 government |
Country name:
conventional long form: Argentine Republic
conventional short form: Argentina
local long form: Republica Argentina
local short form: Argentina
Data code: AR
Government type: republic
Capital: Buenos Aires
Administrative divisions: 23 provinces (provincias, singular - provincia), and 1 federal district* (distrito federal); Buenos Aires; Catamarca; Chaco; Chubut; Cordoba; Corrientes; Distrito Federal*; Entre Rios; Formosa; Jujuy; La Pampa; La Rioja; Mendoza; Misiones; Neuquen; Rio Negro; Salta; San Juan; San Luis; Santa Cruz; Santa Fe; Santiago del Estero; Tierra del Fuego, Antartica e Islas del Atlantico Sur; Tucuman
note: the US does not recognize any claims to Antarctica
Independence: 9 July 1816 (from Spain)
National holiday: Revolution Day, 25 May (1810)
Constitution: 1 May 1853; revised August 1994
Legal system: mixture of US and West European legal systems; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
According to the constitution of 1853, Argentina is a federal republic headed by a president, who is assisted by a council of ministers. Legislative powers are vested in a national congress consisting of a Senate and a House of Deputies. A new constitution was passed in 1949, only to be rescinded in 1956. All constitutional provisions were suspended in 1966 following a military takeover. After another military coup in 1976, the constitution of 1853 was again suspended, but it was reinstated when Argentina returned to civilian rule in 1983.
 Central Government |
The constitution of 1853, in the preamble and in much of the text, reflects the ideals and aims of the Constitution of the United States: The president and vice president each serve for a single six-year term. From 1976 through 1983, when constitutional government resumed, the Junta Militar, comprising the military chiefs of staff, was the supreme organ of state, with the power of appointing and dismissing the president. The constitution of 1853 permits the suspension of parliamentary government and civil rights, should the president deem that a national emergency requires a state of siege. This provision has been invoked frequently in Argentine history.
| Health and Welfare |
The National Institute of Social Welfare has administered most Argentine welfare programs since its founding in 1944. Health services are provided to workers by the various unions and to others by free hospital clinics. Medical standards are relatively high in the cities, and efforts are constantly being made to improve medical facilities located in outlying rural areas.
| Legislature |
The organization of the legislature of Argentina is similar to that of the United States. The Argentine national congress consists of a lower chamber, the 254-member House of Deputies, and an upper chamber, the 46-member Senate. Deputies are directly elected to four-year terms; senators are chosen by provincial legislatures for terms of nine years. All citizens 18 years of age or older are entitled to vote. Proportional representation in national elections was initiated in 1962.
elections: Senate - transition phase will begin in 2001 elections when all seats will be fully contested; World Investment News Ltdrs will randomly draw to determine whether they will serve a two-year, four-year, or full six-year term, beginning a rotating cycle renovating a third of the body every two years; Chamber of Deputies - last held 24 October 1999 (next to be held October 2001)
election results: Senate - percent of vote by bloc or party - NA; seats by bloc or party - Peronist 40, UCR 20, Frepaso 1, other 11; Chamber of Deputies - percent of vote by bloc or party - NA; seats by bloc or party - Alliance 124 (UCR 85, Frepaso 36, others 3), Peronist 101, AR 12, other 20
| Executive branch |
chief of state: President Fernando DE LA RUA (since 10 December 1999); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president
elections: president and vice president elected on the same ticket by popular vote for four-year terms; election last held 24 October 1999 (next to be held October 2003)
election results: Fernando DE LA RUA elected president; percent of vote - 48.5%
| Local Government |
Under the constitution, the provinces of Argentina elect their own governors and legislatures. During periods when the constitution has been suspended, provincial governors have been appointed by the central government. | | Judiciary |
Federal courts include the supreme court, 17 appellate courts, and district and territorial courts on the local levels. The provincial court systems are similarly organized, comprising supreme, appellate, and lower courts.
