U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
BACKGROUND NOTES:  ARGENTINA
PUBLISHED BY THE BUREAU OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS
NOVEMBER 1994

Official Name:  Republic of Argentina

PROFILE

Geography
Area:  2.8 million sq. km. (1.1 million sq. mi.); about the size of the 
U.S. east of the Mississippi River.  
Cities:  Capital--Buenos Aires (city 3 million:  metropolitan area 12 
million).  Other major cities--Cordoba, Rosario, La Plata, Mendoza.  
Terrain:  Andes Mountains to long coastal regions; vast grassy plains 
(pampas).  
Climate:  Varied, predominantly temperate.

People
Nationality:  Noun and adjective--Argentine(s).  
Population:  33 million.  
Annual growth rate:  1.4%.  
Ethnic groups:  European 97%, mostly Spanish and Italian.  
Religions:  Roman Catholic 92%, Protestant 2%, Jewish 2%, other 4%.  
Languages:  Spanish (official), English, Italian, German, French.  
Education:  Years compulsory--7.  Adult literacy--95%.  
Health:  Infant mortality rate--31/1,000.  Life expectancy--68 yrs. 
male, 74 yrs. female.  
Work force:  Industry and commerce--36%.  Services--20%.  Agriculture--
19%.  Transport and communications--6%.

Government
Type:  Republic.  
Independence:  July 9, 1816.  
Constitution:  1853.
Branches:  Executive--president, vice president, cabinet.  Legislative--
bicameral congress (48-member Senate, 257-member Chamber of Deputies).  
The Senate will expand to 72 members in 1995.  Judicial--Supreme Court.
Subdivisions:  23 provinces and one federal capital district.
Political parties:  Justicialista, Radical Civic Union, Broad Front, 
Movement for National Independence and Dignity, numerous smaller 
national and provincial parties.
Suffrage:  Universal adult.

Economy (1993)
GDP:  $255 billion.
Annual growth rate:  6.4%.
Per capita GDP:  $7,600.
Natural resources:  Fertile plains (pampas).  Minerals--lead, zinc, tin, 
copper, iron, manganese, oil, uranium.
Agriculture (70% of GDP, about 70% of exports by value):  Products--
grains, oilseeds and by-products, livestock products.
Industry (21% of GDP):  Types--food processing, motor vehicles, consumer 
durables, textiles, metallurgy, chemicals.
Trade:  Exports--$13 billion (U.S.--10%):  grains, meats, oilseeds.  
Imports--$16.8 billion (U.S.--23%):  machinery, fuel and lubricating 
oils, iron and steel products, wood and lumber, automotive equipment and 
parts, chemicals.  Major trading partners--European Union, Japan, U.S., 
Brazil.
Exchange rate:  U.S. $1=1 peso.  


PEOPLE

Argentines are a fusion of diverse national and ethnic groups.  
Descendants of Italian and Spanish immigrants predominate.  Waves of 
immigrants from many European countries arrived in the late 19th and 
early 20th centuries.  Syrian, Lebanese, and other Middle Eastern 
immigrants number about 500,000, mainly in urban areas.  In recent 
years, there has been a substantial influx of immigrants from 
neighboring Latin American countries.  The native Indian population, now 
estimated at 50,000, is concentrated in the peripheral provinces of the 
north, northwest, and south.  The Argentine population has one of Latin 
America's lowest growth rates (1.4%).  Eighty percent of the population 
resides in urban areas of more than 2,000 with more than one-third of 
the population living in the greater Buenos Aires area.  This sprawling 
metropolis, with about 12 million inhabitants, serves as the focus for 
national life.  Argentines enjoy comparatively high standards of living; 
half the population considers itself middle class.  

More than 90% of Argentines are Roman Catholic.  Religious freedom is 
practiced, although all non-Catholic denominations are required to 
register with the government.  The Protestant community is small but 
active.  Argentina's Jewish community of about 350,000 is concentrated 
in Buenos Aires.

