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Politics and History of Argentina
Once a Spanish colony, Argentina declared its independence on July 9, 1816 after roughly 235 years of Spanish rule. Jose de San Martin led the fight for independence from 1814 through 1817 leading the Argentine military fight against the Spanish. Juan Manuel de Rosas governed the Buenos Aires Province from 1829-1832 and 1835-1852, but since Argentina did not have a proper president, Rosas took over some of Argentina’s international relations duties as well.
Rosas tried to relate to all the people of Buenos Aires and Argentina, including gauchos and poorer natives; however, contrary to his “man of the people” appearance, Rosas actually led a dictatorship and generally killed anyone who spoke out against him. Nonetheless, he headed a proficient and capable government. Domingo Faustino Sarmiento was president from 1868 to 1874. Sarmiento was known as an intellectual who helped create educational opportunities for all women and children, expanded Argentina’s railroad and postal system, and also greatly influenced Latin American literature.
Conservative governments (with leaders including Nicolas Avellaneda, Julio Argentino Roca, Miguel Juarez Celman, Carlos Pellegrini, and Roque Saenez Pena respectively) followed after Sarmiento’s government until 1916. In 1916, Argentina’s first free and fair election took place and Hipolito Yrigoyen, a liberal candidate from the Unión Cívica Radical (“Radical Civic Union”) (http://www.ucr.org.ar/), was voted into office. He was quite popular, launching Argentina’s exportation of meats and cereals at high prices and in high amounts to create one of the most prosperous nations in the world after World War I.
In the early 1900s, Argentina was ranked twelfth in the world in terms of wealth with a GDP per capita of $2,756 USD. Today, Argentina has a GDP of $5,472 USD GDP per capita. In 1900, the GDP per capita for the United States was $4,096 USD and today is $44,155 USD (both http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/eco_gdp-economy-gdp). In 1930, Yrigoyen was overthrown by a military coup due to his incapacity to handle the 1929 economic depression, and subsequently elected and non-elected officials became president over the course of the 20th century in Argentina.
Ernesto "Che" Guevara
Ernesto “Che” Guevara, born in 1928, was a Marxist revolutionary, intellectual, doctor, and diplomat throughout Latin America. Guevara was from Rosario, Argentina, about 305 kilometers (19 ... read more
1943 Military Coup
In 1943, a military coup in Argentina led by Pedro Pablo Ramirez Machuca overthrew the current conservative government that had won the presidency from electoral fraud in the first place. Pedro Pablo ... read more
1976 Military Dictatorship by Jorge Rafael Videla (The Dirty War)
Starting in 1976, seven years of a brutal military dictatorship led by General Jorge Rafael Videla proceeded. In Argentina, this government was known as los militares or “the military.” Jo ... read more
Politics and Economy 1989-2003
In 1989, after the democratic rule of Raul Alfonsin (who failed to reduce Argentina’s debt and curb inflation), Carlos Saul Menem was elected president. Throughout his presidency, Menem was noto ... read more
Politics and Economy 2002-2009
The current president of Argentina is Cristina Kirchner, wife of former president Nestor Kirchner. Though the economy has improved since 2002, inflation—rising at an estimated rate of 15%— ... read more
Current Political System
Today, Argentina is a republic with a president elected every four years, senators elected every six years, and Chamber of Deputy members elected every four years. The minimum voting age is 18 years, ... read more
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