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Geography

Capital: Buenos Aires

Climate

Argentina has exceptional natural beauties, for it comprises a diverse territory of mountains, plateaux and plains with all the climatic variations.

There are several climatic and landscape regions

	1 Northwest	This region is notable for its tropical climate, its colourful mountains, the Puna high plateaux, the gorges, the valleys and the characteristic settlement patterns that make up the history of this land.
	2 Gran Chaco	Primarily forestal area with forests of subtropical climate, swampy lands and lakes.
	3 Mesopotamia	In the northern part the subtropical climate prevails whereas, in the south the climatic conditions are more temperate. It is rich in flora and fauna. Its territory consists of hills, lakes and swamps traversed by major rivers.
	4 Cuyo	With its mountain characteristics (The region includes the Aconcagua, 6959m), it has an arid temperate climate. However, through irrigation, man has turned it into an ideal land for the viticulture.
	5 Central sierras	The central sierras of Córdoba and San Luis offer a benign dry temperate climate. The region includes many rivers and aquatic features.
	6 Humid Pampa	The Pampa with its temperate climate possesses the most productive agricultural lands of the country (and some of the best in the world). Its plain landscape is just broken by Tandil and Ventana Sierras. The East is characterised by the vast populated beaches of the Atlantic coast.
	7 Patagonia	The largest region with the coldest climate (especially in the southern part). The west consists mainly of a montaneous landscape peppered with spectacular woods, lakes and glaciers. The centre offers desert plateaux and the east vast beaches with spectacular and unique colonies of marine animals for sightseeing. The southern extreme of this region are the southermost landmasses (other than Antarticta of course).

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Population

Argentina has a low demographic density. It consists of around 36 millon people, mainly established in the urban centres. 85% of the population is descended from European immigrants. Unlike most other Latin American countries, there are relatively few people of Indian or mixed European-Indian race.

Almost half of the population of the country live in the Federal Capital and the province of Buenos Aires. The urban population makes up the 88% of the country's population.

Population density is 13 inhabitants per km² with an annual population growth of 1.5%.

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Culture

Argentina's cultural roots are mainly European and that is clearly reflected in its architecture, music, literature and lifestyle.
It has an intense cultural activity. It is seen in the festivities, expositions, cinemas, theatres, and concerts that take place in the principal cities.
Buenos Aires has aproximately 100 cinemas and 90 theatres with a great diversity of shows that turn it into one of the cities with the major theatrical activity in Latin America.

In the Borges, Recoleta y General San Martín cultural centres the cultural events of the country and the world are exposed.
The Colon Theatre, which is among the best three lyrical theatres, stands out for its architecture and its perfect acoustics. It is visited by the most outstanding personalities of the classical music, ballet and drama of the world.
Other important theatres are the National Cervantes and the Municipal Gral. San Martín Theatres.
Painting and Sculpture are given great importance. This is reflected in the prestigious art galleries existing in the principal cities of the country.

The characteristic music of the city of Buenos Aires is the world-famous tango. Folklore includes several and varied rythms and styles according to the different regions of the country.

The typical Argentine food is asado (barbecued meat cooked over live coals), apart from empanadas ( a meat based pastry that comes with a variety of other stuffings), tamales ( a dish made of corn meal, chicken or meat wrapped in corn husks), humita (dish made of grated corn, sweet peppers and tomatoes wrapped in the green leaves of corn) and locro (dish made of meat, potato, pumpkin, corn and sweet pepper)
However, and due to the important migrations that populated the country , there exists a quite varied international cuisine: Spanish, Italian, French, German, Scandinavian, Greek, English, Swedish, Hungarian, Dutch, Chilean, Mexican, Basque, Jewish, Russian, Ukranian, Chinese, Japanese, Thai and Arabic.

The country's characteristic drink is mate (pronouced maateh, this is an infusion of the 'mate' leaf).
The quality of its wines and meats is known wide and the new Argentine cuisine has reached an international level standing out due to its qualified chefs.

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Main cities

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Political boundaries

Argentina is a democratic republic consisting of 23 provinces, the autonomous Federal Capital (whose limits coincide with those of the city of Buenos Aires). The Antarctic sector, the Malvinas (Falkland) Islands, and several South Atlantic Islands are claimed by Argentina from the United Kingdom (and are considered by Argentina to form an integral part of its territory).