The Argentine educational system is compulsory for grades one through 
seven, starting at age six.  The adult literacy rate is 95%--one of 
Latin America's highest.  Literary and artistic tastes have been 
influenced mainly by Western Europe and, more recently, by the United 
States.

A large number of Spanish-language daily newspapers are published in the 
greater Buenos Aires area.  A dozen community newspapers are published 
in English, French, German, Greek, Hungarian, Italian, Japanese, Polish, 
Ukrainian, and Yiddish.  All the community newspapers are periodicals 
except the daily English-language Buenos Aires Herald.


HISTORY

Europeans arrived in the region with the 1502 voyage of Amerigo 
Vespucci.  Spanish navigator Juan Diaz de Solis visited what is now 
Argentina 1516.  Spain established a permanent colony on the site of 
Buenos Aires in 1580.  They further integrated Argentina into their 
empire following the establishment of the Vice-Royalty of Rio de la 
Plata in 1776, and Buenos Aires became a flourishing port.

Buenos Aires formally declared independence from Spain on July 9, 1816.  
Argentines revere Gen. Jose de San Martin, who campaigned in Argentina, 
Chile, and Peru, as the hero of their national independence.  Following 
the defeat of the Spanish, centralist and federalist groups waged a 
lengthy conflict between themselves to determine the future structure 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 
the integration of Argentina into the world economy.  Foreign investment 
and immigration from Europe aided this economic revolution.  The 
investment, primarily British, came in such fields as railroads and 
ports.  The migrants who worked to develop Argentina's resources came 
from throughout Europe, but mostly from Italy and Spain.

Conservative forces dominated Argentine politics until 1916, when their 
traditional rivals, the Radicals, won control of the government through 
a democratic election.  The Radicals, with their emphasis on fair 
elections and democratic institutions, opened their doors to Argentina's 
expanding middle class as well as to elites previously excluded from 
power for various reasons.  The Argentine military 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 forces for economic and political change that 
eventually helped produce the governments of Juan Domingo Peron, who 
lived from 1897 to 1974.  New social and political forces were seeking 
political power.  These included the modern military and the labor 
movement that emerged from the growing urban working class.

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 five-year plan based on nationalization and 
industrialization.  He presented himself as a friend of labor and 
assisted in establishing the powerful General Confederation of Labor 
(CGT).  Peron's dynamic wife, Eva Duarte de Peron (1919-52), helped her 
husband develop his appeals to labor and women's groups and helped women 
obtain the right to vote in 1947.

Peron won re-election in 1952, but the military deposed him in 1955.  He 
went into exile, eventually settling in Spain.  In the 1950s and 1960s, 
military and civilian administrations traded power.  They tried, 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.

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 J. Campora, to the presidency.  Peron's followers 
also commanded strong majorities in both houses of the National 
Congress, which assumed office on May 25, 1973.  Campora resigned in 
July 1973, paving the way for Raul Lastiri, a Peronist loyalist, to 
assume the presidency and call 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.

Peron died on July 1, 1974.  His wife succeeded him in office, but her 
administration was undermined by economic problems, Peronist intraparty 
struggles, and growing terrorism from both left and right.  A military 
coup removed her from office on March 24, 1976.  Until December 10, 
1983, the armed forces formally exercised -power through a junta 
composed of the three service commanders.

The armed forces applied harsh measures against terrorists and their 
sympathizers.  They silenced armed opposition and restored basic order.  
Yet the costs were high in terms of lives lost and basic human rights 
violated.

Serious economic problems, defeat by the U.K. in 1982 after an 
unsuccessful Argentine attempt to forcibly take control of the 
Falkland/Malvinas Islands, public revulsion in the face of severe human 
rights abuses, and mounting charges of corruption combined to discredit 
and discourage the military regime.  This prompted a period of gradual 
transition and led the country toward democratic rule.  Acting under 
public pressure, the junta lifted bans on political parties and restored 
other basic political liberties.  Argentina experienced a generally 
successful and peaceful return to democracy.

