Argentina is the second largest country in Latin America and occupies most of the southern portion of the South American continent. It is bordered by five countries--Chile to the east (with whom it shares the island of \TTierra del Fuego\t), Bolivia and Paraguay to the north, and Brazil and Uruguay to the northeast. On its east and south, Argentina has an extensive Atlantic coastline. Its north-south length is about 3,500 km (2,175 mi), and its greatest width is about 1,400 km (870 mi). With an estimated population of 31,900,000 in 1989, Argentina is the third most populous country in Latin America (after Brazil and Mexico), containing about 7% of that region's total population. In 1987, Congress approved plans to move the capital from \TBuenos Aires\t to Viedma-Carmen de Patagones by 1995. Argentina is one of the more highly developed countries in the Western Hemisphere. Its economy has gradually shifted from an exclusive dependence on the large-scale production of livestock and agricultural goods to one in which the industrial and service sectors are now dominant. Since the 1950s, it has been one of the world's principal trading nations. LAND AND RESOURCES Physical Regions Argentina is primarily a country of lowlands, although the \TAndes\t, which occupy its western periphery, rise to an elevation of 6,960 m (22,834 ft) in the peak of \TAconcagua\t, the highest point in the Western Hemisphere. Overall, the country may be divided into four topographical regions: the \TPampas\t, \TPatagonia\t, the Andes and their foothills, and the Northeast. Approximately one-fourth of the total area is given to the flat, fertile Pampas of east and central Argentina. This region is subdivided into the eastern, humid Pampas, which receives as much as 1,000 mm (40 in) of precipitation a year, and the dry Pampas to the west, where the average rainfall is less than 500 mm (20 in). To the south of the Pampas, south of the Rio Colorado, lies Patagonia, whose arid, windy plateaus are cut by an occasional ravine. The Andean and plateau region in the western part of the country includes most of the ranges, or cordilleras, of the Andes--low and glaciated to the south, high and arid to the north--the hills of the Sierra de Cordoba, and the desert and mountains of the old colonial region in the northwest. The northeast region of Argentina, one-fifth of the country's area, comprises the forested plains of the \TChaco\t, the subtropical zones of Misiones, and the floodplains and gently rolling land known as Mesopotamia, which lies between the \TParana\t and \TUruguay\t rivers. Soils The soils of the Pampas are among the richest in the world and consist of a deep accumulation of loose, wind-blown materials (\Tloess\t), resting upon granite and other ancient crystalline rock, entirely free of stones. The country's less productive soils range from laterite in the north to desert sands and sierozems in the west and south. Climate Most of Argentina has a temperate climate, although there is considerable variation. The extreme heat of the northern Chaco, which has an annual mean temperature of 23 deg C (74 deg F) with some 14 days a year of nearly 45 deg C (113 deg F), and the high humidity of the northeast (85%-90% during the winter) are gradually ameliorated toward the central Pampas, which enjoy an annual mean temperature of 16 deg C (60 deg F) and humidity of 76%. Farther south, the cool, windy, and dry climate of Patagonia turns into glacial cold at higher altitudes in the Andes. In the northern two-thirds of the country, winter (May to August) is the driest period of the year. Rainfall diminishes from east to west and toward the south, with about 2,000 mm (80 in) a year in Misiones, 940 mm (37 in) in Buenos Aires, and 750 mm (30 in) in the Chaco. Annual precipitation is less than 250 mm (10 in) in Patagonia, and only 50 mm (2 in) in the far west and the northwest of the country. Drainage Argentine streams form five great river systems, all of which drain eastward into the Atlantic Ocean. The largest of these is the Parana, Paraguay, and Uruguay system in the north, which empties into the \TRio de la Plata\t estuary. All these rivers are more or less navigable. Large areas of the Pampas are poorly drained. Bluffs rising above the Parana slope gently to the southwest and merge at a zone of marshes southwest of \TRosario\t and Buenos Aires. Here the water table rises during the wet season (October to April) so that much of the surface becomes marshy with shallow lakes. The Colorado, Negro, and Chubut are the principal rivers of Patagonia. Vegetation and Animal Life Because the climates and soils are diverse, Argentina has a wide variety of vegetation. With their cold, dry climate, Patagonia and Tierra del Fuego have few trees and are covered by low shrubs and grasses. The less arid Pampas constitute South America's largest area of grassland. The Chaco region is characterized by both forests (including quebracho and carob trees) and savanna. In the temperate northeast are forests of carob and palm, and in the more humid Andes deciduous forests