	Name	Capital	Area (km2)
	1) BUENOS AIRES	La Plata	307.571
	2) CATAMARCA	San Fernando del Valle de Catamarca	102.602
	3) CHACO	Resistencia	99.633
	4) CHUBUT	rawson	224.686
	5) CORDOBA	Córdoba	165.321
	6) CORRIENTES	Corrientes	88.199
	7) ENTRE RIOS	Paraná	78.781
	8) FORMOSA	Formosa	72.006
	9) JUJUY	San Salvador de Jujuy	53.219
	10) LA PAMPA	Santa Rosa	143.440
	11) LA RIOJA	La Rioja	89.680
	12) MENDOZA	Mendoza	148.827
	13) MISIONES	Posadas	29.801
	14) NEUQUEN	Neuquén	94.078
	15) RIO NEGRO	Viedma	203.013
	16) SALTA	Salta	155.488
	17) SAN JUAN	San Juan	89.651
	18) SAN LUIS	San Luis	76.748
	19) SANTA CRUZ	Río Gallegos	243.943
	20) SANTA FE	Santa Fé	133.007
	21) SANTIAGO DEL ESTERO	Santiago del Estero	136.351
	22) TIERRA DEL FUEGO, ANTARTIDA E ISLAS DEL ATLANTICO SUR	Ushuaia	1.002.445
	23) TUCUMAN	San Miguel de Tucumán	22.524

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History

Colonial origins

Europeans arrived in the region with the 1502 voyage of Amerigo Vespucci. Spanish navigator Juan Díaz de Solís discovered the Río de la Plata and visited what is now Argentina in 1516. Spain established a permanent colony on the site of Buenos Aires in 1580. The Spanish further integrated Argentina into their empire by establishing the Vice Royalty of Río de la Plata in 1776, and Buenos Aires became a flourishing port.

The independence

Buenos Aires formally declared independence from Spain on July 9, 1816. Argentines revere Gen. Jose de San Martín, who campaigned in Argentina, Chile, and Peru as the hero of their national independence.

National unity and economic growth

Following the defeat of the Spanish, centralist (Buenos Aires hegemony) and federalist groups waged a lengthy conflict between themselves to determine the future of the nation. National unity was established, and the constitution promulgated in 1853. Two forces combined to create the modern Argentine nation in the late 19th century: the introduction of modern agricultural techniques and integration of Argentina into the world economy. Foreign investment and immigration from Europe aided this economic revolution. Investment, primarily British, came in such fields as railroads and ports. The immigrants who worked to develop Argentina's resources--especially the western pampas--came from throughout Europe, just as in the United States.

Political fraud

Conservative forces dominated Argentine politics until 1916, when their traditional rivals, the Radicals, won control of the government. The Argentine military (first coup d’etat) forced aged Radical President Hipolito Yrigoyen from power in 1930 and ushered in another decade of Conservative rule. Using fraud and force when necessary, the governments of the 1930s attempted to contain the currents of economic and political change that eventually led to the ascendance of Juan Domingo Peron. New social and political forces were seeking political power, including a modern military and labor movements that emerged from the growing urban working class.

Peron in power

The military ousted Argentina's constitutional government in 1943. Peron, then an army colonel, was one of the coup's leaders, and he soon became the government's dominant figure as Minister of Labor. Elections carried him to the presidency in 1946. He aggressively pursued policies aimed at giving an economic and political voice to the working class and greatly expanded the number of unionized workers. In 1947, Peron announced the first 5-year plan based on the growth of nationalized industries. Peron's dynamic wife, Eva Duarte de Peron, known as Evita (1919-52), helped her husband develop strength with labor and women's groups; women obtained the right to vote in 1947. Peron won reelection in 1952, but the military deposed him in 1955. He went into exile, eventually settling in Spain. In the 1950-60s, military and civilian administrations traded power, trying, with limited success, to deal with diminished economic growth and continued social and labor demands. When military governments failed to revive the economy and suppress escalating terrorism in the late 1960s and early 1970s, the way was open for Peron's return.

Return of Democracy 1973

On March 11, 1973, Argentina held general elections for the first time in 10 years. Peron was prevented from running, but voters elected his stand-in, Dr. Hector Campora, as President. Campora resigned in July 1973, paving the way for new elections. Peron won a decisive victory and returned as President in October 1973 with his third wife, Maria Estela Isabel Martinez de Peron, as Vice President. During this period, extremists on the left and right carried out terrorist acts with a frequency that threatened public order. The government resorted to a number of emergency decrees, including the implementation of special executive authority to deal with violence. This allowed the government to imprison persons indefinitely without charge.

Terrorism and Military Regime

Peron died on July 1, 1974. His wife succeeded him in office, but her administration was undermined by economic problems, and growing terrorism. A military coup removed her from office on March 24, 1976, and the armed forces formally exercised power through a junta composed of the three service commanders until December 10, 1983. The armed forces applied harsh measures against terrorists and many suspected of being their sympathizers. They restored basic order, but the costs of what became known as the "Dirty War" was high in terms of lives lost and basic human rights violated. It is commonly accepted that as many as 30,000 people "disappeared" during the 1976-83 period.

Serious economic problems, mounting charges of corruption, public revulsion in the face of human rights abuses and, finally, the country's 1982 defeat by the U.K. in an unsuccessful attempt to seize the Falklands/Malvinas Islands all combined to discredit the Argentine military regime. Under strong public pressure, the junta lifted bans on political parties and gradually restored basic political liberties.

Presidents in Argentina after military regime