On October 30, 1983, Argentines went to the polls to choose a president; 
vice president; and national, provincial, and local officials in 
elections international observers found to be fair, open, and honest.  
The country returned to constitutional rule after Raul Alfonsin, 
candidate of the Radical Civic Union (UCR), received 52% of the popular 
vote for president.  He began a six-year term of office on December 10, 
1983.  

In 1985 and 1987, large turnouts for mid-term elections demonstrated 
continued public support for a strong and vigorous democratic system.  
The UCR-led government took steps to resolve some of the nation's most 
pressing problems, including accounting for those who disappeared during 
military rule, establishing civilian control of the armed forces, and 
consolidating democratic institutions.  Constant friction with the 
military, failure to resolve endemic economic problems, and an inability 
to maintain public confidence undermined the Alfonsin Government's 
effectiveness.


GOVERNMENT AND POLITICAL CONDITIONS

In May 1989, Justicialista Party (PJ) candidate Carlos Saul Menem 
defeated the UCR's Eduardo Angeloz to win the Argentine presidency with 
47% of the vote and a clear majority in the nation's electoral college.  
The PJ is the inheritor of the Peronist political tradition.  Menem 
began his six-year term of office in June 1989.  The PJ and its allies 
also won control of congress.  Menem was to have succeeded Alfonsin in 
December 1989, but a rapidly deteriorating economy and resulting loss of 
confidence in the national government led Alfonsin to resign in July.  
Menem succeeded to the presidency five months earlier than planned.  
Despite the irregular nature of the transition, it marked the first 
transfer of power between democratically elected presidents in over 60 
years.

Menem surprised most observers, including members of his own party, by 
adopting policies diverging dramatically from Argentina's (and 
Peronism's) statist economic traditions.  On taking office, he initiated 
emergency economic and state reform legislation that cut government 
spending, increased revenues, and reduced state involvement in the 
economy.  In April 1991, the congress enacted a convertability law which 
fixed the Argentine currency to the U.S. dollar, prohibited financing of 
the government's fiscal deficit by the central bank, and declared all 
indexation schemes illegal.  Menem also moved quickly to privatize 
government-owned industries, such as the national airline and the 
telephone company.

Building on a record of economic success, the  Justicialista Party won 
mid-term election in 1991 and 1993.  Menem struck a deal with UCR leader 
Alfonsin in December 1993 which prompted April 1994 elections for a 
constituent convention to revise the Argentine federal constitution.  
The PJ won a plurality of seats at the convention, which met from May to 
August 1994.  The UCR suffered severe defeats in many traditional party 
strongholds.  The election saw the rise of a new political movement, the 
Broad Front, to national prominence.  The Broad Front, a center-left 
alliance, won the April election in the federal capital and the southern 
province of Neuquen and showed strength elsewhere in the country.  The 
convention abolished the traditional ban on an Argentine president 
succeeding him or herself in office.  Menem has announced he will seek 
reelection in 1995. 

Argentina is a republic.  The constitution of 1853 mandates a separation 
of powers into executive, legislative, and judicial branches at the 
national and provincial level.  Each province also has its own 
constitution which roughly mirrors the structure of the national 
constitution.

The president and vice president have traditionally been indirectly 
elected to a single six-year term through an electoral college.  They 
have not been allowed to immediately run for re-election.  
Constitutional reforms adopted in August 1994 reduced the presidential 
term to four years, abolished the electoral college in favor of direct 
election, and allowed a sitting president to stand for re-election after 
his or her first term.  

Cabinet ministers are appointed by the president.  The constitution 
grants the president considerable power, including a line-item veto.  
Provinces traditionally sent two senators, elected by provincial 
legislatures, to Congress.  Voters in the federal capital of Buenos 
Aires elected an electoral college which elected the city's senators.  
The constitution now mandates a transition to direct election for all 
senators and the addition of a third senator from each province and the 
capital.  The third senator will represent the electoral district's 
largest minority party.  The revised constitution reduces senatorial 
terms from nine to six years in office.  One-third of the Senate stands 
for re-election every three years.  Members of the Chamber of Deputies 
are directly elected to four-year terms, with voters electing half the 
members of the lower house every two years through a system of 
proportional representation.

