade from 1845 to 1850, and the Corrientes province revolt. Rosas remained undefeated during this series of conflicts and prevented further loss of national territory. His refusal to enact a national constitution, pursuant to the Federal pact, led to Entre Ríos governor Justo José de Urquiza to turn against Rosas and sanction the Constitution of Argentina of 1853. Rejecting it, Buenos Aires seceded from the Confederation and became the State of Buenos Aires. The war between both lasted nearly a decade, and ended with the victory of Buenos Aires at the battle of Pavón.^[22]

Buenos Aires rejoined the Confederation, and Bartolomé Mitre was elected the first president of the unified country in 1862. He began military campaigns against both the remaining federals in Argentina, the whites from Uruguay, and Paraguay. The War of the Triple Alliance, in alliance with Uruguay and Brazil, left over 300,000 dead and devastated Paraguay.^[23] Unable to influence the election of later presidents, Domingo Faustino Sarmiento and Nicolás Avellaneda followed him. Albeit unitarians, they were not from Buenos Aires, and had conflicts with him. Mitre attempted twice to secede Buenos Aires from the country once more, but failed. Avellaneda federalized Buenos Aires, after defeating a final failed attempt to secede it.^[24]

Since the colonial times, huge territories were under the control of indigenous peoples. All governments since then attempted in some way to stay in good terms, kill them, or push them to ever farther frontiers. The final conflict was the Conquest of the Desert, waged by Julio Argentino Roca. With this military operation, Argentina seized the control of the Patagonia.^[25]

Rise of Peronism[link]

The bases of modern Argentina were established by the Generation of '80, a political movement that opposed Mitre and sought to industrialize the country. A wave of European immigration led to the strengthening of a cohesive state, the development of modern agriculture and to a near-reinvention of Argentine society and economy. The country emerged as one of the ten richest countries in the world, benefiting from an agricultural export-led economy as well as British and French investment. Driven by immigration and decreasing mortality the Argentine population grew fivefold and the economy 15-fold.^[26] However, the National Autonomist Party (PAN) could not meet its original goals of industrialization, and the country stayed as a pre-industrial society.^[27]

Juan Perón and his influential wife, Eva.

President Juárez Celman faced an economic crisis that generated popular discontent and the Revolution of the Park in 1890, led by the Civic Union. With the resignation of Mitre, the Civic Union became the Radical Civic Union (UCR). Although the Coup d'état failed, Celman resigned from the presidency, starting the decline of the PAN. Conservative élites dominated Argentine politics until 1912, when President Roque Sáenz Peña enacted universal male suffrage and the secret ballot. This allowed the UCR 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 businesses. Argentina stayed neutral during World War I.^[28]

The second administration of Yrigoyen faced a huge economic crisis, influenced by the international Great Depression. The military made a coup d'état and ousted him from power, which began the Infamous Decade. José Félix Uriburu led the military rule for two years. Agustín Pedro Justo was elected with electoral fraud, and signed the Roca-Runciman Treaty. Roberto María Ortiz and Ramón Castillo stayed neutral during World War II. Britain supported the Argentine neutrality, but after the attack on Pearl Harbor the United States requested all of South America to join the Allied Nations. Castillo was finally deposed by the Revolution of '43, a new military coup that wanted to end the electoral fraud of the last decade. Argentina declared war to the Axis Powers a month before the end of World War II in Europe. The minister of welfare of the military, Juan Perón, became highly popular among workers. He was fired and jailed, but a massive demonstration forced his liberation. Perón run for the presidency in 1946, and won by the 53,1%.^[29]

