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

party to:

Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Seals, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands, Whaling

signed, but not ratified:

Marine Life Conservation

• 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 Laguna del Carbon is the lowest point in the Western Hemisphere

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 (2005 est.)

noun:

Argentine(s)

adjective:

Argentine

conventional long form:

Argentine Republic

conventional short form:

Argentina

local long form:

Republica Argentina

local short form:

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);
• 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);
• 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

elections:

• president and vice president elected on the same ticket by popular vote for four-year terms;
• election last held 27 April 2003 (next election to be held NA 2007)

election results:

• results of the presidential election 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

• Action for the Republic or AR [Domingo CAVALLO];
• Alternative for a Republic of Equals or ARI [Elisa CARRIO];
• Federal Recreate Movement or RECREAR [Ricardo LOPEZ MURPHY];
• Front for a Country in Solidarity or Frepaso (a four-party coalition) [Dario Pedro ALESSANDRO];
• Interbloque Federal or IF (a broad coalition of approximately 12 parties including RECREAR) [leader NA];
• Justicialist Party or PJ (Peronist umbrella political organization) [leader NA];
• Radical Civic Union or UCR [Angel ROZAS];
• Socialist Party or PS [Ruben GIUSTINIANI];
• Union For All [Patricia BULLRICH];
• several provincial parties

• Argentine Association of Pharmaceutical Labs (CILFA);
• Argentine Industrial Union (manufacturers' association);
• Argentine Rural Society (large landowners' association);
• business organizations;
• Central of Argentine Workers or CTA (a radical union for employed and unemployed workers);
• 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

telephone:

[1] (202) 238-6400

FAX:

[1] (202) 332-3171

consulate(s) general:

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

chief of mission:

Ambassador Lino GUTIERREZ

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:

• country code - 54;
• satellite earth stations - 8 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean);
• Atlantis II and Unisur submarine cables;
• two international gateways near Buenos Aires (1999)

total:

34,091 km (167 km electrified)

broad gauge:

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

standard gauge:

2,885 km 1.435-m gauge (26 km electrified)

narrow gauge:

10,375 km 1.000-m gauge; 237 km 0.750-m gauge (2004)

total:

215,471 km

paved:

63,348 km (including 734 km of expressways)

unpaved:

152,123 km (1999)

• gas 27,166 km;
• liquid petroleum gas 41 km;
• oil 3,668 km;
• refined products 2,945 km;
• unknown (oil/water) 13 km (2004)

total:

26 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 149,007 GRT/212,620 DWT

by type:

bulk carrier 2, cargo 9, chemical tanker 1, passenger 1, passenger/cargo 3, petroleum tanker 7, refrigerated cargo 2, roll on/roll off 1

foreign-owned:

2 (Chile 1, Uruguay 1)

registered in other countries:

23 (2005)

• the Argentine military is a well-organized force constrained by the country's prolonged economic hardship;
• the country has recently experienced a strong recovery, and the military is now implementing "Plan 2000," aimed at making the ground forces lighter and more responsive (2005)

• Argentina claims the UK-administered Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas) and South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands in its constitution;
• it briefly occupied the Falklands in 1982, but in 1995 agreed no longer to seek settlement by force;
• 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 illegal narcotics trafficking, and fundraising for extremist organizations;
• uncontested dispute between Brazil and Uruguay over Braziliera Island in the Quarai/Cuareim River 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