Other important changes to the constitutional system included the 
creation of a senior coordinating minister to serve under the president 
and the popular election of the mayor of the city of Buenos Aires.

The constitution establishes the judiciary as a separate and independent 
entity of government.  The president appoints members of the Supreme 
Court with the consent of the Senate.  Other federal judges are 
appointed by a special judicial commission.  The Supreme Court has the 
power, first asserted in 1854, to declare legislative acts 
unconstitutional.

National Security

The president and a civilian minister of defense control the Argentine 
armed forces.  The paramilitary forces under the control of the ministry 
of defense are the gendarmeria, or border police, and the naval 
prefectura, or coast guard.

The Argentine armed forces maintain close defense cooperation and 
military supply relationships with the United States.  Other countries 
also have military relationships with the Argentine forces, principally 
Israel, Germany, France, Spain, and Italy.  The lack of budgetary 
resources is the most serious problem facing the Argentine military.  
Current economic conditions and the government's commitment to reduce 
public sector spending have slowed modernization and restructuring 
efforts.

Principal Government Officials
President--Carlos Saul Menem
Minister of External Relations and Worship--Guido DiTella
Ambassador to the United States--Raul Enrique Granillo Ocampo
Ambassador to the OAS--Hernan Patino Mayer
Ambassador to the UN--Emilio Jorge Cardenas

Argentina maintains an embassy in the United States at 1600 New 
Hampshire Ave., NW, Washington, DC 20009 (tel. 202-939-6400; FAX:  202-
332-3171).  Argentina has consulates general in Houston, Miami, New 
York, New Orleans, San Francisco, and San Juan and consulates in 
Baltimore, Chicago, and Los Angeles.


ECONOMY

Argentina has impressive human and natural resources, but political 
conflict and uneven economic performance over the last 50 years have 
impeded full realization of its potential.  Nonetheless, it remains one 
of Latin America's richest countries.

President Menem took office in July 1989 and, amid hyperinflation (198% 
that month), moved quickly to re-establish economic stability.  He has 
brought the fiscal deficit under control and reduced the intrusive role 
the state had played for decades in all aspects of Argentina's economic 
life.  Since February 1991, Domingo Cavallo, Minister of Economy, has 
implemented economic reform and pursued fiscal responsibility that has 
reduced inflation to 10.6% and reversed decades of economic decline.

Argentina's successes have generated international support.  The 
International Monetary Fund approved a stand-by program in June 1991 and 
an extended funding facility in March 1992.  Argentina also received 
substantial support from  other international lenders.  Its debt with 
commercial banks, including $7 billion in arrears, has been restructured 
under the U.S. Brady Plan for assisting developing countries in reducing 
debt.

Argentina's richest natural resource is the fertile, temperate plain 
known as the pampas, which fans out almost 800 km. (500 mi.) west of 
Buenos Aires.  It produces large quantities of wheat, corn, sorghum, 
soybeans, and sunflower seeds and offers year-round pasturage for 
Argentina's cattle industry.  Argentina is one of the world's largest 
exporters of foodstuffs.  Argentina exports to a variety of worldwide 
buyers.  Iran, Brazil, and China are major buyers.  Argentina also 
exports agricultural goods to the United States (primarily canned, 
precooked, and frozen beef; tobacco; and fruits and fruit products).

Argentina obtains about 23% of its imports from the United States.  
Total imports in 1993 were $16.8 billion, of which $3.8 billion was from 
the United States.  Capital equipment, computers and peripherals, 
telecommunications, chemicals, and electronic components were the 
principal U.S. items sold to Argentina.  In 1993, Argentina exported $13 
billion worth of goods and services, petroleum products and manufactured 
goods as well as agricultural goods and primary resources; $1.3 billion 
(10%) went to the United States.