Juan Perón created a political movement known as Peronism. Taking advantage of the import substitution industrialization and the European devastation left by the immediate aftermath of World War II, 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. Perón intensified censorship as well as repression: 110 publications were shuttered,^[30] and numerous opposition figures were imprisoned and tortured.^[31] His wife Eva Perón was highly popular and played a central political role, mostly through the Eva Perón Foundation and the Female Peronist Party, as women's suffrage was granted in 1947.^[32] However, her declining health did not allow her to run for the vice-presidency in 1951, and she died of cancer the following year. The military began to plot against Perón in 1955, and bombed the Plaza de Mayo in an ill-fated attempt to kill him. A few months later, Perón resigned during a new military coup, which established the Revolución Libertadora. Perón left the country, and finally settled in Spain.^[33]

The Dirty War[link]

Pedro Eugenio Aramburu proscribed Peronism and banned all manifestations of it. Peronism, however, did not disappear, as Peronists kept being organized in informal associations. The 1949 amendment of the Constitution was repealed, restoring the one of 1853; but the elections for the Constituent Assembly obtained a majority of blank votes because of the Peronist proscription. Arturo Frondizi from the UCR became popular by opposing the military rule, and got elected in the following elections.^[34] The military, however, was reluctant to allow Peronism to influence the new government, and allowed him to take power on condition he stayed aligned with them. The military frequently interfered on behalf of conservative, agrarian interests however, and the results were mixed.^[26] His policies encouraged investment to make the country self-sufficient in energy and industry, helping reverse a chronic trade deficit for Argentina. His efforts to stay on good terms with both Peronists and the military, without fully supporting either one, earned him the distrust and rejection of both. Frondizi lifted the Peronist proscription, leading to a Peronist victory in several provinces, rejected by the military. A new coup ousted him from power, but a swift reaction by José María Guido (president of the Senate) applied the laws related to power vacuums and became president instead of the military. The elections were repealed and Peronism proscribed again. Arturo Illia was elected in 1963 but, despite prosperity, his attempts to include Peronists in the political process resulted in the armed forces retaking power in a coup in 1966. The Argentine Revolution, the new military government, sought to rule in Argentina indefinitely.^[35]

The new military Junta appointed Juan Carlos Onganía as president. He closed the Congress, banned all political parties and dismantled all student unions and many worker unions. Popular discontent led to two massive protests, the Cordobazo in Córdoba and the Rosariazo in Rosario. Onganía was replaced by Roberto M. Levingston, and shortly after there was a huge political commotion with the kidnapping and execution of the former de facto president Aramburu. The crime was committed by the Montoneros, who, along with the People's Revolutionary Army (ERP), began Guerrilla warfare against the military, the Dirty War. Levingston was then replaced by Alejandro Agustín Lanusse, who began negotiations to return to democracy and end the proscription of peronism. Initially, he sought to allow Peronism but not the return of Juan Perón himself (who was living in Spain) with an agreement stipulating presidential candidates reside in Argentina as of the 25 of August. Thus, the Peronist candidate was not Perón but Héctor José Cámpora, who won the elections by the 49,59%.^[36]

Poster from the Madres de la Plaza de Mayo NGO, with photos of the disappeared.

The return of Peronism to power saw violent disputes between its internal factions: right-wing union leaders and left-wing youth from montoneros. The return of Perón to the country generated an armed conflict, the Ezeiza massacre. Overwhelmed by political violence, Cámpora and his vice-president resigned, promoting new elections so Perón could become president. Perón was elected, with his wife Isabel as vice-president, but before taking office the Montoneros murdered the union leader José Ignacio Rucci, with close ties to Perón. Perón expelled them from Plaza de Mayo and from the party, and they became once again a clandestine organization. José López Rega organized the Argentine Anticommunist Alliance (AAA) to fight against them and the ERP. Perón died shortly after, and his wife took office. The AAA maintained operations against the guerrillas, which increased their power. The Operativo Independencia stopped an attempt to capture and secede territories of Tucumán. A decree ordered the military to "annihilate the subversion". The military made another coup d'état, in March 1976.^[37]