flourish. Animal life in Argentina is especially rich and varied. Llama and vicuna inhabit the Andean tracts; jaguars, pumas, monkeys, deer, foxes, and wild boars are found at lower elevations. Birds, including the condor, and fish are particularly numerous, and the country is one of the richest in dinosaur fossils. Resources Argentina has a varied base of mineral deposits, but most are small and are in remote regions of the Andes or Patagonia. Petroleum is the only mineral produced in a substantial quantity, and about 21 million metric tons (over 23 million U.S. tons) are extracted each year, making Argentina nearly self-sufficient in liquid fuels. PEOPLE Most Argentinians are descendants of either the Spaniards who settled in the 16th century or the millions of European immigrants who arrived in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The mestizo (mixed Indian and European) and Indian populations, once a majority, have been absorbed into the general population, and as a distinct ethnic group now number only about 30,000. Blacks were originally brought in as slaves, but as a separate racial group have virtually disappeared. The largest groups of immigrants entering Argentina between 1857 and 1940 were Italians (44%) and Spaniards (31%). Other Western Europeans, such as the French, Germans, Austrians, British, Swiss, and Portuguese, accounted for less than 10% of the immigrants. Eastern Europeans, including Poles, Russians, Hungarians, Turks, and Yugoslavs, made up about 9% of the new population. Since the mid-20th century, many Paraguayans, Bolivians, and Chileans have crossed the border into Argentina. The Jewish population of 500,000 is the largest in Latin America and the fifth largest in the world. Language Spanish is both the official and the popular language. It is, however, a distinctly Argentine Spanish, characterized by expressions and pronunciation that have evolved over more than 350 years. A dialect called Spanish Lunfardo, which developed in Buenos Aires before 1900, with many borrowed words from Italian and Portuguese, has had a significant impact on the capital. Bilingualism among immigrants and their descendants is considerable. Indian languages, including Guarani, Quechua, and Tehuelche, are spoken by only about 1 person in 1,000. Religion In the early 1980s approximately 90% of the people identified themselves as Catholics, 2% as Protestants, and 2% as Jewish. Freedom of worship is guaranteed by the constitution, but the Roman Catholic church is recognized as the established church and the president and vice-president must belong to it. Demography With a population growth rate of only 1.6% a year in 1984, Argentina continues to have one of the lowest growth rates in Latin America and therefore has few problems associated with the rapid growth of population. The country, however, has long had an imbalance of population distribution. A mere one-fifth of the people are dispersed over the vast rural landscape; more than one-third live in metropolitan Buenos Aires, and nearly half live in the five largest metropolitan cities--Buenos Aires, Rosario, \TCordoba\t, \TLa Plata\t, and Mendoza. The country lacks a healthy sector of middle-sized cities, towns, and villages. Argentina ranks with the United States as one of the most extensively urbanized countries in the Western Hemisphere (86.3% urban). Nevertheless, the overall population density is only 10.9 persons per sq km (28.3 per sq mi), the third lowest in Latin America and less than one-third of the world average. Education and Health Argentina's literacy rate is 94% of the adult population. Free compulsory education ensures that the great majority of people go through elementary schools. Large numbers (40%) enter secondary schools, but only 8% graduate. The University of Buenos Aires, has more than 100,000 students. There are 21 other national universities and 18 private universities located in Argentina. Argentinians have a life expectancy of 70 years, and medical facilities (especially urban) are generally excellent. Cultural Activities Argentina has long been noted for the high quality of its intellectual life and for its many artistic influences. One of the most important literary figures is Jorge Luis \TBorges\t. Drama, music, painting, and sculpture have flourished, especially in Buenos Aires, although political and economic turmoil in the country since the 1950s has in some respects acted as a deterrent to the development of the arts. Buenos Aires, however, is still the scene of some of the world's major international music events, many of which take place at the famous Colon Opera House. ECONOMIC ACTIVITY Foreign trade and commerce have been major components of the country's economy since the time of colonization. Over the three centuries since colonization several, sometimes overlapping, economic periods can be distinguished. From 1600 to 1750, wild cattle and horses were hunted for hides; from 1700 to 1850, large herds of semidomesticated animals were formed and became the backbone of the estancia (large-scale