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Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is a country in South America , constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city ( Buenos Aires ).
It is the second largest country in South America by land area, and eighth in the world. Its continental area is 2,766,890 km² (1,068,302 sq mi ), between the Andes mountain range in the west and the southern Atlantic Ocean in the east and south. Argentina borders Paraguay and Bolivia to the north, Brazil and Uruguay to the northeast, and Chile to the west and south. The 2008 estimate population of Argentina is 40,500,000.
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May Revolution (25 may)
Independence day (9 july)
National flag day (20 june)
Death of San Martin – liberator of Argentina (17 august) |
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Pre-Columbian era
The earliest evidence of human presence in Argentina found thus far is in Patagonia and dates from 11,000 BC. The Inca Empire under the rule of King Pachacutec launched an offensive in 1480 and conquered present-day northwestern Argentina, integrating it into a region called Collasuyu ; the Guaraní developed a culture based on yuca , sweet potato and yerba mate (green tea). The central and southern areas ( Pampas and Patagonia ) were dominated by nomadic cultures, unified in the 17th century
Colonial era
European explorers arrived in 1516. Spain established a permanent colony on the site of Buenos Aires in 1580 and the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata was created in 1776. This area was largely a country of Spanish immigrants and their descendants, known as criollos , and others of native cultures and of descendants of African slaves, present in significant numbers. A third of Colonial-era settlers gathered in Buenos Aires and other cities, others living on the pampas as gauchos , for instance. Indigenous peoples inhabited much of the rest of Argentina . The British Empire launched two invasions of Buenos Aires in 1806-07; but the criollo population repelled both attempts.
Independence
On 25 May 1810, after confirmation of the rumors on the overthrow of King Ferdinand VII by Napoleon , citizens of Buenos Aires created the First Government Junta ( May Revolution ). Two nations emerged in what is now Argentina : the United Provinces of South America (1810) and the Liga Federal (1815) . Other provinces, as a result of differences between autonomist and centralist quarters, delayed taking part in a unified State; Military campaigns led by General José de San Martín between 1814 and 1817 made independence increasingly a reality. Argentines revere San Martín as the hero of national independence. General José de San Martín and his regiment crossed the Andes in 1817 to defeat royalist forces in Chile and Perú , thus securing independence. |
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Argentina has abundant natural resources , a well-educated population , an export-oriented agricultural sector (soybeans, wheat, rice, corn and meat) and a relatively diversified industrial base. Though no consensus exists explaining this, political instability, erratic economic policies and global trends contributed to Argentina's decline from its noteworthy position as the world's 10th wealthiest nation per capita in 1913 to the world's 36th wealthiest in 1998. Even during its era of decline between 1930 and 1980, the Argentine economy created Latin America 's largest proportional middle class; but this segment of the population has suffered from a succession of economic crises between 1981 and 2002, when the relative decline became absolute.
Argentina 's economy started to slowly lose ground after 1930 when it entered the Great Depression and recovered slowly, afterwards. Erratic policies helped lead to serious bouts of stagflation in the 1949-52 and 1959-63 cycles and the country lost its place among the world's prosperous nations, even as it continued to industrialize. Following a promising decade, the economy further declined during the military dictatorship that lasted from 1976 to 1983 and for some time afterwards.
During this period, the military dictatorship took out large loans with high interest rates from, among others, the IMF and encouraged the private sector to borrow massively from foreign private banks. The country engaged in a disorganized and corrupt financial liberalization that interrupted industrial development and upward social mobility in Argentina ; over 400,000 companies of all sizes went bankrupt and economic decisions made from 1983 through 2001 failed to revert the situation.