The National Reorganization Process closed the Congress, removed the members of the Supreme Court, and banned political parties, unions, student unions, etc. It also intensified measures against ERP and Montoneros, who had kidnapped and murdered people almost weekly since 1970.^[38] The military resorted to the forced disappearance of suspected members of the guerrillas, and began to prevail in the war. The losses of Montoneros by the end of 1976 were near 2000. The Junta tried to increase its popularity with the Beagle conflict and the 1978 FIFA World Cup. As of 1977, the ERP was completely defeated. Montoneros was severely weakened, but launched a massive counterattack in 1979. It was defeated, ending the guerrilla threat, but the military Junta stayed in government. Leopoldo Galtieri launched the Falklands War (Spanish: Guerra de Malvinas), attempting to recover the islands, but he was defeated by the United Kingdom within two months. Galtieri left the government because of the military defeat, and Reynaldo Bignone began to organize the transition to democratic rule, with the free elections in 1983.^[39]

Contemporary era[link]

In the 1983 electoral campaign Alfonsín called to national unity, restoration of democratic rule and prosecution of the responsibles of the dirty war. He established the National Commission on the Disappearance of Persons (CONADEP) to investigate the forced disappearances. The CONADEP generated a report detailing 340 centers of illegal detentions and 8961 forced disappearenced. The 1985 Trial of the Juntas sentenced all the heads of government of those years. Alfonsín aimed then to the military of lower ranks, but the discontent among the military and the risk of a new coup increased. To please them, he issued the full stop law, which established a deadline for new trials. This did not work as intended, and the Carapintadas mutinied, forcing the law of Due Obedience that exempted the military that followed orders from superior ranks. This lowered the public support to the government, as well as an economic crisis that led to an hyperinflation. The Peronist Carlos Menem won the 1989 elections, but huge riots caused by the economic crisis forced Alfonsín to resign, handing government to Menem.^[40]

Carlos Menem led a change in Peronism, which declined its usual politics and embraced neoliberalism instead. A fixed exchange rate established in 1991, the dismantling of protectionist barriers, business regulations and several privatizations normalized the economy for a time. His victories at the 1991 and 1993 elections led to the 1994 amendment of the Argentine Constitution, which allowed him to run for a second term. He was reelected, but the economy began to decline in 1996, with higher unemployment and recession. He lost the 1997 elections, and the UCR returned to the presidency in the 1999 elections.^[41]

Néstor Kirchner with his wife and successor, Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, upon her inaugural in 2007.

President Fernando de la Rúa sought to change the political style of Menem, but kept his economic plan regardless of the growing recession. He appointed Ricardo López Murphy as minister of economy, who detailed a plan of fiscal austerity to solve the economic crisis. Huge protests forced Murphy to resign in a few days, without implementing such plan. He was replaced by Domingo Cavallo, who had already been minister of economy during the presidency of Menem. The social discontent led to the appearance of piqueteros and huge blank votes in the 2001 legislative elections. A huge capital flight was responded to with a freezing of bank accounts, generating further discontent. Several riots in the country led the president to establish a state of emergency, received with more popular protests. The huge riots in December finally forced De la Rúa to resign.^[42]

Eduardo Duhalde was appointed president by the Legislative Assembly, and derogated the fixed exchange rate established by Menem. The economic crisis began to end by the late 2002, under the management of the minister of Economy Roberto Lavagna. The death of two piqueteros caused a political scandal that forced Duhalde to call to elections earlier. Carlos Menem got the 24,36% of the votes, followed by Néstor Kirchner with the 22%. Kirchner was largely unknown by the people, but would maintain Lavagna as minister. However, Menem declined to run for the required ballotage, which made Kirchner the new president.^[43]

Following the economic policies laid by Duhalde and Lavagna, Kirchner ended the economic crisis, getting fiscal and trade surpluses. However, he distanced from Duhalde once getting to power. He promoted as well the reopening of judicial actions against the crimes of the Dirty War. During his administration, Argentina restructured its defaulted debt with a steep discount (about 66%) on most bonds, paid off debts with the International Monetary Fund and nationalized some previously privatized enterprises. He did not run for a reelection, promoting instead the candidacy of his wife Cristina Fernández de Kirchner.^[44][45]