| Defense |
The Argentine military establishment is one of the most modern and best equipped in Latin America and has historically played a prominent part in national affairs. The army is a national militia, with service compulsory for all able-bodied male citizens between the ages of 20 and 45. Up to 14 months of full-time duty are required. The army has about 40,400 men. The navy consists of an aircraft carrier, six missile-equipped destroyers, and a number of lighter ships and submarines; it has around 21,500 men. The air force, with 8900 men, has about 200 combat aircraft, including jet fighters and bombers.
| Labor |
In the late 1980s the total labor force numbered about 11.8 million. Most of Argentina's 1100 labor unions are affiliated with the Confederacion General del Trabajo (General Labor Confederation), known as the CGT. The right to unionize, suspended in 1976, was restored in 1982, and the labor movement embraced some 3 million workers by the late 1980s. By the early 1990s President Menem's privatization programs had resulted in the loss of several hundred thousand jobs and an unemployment rate of 9.9 percent (1.3 million unemployed).
| Currency and Banking |
Formerly, Argentina's monetary system was based on the peso oro (Spanish gold peso), although no gold coins actually circulated. The peso moneda nacional (called the paper peso and consisting of 100 centavos) was the currency in use. Rampant inflation in the 1970s and early 1980s rapidly depreciated the value of the peso, and in June 1985 a new currency, the austral (equal to 1000 pesos), was introduced as part of an ambitious program to control inflation. When this failed, the nuevo peso argentino (now Argentine peso, equal to 10,000 australs) was introduced in January 1992, at an exchange rate of 1 peso = U.S.$1. The Central Bank, which was established in 1935 and came under government control in 1949, functions as the national bank and has the sole right to issue currency. In the mid-1980s, 30 other banks were government owned, and about 160 commercial banks were in the private sector.
| Main Political parties and leaders: |
Acción por la República - Nueva Dirigencia (AR-ND)
founded / fundado: 1997
leader / presidente: Domingo Cavallo, Gustavo Bell
<Acción por la República (AR)
founded / fundado: 1997
leader / presidente: Domingo Cavallo
e-mail / correo electrónico: accionrepublica@geocities.com
Nueva Dirigencia (ND)
founded / fundado: 1995
leader / presidente: Gustavo Bell
Alianza para el Trabajo, La Justícia y la Educación (ATJE)
founded / fundado: 1997
Frente del País Solidario/Front for the Country in Solidarity (Frepaso)
founded / fundado: 1994
leader / presidente: Carlos Álvarez
Unión Cívica Radical (UCR)
founded / fundado: 1890
leader / presidente: Raul Alfonsin
telephone / teléfono: (11) 449-0036
Partido Intransigente (PI)
founded / fundado:1957
leader / presidente:Dr. Oscar Allende
Partido Justicialista (PJ)
founded / fundado: 1945
leader / presidente: Carlos Saúl Menem
Frente Renovador, Justicia, Democracia y Participación (Frejudepa)
founded / fundado: 1985
leader / presidente: Carlos Saúl Menem, Carlos Grosso, Antonio Cafiero
Movimiento Nacional 17 de Octubre
leader / presidente: Herminio Iglesias
Oficialistas
leader / presidente: José María Vernet, Lorenzo Miguel
Other political or pressure groups:
Peronist-dominated labor movement; General Confederation of Labor (CGT; Peronist-leaning umbrella labor organization); Argentine Workers Central, (CTA; left wing breakaway from CGT, fiercely independent; Argentine Industrial Union (manufacturers' association); Argentine Rural Society (large landowners' association); Organización Revolucionaria del Pueblo (leftist, anti-government guerrilla group founded in 1990, dismantled in 1995) business organizations, students, the Roman Catholic Church, and the Armed Forces
International organization participation:
AfDB, Australia Group, BCIE, CCC, ECLAC, FAO, G- 6, G-11, G-15, G-19, G-24, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, LAES, LAIA, Mercosur, MINURSO, MIPONUH, MTCR, NSG, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, RG, UN, UN Security Council (temporary), UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNFICYP, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIKOM, UNITAR, UNMIBH, UNMIK, UNMOP, UNTAET, UNTSO, UNU, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO, ZC
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