Argentina

Following independence from Spain in 1816, Argentina experienced periods of internal political conflict between conservatives and liberals and between civilian and military factions. After World War II, a long period of Peronist authoritarian rule and interference in subsequent governments was followed by a military junta that took power in 1976. Democracy returned in 1983, and numerous elections since then have underscored Argentina's progress in democratic consolidation.

• mostly temperate;
• arid in southeast;
• subantarctic in southwest

• San Miguel de Tucuman and Mendoza areas in the Andes subject to earthquakes;
• pamperos are violent windstorms that can strike the Pampas and northeast;
• heavy flooding

• second-largest country in South America (after Brazil);
• strategic location relative to sea lanes between the South Atlantic and the South Pacific Oceans (Strait of Magellan, Beagle Channel, Drake Passage);
• Cerro Aconcagua is South America's tallest mountain, while the Valdes Peninsula is the lowest point on the continent

0-14 years:

26.3% (male 5,090,046; female 4,854,761)

15-64 years:

63.2% (male 11,968,135; female 11,937,709)

65 years and over:

10.5% (male 1,636,332; female 2,325,834) (2002 est.)

at birth:

1.05 male(s)/female

under 15 years:

1.05 male(s)/female

15-64 years:

1 male(s)/female

65 years and over:

0.7 male(s)/female

total population:

0.98 male(s)/female (2002 est.)

noun:

Argentine(s)

adjective:

Argentine

conventional long form:

Argentine Republic

conventional short form:

Argentina

local short form:

Argentina

local long form:

Republica Argentina

• 23 provinces (provincias, singular - provincia), and 1 autonomous city* (distrito federal);
• Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires Capital Federal*, Catamarca, Chaco, Chubut, Cordoba, Corrientes, 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 - Antartida e Islas del Atlantico Sur, Tucuman

note: the US does not recognize any claims to Antarctica

chief of state:

• President Eduardo Alberto DUHALDE (since 2 January 2002);
• note - selected by National Congress in aftermath of resignation of former President DE LA RUA on 20 December 2001 and resignations of others who briefly held the office following DE LA RUA's departure;
• Vice President Carlos "Chacho" ALVAREZ resigned 6 October 2000 and the post remains vacant;
• note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government

head of government:

• President Eduardo Alberto DUHALDE (since 2 January 2002);
• note - selected by National Congress in aftermath of resignation of former President DE LA RUA on 20 December 2001 and resignations of others who briefly held the office following DE LA RUA's departure;
• Vice President Carlos "Chacho" ALVAREZ resigned 6 October 2000 and the post remains vacant;
• note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government

cabinet:

Cabinet appointed by the president

election results:

• Fernando DE LA RUA elected president;
• percent of vote - 48.5% ;
• Vice President Carlos "Chacho" ALVAREZ resigned 6 October 2000 and a replacement was not named;
• DE LA RUA resigned 20 December 2001;
• following a series of interim presidents, Eduardo Alberto DUHALDE was selected president by the National Congress on 1 January 2002

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 NA October 2003)

• Action for the Republic or AR [Domingo CAVALLO];
• Alternative for a Republic of Equals or ARI [Elisa CARRIO];
• Front for a Country in Solidarity or Frepaso (a four-party coalition) [Dario Pedro ALESSANDRO];
• Justicialist Party or PJ [Carlos Saul MENEM] (Peronist umbrella political organization);
• Radical Civic Union or UCR [Angel ROZAS];
• several provincial parties

• Argentine Association of Pharmaceutical Labs (CILFA);
• Argentine Industrial Union (manufacturers' association);
• Argentine Rural Society (large landowners' association);
• business organizations;
• General Confederation of Labor or CGT (Peronist-leaning umbrella labor organization);
• Peronist-dominated labor movement;
• Roman Catholic Church;
• students

chief of mission:

Ambassador Eduardo AMADEO

chancery:

1600 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20009

consulate(s) general:

Atlanta, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York

FAX:

[1] (202) 332-3171

telephone:

[1] (202) 238-6400

chief of mission:

Ambassador James D. WALSH

embassy:

Avenida Colombia 4300, C1425GMN Buenos Aires

mailing address:

international mail: use street address; APO address: Unit 4334, APO AA 34034

telephone:

[54] (11) 5777-4533

FAX:

[54] (11) 5777-4240

• three equal horizontal bands of light blue (top), white, and light blue;
• centered in the white band is a radiant yellow sun with a human face known as the Sun of May

lowest 10%:

NA%

highest 10%:

NA%

• Argentine pesos per US dollar - 1.33325 (January 2002), 1.000 (1997-2001);
• note - fixed rate pegged to the US dollar was abandoned in January 2002;
• peso now floats

general assessment:

• by opening the telecommunications market to competition and foreign investment with the "Telecommunications Liberalization Plan of 1998", Argentina encouraged the growth of modern telecommunication technology;
• fiber-optic cable trunk lines are being installed between all major cities;
• the major networks are entirely digital and the availability of telephone service is being improved;
• however, telephone density is presently minimal, and making telephone service universally available will take some time

domestic:

• microwave radio relay, fiber-optic cable, and a domestic satellite system with 40 earth stations serve the trunk network;
• more than 110,000 pay telephones are installed and mobile telephone use is rapidly expanding

international:

• satellite earth stations - 8 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean);
• Atlantis II and Unisur submarine cables;
• two international gateways near Buenos Aires (1999)

total:

33,744 km (167 km electrified)

broad gauge:

20,594 km 1.676-m gauge (141 km electrified)

standard gauge:

2,739 km 1.435-m gauge (26 km electrified)

narrow gauge:

10,154 km 1.000-m gauge; 257 km 0.750-m gauge (2000 est.)

total:

215,434 km

paved:

63,553 km (including 734 km of expressways)

unpaved:

151,881 km (1998 est.)

• crude oil 4,090 km;
• petroleum products 2,900 km;
• natural gas 9,918 km

total:

24 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 147,505 GRT/222,500 DWT

ships by type:

cargo 9, petroleum tanker 10, railcar carrier 1, refrigerated cargo 2, roll on/roll off 1, short-sea passenger 1, includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: United Arab Emirates 1, Uruguay 1 (2002 est.)

total:

1,197 1,225

over 3,047 m:

2 2; 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 2; 1,524 to 2,437 m: 50 53; 914 to 1,523 m: 572 598

under 914 m:

571 570 (2002)

• claims UK-administered Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas);
• claims UK-administered South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands;
• territorial claim in Antarctica partially overlaps British and Chilean claims

• used as a transshipment country for cocaine headed for Europe and the US;
• some money-laundering activity, especially in the Tri-Border Area;
• domestic consumption of drugs in urban centers is increasing