ranch) system. From the colonial period to the end of the 19th century, fats and salted meats were processed in large vats and sold as food for slaves on plantations in the Americas and as food to be eaten on board sailing ships. Between 1830 and 1900, extensive sheep ranches were established. Dramatic economic changes occurred during the latter half of the 19th century, when rapid expansion of crop farming coincided with the influx of European immigrants. By the late 1920s, Argentina had attained the highest level of economic development in Latin America and ranked alongside a number of European countries. Since then, however, and especially since the 1940s, economic growth has been hampered by inflation, which is fueled by large budgetary deficits from expenditures in the public sector. Since the 1930s industrial growth has been stressed, and by the 1980s manufacturing and mining accounted for 36% of the gross domestic product (GDP), while agriculture, fishing, and forestry accounted for only 14%. Manufacturing, Mining, and Energy Manufacturing alone employs about one-fourth of the labor force. Meat packing and food processing are among the country's major manufacturing industries, as are the production of textiles, cement, petroleum, chemicals, iron and steel, automobiles, and machinery. Mining employs only 0.5% of the labor force. Petroleum and natural gas, coal and iron ore, and copper are Argentina's major mineral resources. The great bulk of energy production is consumed in the city and province of Buenos Aires, which is far from the sources of power. Argentina's oil and gas fields are located in Patagonia and near the Bolivian border, and hydroelectric sites are located principally in the Andes and on the Brazilian frontier. Argentina was the first Latin American country to install nuclear power plants. Agriculture, Forestry, and Fishing Argentina ranks among the world's top dozen producers of wheat, rye, maize (corn), and linseed. Livestock production is also among the highest. The cattle herd numbers about 55,000,000 head, the sheep herd about 30,000,000. Hogs number about 4,650,000. In addition to meat, hides and skins and wool are the major trade commodities. About 60% of Argentina's land area is used for agriculture. About half of all farms are privately owned; the rest are mostly in corporate, cooperative, state, or institutional ownership. Relatively few tenant farms exist today. About 23% of the land is covered by forests, which are mainly in the northern subtropical Misiones and Chaco. The most valuable timber, however, is in Patagonia, where araucarian forests as well as cypress, pine, larch, and oak are found. The quebracho tree is valued for the tannin that is extracted from it. The fishing industry has expanded dramatically since the early 1960s. Argentinian dietary habits, which traditionally favored meat, have changed considerably, and fish catches have increased nearly three-fold since 1960 but still lag behind those of other South American countries. Most fishing is off the northern half of the Atlantic coast. Hake, mackerel, and anchovies are the most important catches. Transportation Argentina has the most extensive transportation system in Latin America. In 1983, railroad track had a total length of about 39,738 km (24,692 mi). The highways totaled more than 200,000 km (124,275 mi), but only about one-quarter was paved. Buenos Aires is the focus of the transport network. Trade Since 1970 Argentina has frequently registered annual trade deficits, adding to a debilitating national debt which reached $45 billion in 1984. Because the country is self-sufficient in food and most consumer goods, imports are mainly raw materials, chemicals, and machinery. GOVERNMENT Argentina is a federal republic made up of 22 provinces, one territory, and the federal capital. The country is governed under the constitution of 1853, with amendments. During much of the period since 1930, however, Argentina has often been ruled by military governments that have suspended many constitutional provisions. Although a separation of powers among the branches of government is provided for, the president has considerable control over legislative and judicial matters. He draws up and introduces his own bills in congress and appoints cabinet members and other officials without the consent of the legislature. He can declare a state of siege and thereby legally suspend constitutional guarantees. Congress consists of two chambers, a Senate and a Chamber of Deputies. Members of the Chamber of Deputies serve 4-year terms and members of the Senate, 9-year terms. The president serves a 6-year term but cannot serve two consecutive terms. Federal judicial power is vested in a supreme court of justice appointed by the president with the consent of the Senate. Provincial governments have some autonomy but do not participate in the amendment of the constitution, and the federal government can intervene in the provinces in order to ensure a republican form of government. HISTORY At the beginning of the 16th century, before the arrival