Argentina was a net energy exporter in 1993.  It has significant 
reserves of petroleum and natural gas.  The Menem Government opened the 
petroleum sector to private development and, as a result, petroleum 
production has expanded greatly.  Significant deregulation of the 
petroleum sector, including price controls, took effect in 1991.  In 
July 1993, Argentina privatized YPF, the state oil company and the 
country's biggest corporation, via the largest initial stock offering in 
the New York Stock Exchange, which brought in more than $3 billion.

Argentina also has a large electric production capacity, mostly from 
hydroelectric sources.  The first of 20 generators at Yacyreta, the 
massive hydroelectric project (2,400 megawatts) being constructed with 
Paraguay and scheduled for completion in 1998, was activated in early 
September 1994.  Argentina has the most advanced nuclear program in 
Latin America; nuclear power provides some 13% of the country's 
electrical needs.  Two nuclear power plants are completed, and a third 
is under construction.  Argentina also exports nuclear technology and 
assistance.  The Menem Government which has already privatized most 
federally-owned electric generation, transmission, and distribution 
facilities, also plans to privatize the nuclear energy sector.


FOREIGN RELATIONS

Argentina increasingly pursues a pragmatic foreign policy and maintains 
relations with almost all countries.  Support for democracy and the 
promotion of increased trade and investment are major priorities.  
Argentina's relations have traditionally been closest with Western 
Europe, the United States, and its Latin American neighbors.  President 
Menem has worked hard to improve relations with the United States and 
Europe while encouraging Latin American regional integration.

Argentina settled its Beagle Channel dispute with Chile in 1984-85.  The 
two countries have also submitted a dispute over an ill-defined section 
of their border in the southern Andes to international arbitration.  A 
settlement is likely in 1995.  Argentina's one active territorial 
dispute is with the United Kingdom over a group of islands northeast of 
Cape Horn.  The Argentines refer to the islands as the Malvinas Islands.  
The U.K. calls them the Falkland Islands.  Historically, European 
powers, notably the U.K. and Spain, claimed the islands.  In the early 
1800s, Spanish and the Argentine authorities administered them.  
However, in 1833, the U.K. reasserted sovereignty and made the islands 
first a crown colony and later a self-governing dependency.

In an effort to reestablish Argentina's sovereignty claim, Argentine 
military forces occupied the islands on April 2, 1982.  After a brief 
and costly war, the Argentine forces were defeated and expelled.  Direct 
talks between the Argentine and U.K. Governments leading to the 
reestablishment of diplomatic relations began in September 1989. 

The talks took place under a formula that separated the sovereignty 
question from matters affecting other bilateral relations.  The two 
governments restored diplomatic ties in February 1990.  

Argentina continues to claim sovereignty over the islands and presses 
its case in a variety of international forums, but it has foresworn 
force as a means of recovering the islands.  The United States has taken 
no position on the merits of the two countries' sovereignty claims but 
supports a peaceful resolution of the dispute.


U.S.-ARGENTINE RELATIONS

The United States and Argentina have maintained diplomatic relations 
since 1823.  Both countries have sought a constructive relationship 
based on reciprocal respect and understanding, but bilateral relations 
have often been turbulent.

In the 1970s, U.S.-Argentine relations entered a particularly difficult 
period.  The U.S. Government, concerned about serious human rights 
violations by the Argentine military government in the campaign against 
terrorism, restricted both military assistance and the sales of military 
and other controlled-export items to Argentina.  The U.S. Congress 
prohibited both military sales and assistance.  The Argentine Government 
consistently maintained that these actions were attempts to influence 
domestic politics.  

In the early 1980s, better relations seemed possible as the Argentine 
military authorities demonstrated some improvements in their human 
rights record.  The Falklands/Malvinas War, however, placed additional 
strains on bilateral relations.  The U.S. position on the non-use of 
force for the resolution of disputes led the United States to impose new 
sanctions on Argentina and to provide limited assistance to the United 
Kingdom in its campaign to regain the islands.

