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:

26.2% (male 5,185,548; female 4,955,551)

15-64 years:

63.4% (male 12,274,625; female 12,282,772)

65 years and over:

10.4% (male 1,659,641; female 2,382,670) (2003 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:

0.97 male(s)/female (2003 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 Nestor KIRCHNER (since 25 May 2003);
• note - declared winner of a runoff election by default after Carlos Saul MENEM withdrew his candidacy on the eve of the election;
• Vice President Daniel SCIOLI (since 25 May 2003);
• note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government

head of government:

• President Nestor KIRCHNER (since 25 May 2003);
• note - declared winner of a runoff election by default after Carlos Saul MENEM withdrew his candidacy on the eve of the election;
• Vice President Daniel SCIOLI (since 25 May 2003);
• note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government

cabinet:

Cabinet appointed by the president

election results:

• results of the presidential primary of 27 April 2003: Carlos Saul MENEM 24.3%, Nestor KIRCHNER 22%, Ricardo Lopez MURPHY 16.4%, Adolfo Rodriguez SAA 14.4%, Elisa CARRIO 14.2%, other 8.7%;
• the subsequent runoff election slated for 25 May 2003 was awarded to KIRCHNER by default after MENEM withdrew his candidacy on the eve of the election

elections:

• president and vice president elected on the same ticket by popular vote for four-year terms;
• the last election held was the presidential primary election of 27 April 2003 (next election to be held NA 2007);
• a runoff election slated for 25 May 2003 between the two candidates receiving the highest votes in the primary was awarded to KIRCHNER by default after MENEM withdrew his candidacy on the eve of the election

• 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];
• Federal Recreate Movement [Ricardo LOPEZ MURPHY];
• 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 Jose Octavio BORDON

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; note - Lino GUTIERREZ is designated to replace Ambassador 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%

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 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:

34,463 km (168 km electrified)

broad gauge:

20,736 km 1.676-m gauge (142 km electrified)

standard gauge:

3,115 km 1.435-m gauge (26 km electrified)

narrow gauge:

10,375 km 1.000-m gauge; 237 km 0.750-m gauge (2002)

total:

215,471 km

paved:

63,348 km (including 734 km of expressways)

unpaved:

152,123 km (1999)

• gas 26,797 km;
• liquid petroleum gas 41 km;
• oil 3,668 km;
• refined products 2,945 km;
• unknown (oil/water) 13 km (2003)

total:

23 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 141,851 GRT/208,821 DWT

ships by type:

cargo 9, petroleum tanker 8, railcar carrier 1, refrigerated cargo 2, roll on/roll off 1, short-sea passenger 1, specialized tanker 1, includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: United Arab Emirates 1, Uruguay 1 (2002 est.)

• claims UK-administered Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas) and South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands in its constitution, but in 1995 ceded the right to settle the dispute by force;
• Beagle Channel islands dispute resolved through Papal mediation in 1984, but armed incidents persist since 1992 oil discovery;
• territorial claim in Antarctica partially overlaps UK and Chilean claims (see Antarctic disputes);
• unruly region at convergence of Argentina-Brazil-Paraguay borders is locus of money laundering, smuggling, arms and drug trafficking, and harbors Islamist militants;
• uncontested dispute between Brazil and Uruguay over Braziliera Island in the Quarai/Cuareim leaves the tripoint with Argentina in question

• 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