of Europeans, the area that is now Argentina had a population of about 300,000, mostly nomadic Indians. Colonization In 1516 the Spaniard Juan Diaz de Solis, in search of a southwest passage to the Orient, became the first European to set foot on Argentine territory. He sailed up the Rio de la Plata estuary and claimed the land on both sides for Spain. (He was killed by Indians, and his party returned to Spain.) In 1526, Sebastian \TCabot\t, in the employ of the Spanish, ascended the Parana and Paraguay rivers. He was impressed by the silver ornaments of the Indians, and this may account for the names Rio de la Plata ("Silver River") and Argentina ("silvery"). When the country did not yield the silver that had been anticipated, the Spanish crown lost interest. Buenos Aires was originally founded in 1536 by Pedro de \TMendoza\t, but because of Indian attacks was abandoned within a few years in favor of Ascuncion, Paraguay. From about the mid-16th century to about 1700, Spanish colonists moved in from the Pacific coast over the Andes, founding such cities as Santiago del Estero (1553), Mendoza (1561), San Juan (1562), \TTucuman\t (1565), Cordoba (1573), Salta (1582), La Rioja (1591), and San Luis (1596). The pattern of settlement, from west to east, was opposite to that of the United States. After Buenos Aires was permanently resettled in 1580, it gradually began to reap the benefits of its advantageous location as both an east-coast port and as a buffer to the southward expansion of the Portuguese colony of Brazil. The creation, in 1776, of the Viceroyalty of La Plata (including present-day Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay, and southern Bolivia), with its capital in Buenos Aires, further enhanced the city's growth and prestige. Up to this time Argentina had been administered under the Viceroyalty of Peru. Independence In 1806, during the Napoleonic Wars, Buenos Aires was occupied by the British. Although the colonial militia led by Jacques de Liniers (1753-1810) restored Spanish rule, Spain's ties with its American colonies were weakened in the tumultuous period, especially after Napoleon's deposition of Ferdinand VII. On May 25, 1810, a revolt occurred in Buenos Aires, and a junta was appointed to rule in the name of the deposed king. A full independence movement led by Manuel \TBelgrano\t soon gathered force, however; the royalists were defeated, and a proclamation of independence was signed at Tucuman on July 9, 1816. Independence was followed by almost continuous civil war. Conflict developed between the centralists (or unitarians), who favored a strongly centralized government at Buenos Aires, and the federalists, who, with the support of gaucho troops, supported provincial autonomy. The federalist Juan Manuel de \TRosas\t, governor of Buenos Aires, consolidated his power to rule as virtual dictator of the country from 1835 to 1852 and managed to preserve a national unity. Following his overthrow, the present constitution was adopted (1853), but it was not until 1862 that Buenos Aires became a fully integrated province in the federal structure provided for by the constitution. Economic Expansion Despite intermittent uprisings and periods of anarchy in the 19th century, much economic progress was made. During the administrations of presidents Bartolome \TMitre\t (1862-68) and Domingo \TSarmiento\t (1868-74) immigration was encouraged, a public education system established, railroads built, and better breeds of cattle and sheep introduced. Gen. Julio \TRoca\t (president 1880-86, 1898-1904) achieved a final victory over the Indians in 1879, opening the Pampas to settlement. With the support of immigrant groups and the urban middle class, a political organization, which became known as the Radical party, was formed, and in 1912 it won the adoption of universal male suffrage and election by secret ballot. Effective government control had up to then remained in the hands of the landowners and the military. In 1916 the Radical candidate Hipolito Irigoyen (c.1850-1933) became the first Argentine president to be elected by popular vote. Irigoyen continued Argentina's policy of neutrality in World War I. Recent History Disillusion with the Radical party's ineffectualness grew, and in 1930, Irigoyen was deposed from his second term by a coup. Conservatives then ruled the country until 1943, when another coup replaced the president with a military dictatorship. Argentina remained neutral through most of World War II, but eventually declared war on Germany (March 1945). In 1946, with the strong support of labor unions and the Roman Catholic church, Juan D. \TPeron\t was elected president. During his 9 years in power, Peron established a virtually totalitarian regime. He and his second wife, Eva, cultivated an extraordinary popularity with the workers, the so-called shirtless ones, to whom they gave a political voice. Peron skillfully combined repression, nationalism, and reform. His policies of rapid industrial expansion (to the discouragement of agriculture) and markedly increased social benefits