Relations improved after the war.  Sanctions imposed during the fighting 
were lifted, and the United States supported Argentine-sponsored UN 
resolutions calling for renewed negotiations on the Falklands/Malvinas 
dispute.  The United States encouraged resumption of a direct dialogue 
between Argentina and the United Kingdom.

The Argentine human rights situation and political climate improved 
dramatically following the military's mid-1982 decision to return the 
country to democracy.  During 1983, all remaining political prisoners 
being held without trial under state-of-siege powers were released.  
Also in 1983, the nine-year-old state of siege was lifted, and 
restrictions on trade union activities and press censorship virtually 
ceased.  

The U.S. Government removed legal prohibitions on military sales upon 
the inauguration of the democratically elected government of President 
Alfonsin in December 1983.  Since the return of democratic government, 
the United States and Argentine armed forces have developed a mutually 
beneficial defense relationship through professional exchanges, visits, 
training, and joint exercises.  There are modest military education, 
training, and military sales programs.

Since 1983, bilateral relations, based on shared democratic values, have 
improved.  President Alfonsin made a state visit to the United States in 
March 1985, the first such visit by an Argentine President in 24 years.  
President Menem, who succeeded Alfonsin in 1989, also made a state visit 
to the U.S. in November 1991, reciprocating President Bush's visit to 
Argentina in December 1990.

Argentina maintains an independent and pro-Western stance in world 
affairs and cooperates with the United States in resolving bilateral 
differences.  The countries consult frequently on hemispheric and other 
international issues.  

Argentina has agreed with the U.S. position on human rights in Cuba and 
the 1991 coup in Haiti.  In recent years, Argentina also sent ships from 
its Navy to participate in the UN-coordinated military action in the 
Persian Gulf and the UN-sponsored embargo of Haiti.  Argentina strongly 
backed efforts by the United States to implement UN Security Council 
Resolution 940, designed to facilitate the departure of Haiti's de facto 
authorities from power.  Argentina agreed to contribute personnel to the 
Multinational Force, which restored the democratically-elected 
Government of Haiti in October 1994.  It has contributed peace-keeping 
forces to UN operations in, among other places, Croatia and Mozambique.

As a result of Argentina's relative prosperity by 1971, the United 
States phased out bilateral economic assistance.  U.S.AID currently 
finances a small administration of justice program in Argentina.  From 
1992 to 1994 a small group of Peace Corps volunteers worked in 
Argentina.

Many U.S. industrial firms and banks maintain subsidiaries in Argentina.  
Licensing agreements with local companies are common.  U.S. private 
investment totals more than $8 billion, primarily in the manufacturing 
of chemicals, agricultural equipment, transportation equipment; banking 
and petroleum.  Several thousand U.S. citizens reside in Argentina.

Principal U.S. Embassy Officials
Ambassador--James R. Cheek
Deputy Chief of Mission--Ronald D. Godard
Counselor for Agricultural Affairs--Max Bowser
Counselor for Public Affairs--Ernesto Uribe
Counselor for Scientific and Technological Affairs--Kenneth D. Cohen
Counselor for Political Affairs--William J. Brencick
Counselor for Consular Affairs--Nicholas J. Ricciuti
Counselor for Economic Affairs--Peter D. Whitney
Labor Attache--Randolph I. Marcus
Counselor for Administrative Affairs--John M. Salazar
Counselor for Commercial Affairs--Arthur A. Alexander
Defense Attache and Air Attache--Col. Wayne Fisher, USAF
Drug Enforcement Administration--Terry Parham
Military Group--Col. Jose A. Rodriguez

The U.S. embassy in Argentina is located at 4300 Colombia, Buenos Aires 
1425.  The APO address for the embassy is APO, AA 34034-0001 (tel. 774-
4533; 774-4534; FAX:  54-1-777-0197. 

(###)