The presidency of Cristina Kirchner began with a conflict with the agricultural sector, caused by an attempt to increase the taxes over exports. The conflict was taken to the Congress, and vice-president Julio Cobos gave an unexpected tie-breaking vote against the bill. The government waged several controversies with the press, limiting the freedom of speech.^[46][47] On 15 July 2010, Argentina became the first country in Latin America and the second country in the Southern Hemisphere to legalize same-sex marriage.^[48][49] Néstor Kirchner died in 2010, and Cristina Fernández was reelected in 2011.^[50][51]

Politics[link]

The Argentine National Congress houses the Senate and the Chamber of Deputies.

Argentina is a constitutional republic and representative democracy. The government is regulated by a system of checks and balances defined by the Constitution of Argentina, which serves as the country's supreme legal document. The seat of government is the city of Buenos Aires, such location is regulated by the Congress.^[52] Suffrage is universal, equal, secret and mandatory.^[53]

The national government is composed of three branches:

• Legislative: The bicameral Congress, made up of the Senate and the Chamber of Deputies, makes federal law, declares war, approves treaties, has the power of the purse, and has the power of impeachment, by which it can remove sitting members of the government.^[54]
• Executive: The president is the commander-in-chief of the military, can veto legislative bills before they become law, and appoints the members of the Cabinet and other officers, who administer and enforce federal laws and policies.^[55]
• Judicial: The Supreme Court and lower federal courts, whose judges are appointed by the president with Senate approval, interpret laws and overturn those they find unconstitutional.^[56]

Casa Rosada, workplace of the President of Argentina.

The Chamber of Deputies has 257 voting members, each representing a province for a four-year term. Seats are apportioned among the provinces by population every tenth year. As of 2012, ten provinces have just five deputies, while the Buenos Aires Province, the most populous province, has 70. The Senate has 72 members with each province having three senators, elected at-large to six-year terms;^[57] one third of Senate seats are up for election every other year. A third of the candidates presented by the parties must be women. The president serves a four-year term and may be elected to the office no more than twice in a row.^[58] The president is elected by direct vote. The judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature. The Supreme Court has seven members appointed by the President in consultation with the Senate. The judges of all the other courts are appointed by the Council of Magistrates of the Nation, a secretariat composed of representatives of judges, lawyers, the Congress and the executive.^[59]

The Supreme Court, head of the judiciary.

The provincial governments must be representative republics and may not contradict the national constitution and national laws, but beyond that, each province is allowed to have its own constitution and organize their local government as desired.^[60] For example, some provinces have bicameral provincial legislatures, while others have unicameral ones. Buenos Aires is not a province but a federal district, but its local organization has similarities with the provinces: it has a local constitution, an elected mayor and representatives to the Senate and the Chamber of deputies. The national government reserved control of the Argentine Federal Police (the federally administered city force), the Port of Buenos Aires, and other faculties, however.^[61]

Foreign policy and military[link]

The President of Brazil, Dilma Rousseff (left), in a press conference with President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner (right).

Argentina is a full member of the Mercosur block together with Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay. Since 2002 Argentina has emphasized the role of Latin American integration and the bloc, which has some supranational legislative functions, as its first international priority.^[62] Argentina is a founding signatory and permanent consulting member of the Antarctic Treaty System and the Antarctic Treaty Secretariat is based in Buenos Aires.^[63] Argentina is also a full member of the Union of South American Nations. The former president of Argentina Néstor Kirchner was the first Secretary General of this organization. Argentina is part of the G-20 as well.