resulted, however, in social and economic problems. Even after the armed forces ousted him in September 1955, Peron continued to be a force in Argentine politics. Of the succession of military and civilian presidents that followed, none completed a full term. The Peronistas were alternately banned and permitted to participate in the political process. Then, after 18 years of exile, Peron was again elected president in 1973. By that time, however, his followers were bitterly divided; urban guerrillas (both leftist and rightist) were active, and Peron was old and ailing. He died the following year, leaving his third wife, Isabel, who had run with him as vice-president, to succeed him. Unable to unite the divided Peronistas, contain mounting violence, or cope with an inflation rate that exceeded 300%, she was overthrown by the armed forces in March 1976 in a bloodless military coup that installed Lt. Gen. Jorge \TVidela\t as president. Videla led a ruthless campaign against terrorism, in which thousands of left-wing dissidents disappeared and were presumably killed. He was succeeded in March 1981 by Gen. Roberto Eduardo \Tviola\t who, in turn, was replaced the following December by Gen. Leopoldo Fortunato \TGaltieri\t. In the spring of 1982 tensions arose between Argentina and Great Britain over the Falkland (Malvinas) Islands, a British dependency in the south Atlantic claimed by Argentina for more than a century. Argentine troops invaded and captured the Falklands in April, precipitating a brief war that ended when Britain retook the disputed territory two months later. Both sides lost several naval vessels in the fighting; the heaviest loss of life occurred on May 2, when the Argentine cruiser General Belgrano was torpedoed by a British submarine and went down with several hundred of its crew. Galtieri, discredited by Argentina's defeat in the Falklands war, resigned on June 17 and was succeeded by a retired general, Reynaldo \TBignone\t. Civilian government returned the following year. In elections held on Oct. 30, 1983, Raul \TAlfonsin\t, a Radical, was victorious in the contest for the presidency, defeating the Peronist candidate, Italo Luder. The Radicals also won a majority in the Chamber of Deputies. Alfonsin took office in December in the midst of an economic crisis, with the annual inflation rate running at more than 500% and an enormous foreign debt. Alfonsin's government also took steps early on to prosecute military officers responsible for the disappearance of 8,426 persons--the number recorded by a commission appointed by the new president. By the start of 1985, Argentina's foreign debt reached $45 billion, and inflation exceeded 1,000%. To secure emergency aid from the International Monetary Fund and from other countries, Alfonsin was forced to impose several austerity measures. In June 1985, he declared a five-day bank holiday and announced a new unit of currency, the austral, which was valued at 1,000 pesos, the former monetary unit. By mid-1986 inflation was about 50%. Late in 1985 ex-presidents Jorge \TVidela\t and Roberto Viola and three others received prison sentences. Separately, former president Leopoldo \TGaltieri\t was convicted in May 1986 of negligence in conducting the Falklands war. Although Peronistas made strong gains in the elections of 1987, the Radicals retained legislative dominance. The government crushed military rebellions in April 1987 and January 1988. Alfonsin's term ended in 1989, and he was not constitutionally able to run for reelection. In mid-May 1989, Carlos Saul \TMenem\t, the Peronist candidate, won the presidency by a wide margin. Because of the severe economic crisis, Alfonsin resigned from office five months before the end of his six-year term, and Menem was sworn into office as president on July 8, 1989. Menem's emergency austerity plan included measures to reduce inflation sharply, to close the fiscal deficit, and to privatize a large number of state enterprises. He pardoned three former military leaders in 1989 and restored ties with Britain in 1990. Menem's economic austerity plan, however, failed to halt inflation. Although his free-market economic policies were opposed by many Peronists, he was named leader of the Peronist party in August 1990. The leaders of an unsuccessful December 1990 army mutiny were sentenced to prison terms in September 1991. Richard W. Wilkie Bibliography: Crassweller, Robert D., Peron and the Enigmas of Argentina (1987); Ferns, H. S., The Argentine Republic, 1516-1971 (1973); Hodges, D. C., Argentina, 1943-1987 (1988); Organization of American States: General Secretariat, Inter-American Commission of Human Rights, Report on the Situation of Human Rights in Argentina (1980); Randall, Laura, An Economic History of Argentina in the 20th Century (1977); Rock, David, ed., Argentina in the Twentieth Century (1975) and Argentina, 1516-1987 (1987); Shumway, Nicolas, The Invention of Argentina (1991); Smith, Peter H., Argentina and the Failure of Democracy, 1904-1955 (1974); Waisman, C., Reversal of Development in Argentina (1988).