Record foreign debt interest payments , tax evasion and capital flight resulted in a balance of payments crisis that plagued Argentina with serious stagflation from 1975 to 1990. Attempting to remedy this, economist Domingo Cavallo pegged the peso to the U.S. dollar in 1991 and limited the growth in the money supply . His team then embarked on a path of trade liberalization , deregulation and privatization . Inflation dropped and GDP grew by one third in four years; but external economic shocks and failures of the system diluted benefits, causing the economy to crumble slowly from 1995 until the collapse in 2001 . That year and the next, the economy suffered its sharpest decline since 1930.
In 2002, Argentina had defaulted on its debt, its GDP had shrunk, unemployment reached 25% and the peso had depreciated 70% after being devalued and floated .
In 2003 expansionary policies and commodity exports triggered a rebound in GDP. This trend has been largely maintained, creating millions of jobs and encouraging internal consumption. The socio-economic situation has been steadily improving. All major social indicators have benefited strongly and the economy grew around 9% annually for five consecutive years between 2003 and 2007 and 7% in 2008. Inflation, however, though officially hovering around 9% since 2006, was privately estimated at 12-15% that year and over 15% in 2008, becoming a contentious issue again. The urban income poverty rate has dropped to 18% as of mid-2008, a third of the peak level observed in 2002, though still above the level prior to 1976. Income distribution , having improved since 2002, is still considerably unequal.
Argentina faces slowing economic growth in light of an international financial crisis . The Kirchner administration responded at the end of 2008 with a record US$32 billion public-works program for 2009-10 and a further US$4 billion in new tax cuts and subsidies. |
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The cuisine of Argentina is influenced and derived predominantly from the cuisines of Spain , Italy , as well as Germany, France and other European countries, and also from the culinary heritage of the indigenous Amerindians . Besides many of the pasta, sausage and dessert dishes common to continental Europe, Argentines enjoy a wide variety of indigenous creations, which include empanadas (a stuffed pastry), locro (a mixture of corn, beans, meat, bacon, onion, and gourd), humitas and yerba mate , all originally indigenous Amerindian staples, the latter considered Argentina's national beverage. Other popular items include chorizo (a spicy sausage), facturas ( Viennese-style pastry ) and Dulce de Leche .
The Argentine barbecue, asado as well as a parrillada , is one of the most famous in the world and includes various types of meats, among them chorizo , sweetbread , chitterlings , and morcilla ( blood sausage ). Thin sandwiches, sandwiches de miga , are also popular. Argentines have the highest consumption of red meat in the world.
The Argentine wine industry, long among the largest outside Europe, has benefited from growing investment since 1992; in 2007, 60% of foreign investment worldwide in viticulture was destined to Argentina . The country is the fifth-most important wine producer in the world, with the annual per capita consumption of wine among the highest. ( Malbec has become a representative variety from Argentina ). Malbec grape, a discardable varietal in France (country of origin), has found in Province of Mendoza an ideal environment to successfully develop and turn itself into the world's best Malbec. The city of Mendoza is one of the eight wine capitals of the world, and Mendoza accounts for 70% of the country's total production (all varietals considered). "Wine tourism" is important in the Province of Mendoza , with the impressive landscape of Cordillera de Los Andes and the highest peak in America , Mount Aconcagua , 6952 meters high, providing a very desirable destination for international tourism. |
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Argentines are predominantly Roman Catholic . Historically, around 90% have indentified themselves as Roman Catholic according to different surveys.
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Buenos Aires
Mendoza
Bariloche
Iguazu falls |
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Argentina , as with other areas of new settlement such as Canada , Australia , Brazil and the United States is considered a country of immigrants. The majority of these immigrants came from Spain and Italy . |
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Small but growing numbers of people from East Asia have also settled in Argentina , mainly in Buenos Aires . The first Asian-Argentines were of Japanese descent; Koreans , Vietnamese , and Chinese followed, now at over 60,000.
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Jose de San Martin (liberator of Argentina )
Carlos Gardel (Tango singer)
Ernesto Che Guevara (Revolutionary)
Juan Manuel Fangio (Five times winner F1 world championship racing)
Diego Maradona (Footbal player) |
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