Argentina claims sovereignty over the Falkland Islands (Spanish: Islas Malvinas), and South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, which are administered by the United Kingdom as British Overseas Territories, as well as almost 1,000,000 square kilometres (390,000 sq mi) in Antarctica, between 25°W and 74°W and south of 60°S. The Antarctic claim overlaps claims by Chile and the United Kingdom, though all claims to Antarctica fall under the provisions of the Antarctic Treaty of 1961. Since 1904, a scientific post has been maintained in Antarctica by mutual agreement.^[64]

The armed forces of Argentina comprise an army, navy and air force, and number about 70,000 active duty personnel, one third fewer than levels before the return to democracy in 1983.^[65] The President is commander-in-chief of the armed forces, with the Defense Ministry exercising day-to-day control. There are also two other forces; the Naval Prefecture (which patrols Argentine territorial waters) and the National Gendarmerie (which patrols the border regions); both arms are controlled by the Interior Ministry but maintain liaison with the Defense Ministry. The age for enlistment in the volunteer military is from 16 to 23 years old.^[66]

Historically, Argentina's military has been one of the best equipped in the region (for example, developing its own jet fighters as early as the 1950s);^[67] but recently it has faced sharper expenditure cutbacks than most other Latin American armed forces. Real military expenditures declined steadily after 1981 and though there have been recent increases, the defense budget is now around US$3 billion.^[68] The armed forces are currently participating in major peacekeeping operations in Haiti, Cyprus, Western Sahara and the Middle East.^[69]

Provinces[link]

Argentina is composed of twenty-three provinces and one autonomous city, Buenos Aires. The administrative divisions of the Provinces are the departments, and the municipalities, except for Buenos Aires Province, which is divided into partidos. The City of Buenos Aires is divided into communes. The provinces are organized as a federation, each one with a local constitution.^[70] They hold all the power that is not specifically delegated to the national government.^[71]

During the Argentine 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 Constitution of Argentina of 1853 in 1860. Buenos Aires was made a federal territory in 1880.^[70]

A 1862 law determined that the territories under control of Argentina but outside the frontiers of the provinces would be called national territories. This allowed in 1884 to establish the governorates of Misiones, Formosa, Chaco, La Pampa, Neuquén, Ró 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, whose territories were incorporated into Jujuy, Salta and Catamarca in 1943.^[70]

La Pampa and Chaco became provinces in 1951. Misiones did so in 1953, and Formosa, Neuquén, Río Negro, Chubut and Santa Cruz in 1955. The last national territory, Tierra del Fuego, became a province in 1990.^[70]

The Quinto River establishes part of the limit between Buenos Aires and La Pampa, but the presence of canals made a slight change in the path of the river. This led to a territorial dispute between the provinces, solved in 1984. Buenos Aires disputed as well the Lechiguanas islands with Entre Ríos, and it was ruled that the deepest point of the rivers, used to establish the exact international limits, would be used to establish provincial limits as well. Thus, the islands became part of Entre Ríos.^[71]

Geography[link]

Topographic map of Argentina

The total surface area (excluding the Antarctic claim and areas controlled by the United Kingdom) is 2,780,400 km² (1,073,500 sq mi),^[5] Argentina has six main regions: Gran Chaco, Mesopotamia, the Pampas, Patagonia, Cuyo and the Norwest. The Pampas are fertile lowlands located in the center and east. The Mesopotamia is a lowland enclosed by the Paraná and Uruguay rivers, and the Gran Chaco is between the mesopotamia and the Andes. Cuyo is at the east side of the Andes mountain range, and the Argentine Northwest is at the North of it. The Patagonia is a large plateau to the South.^[72]

The highest point above sea level is in Mendoza province at Cerro Aconcagua (6,959 m (22,831 ft)),^[73] also the highest point in the Southern and Western Hemisphere.^[74] The lowest point is Laguna del Carbón in Santa Cruz province, −105 m (−344 ft) below sea level.^[73] This is also the lowest point in South America.^[75] The easternmost continental point is northeast of Bernardo de Irigoyen, Misiones,^[13] the westernmost in the Perito Moreno National Park in Santa Cruz province.^[13] The northernmost point is at the confluence of the Grande de San Juan and Mojinete rivers in Jujuy province,^[13] and the southernmost is Cape San Pío in Tierra del Fuego.^[13]