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Argentina

The Argentine Republic (República Argentina) is a Spanish-speaking country in southern South America, in between the Andes in the West and the South Atlantic Ocean in the East. It borders Brazil, Paraguay, Bolivia, Chile and Uruguay.

The name Argentina is derived from the Latin argentum (silver). The origin of this name goes back to the first voyages made by the Spanish conquerors to Río de la Plata. The survivors of the shipwrecked expedition mounted by Juan Díaz de Solís found indigenous people in the region who gave them silver objects as presents. The news about the legendary Sierra del Plata – a mountain rich in silver – reached Spain around 1524. Since then, the Spaniards named the river of Solís, Río de la Plata (River of Silver).

República Argentina
(In Detail) (Full size)
National motto: En Unión y Libertad
(Spanish, "In Union and Liberty")
Official language Spanish
Capital Buenos Aires City
Largest City Buenos Aires City
PresidentNéstor Kirchner
Cabinet ChiefAlberto Fernández
Area
 - Total
 - % water
Ranked 8th
2,766,890 km² ¹
1.1%
Population
 - Total (2002)
 - Density
Ranked 31st
37,812,817
14/km²
Independence
 - Initiated
 - Formally declared
From Spain
May 25, 1810
July 9, 1816
Currency Argentine Peso
Time zone UTC -3
National anthem Oid, Mortales
Internet TLD.AR
Calling Code54
(1) Argentina also claims 1,000,000 km²
of Antarctica, as well as the Falkland (Malvinas) Islands

Table of contents
1 History
2 Politics
3 Provinces
4 Major cities
5 Geography
6 Economy
7 Demographics
8 Culture
9 Miscellaneous topics
10 External links

History

Main article: History of Argentina

Europeans first arrived in the region in the early 16th century (the first to see and colonize the land was Spanish seaman Juan Díaz de Solís, in 1516). Subsequent Spanish colonisation of the area led to the colony of Buenos Aires in 1580. Independence from Spain was achieved in 1816, after which a conflict between centralists and federalists developed until a new constitution was proclaimed in 1853.

Argentina was then marked by periods of internal political conflict between conservatives and liberals and between civilian and military factions. In the beginning of 20th century Argentina was one of the leading economies in the world.

After World War II, the country saw the rise of the populist Peronist movement, which to a large extent polarised Argentina. Increasingly bloody military juntas alternated with proscribing democratic governments until 1983, following increasing economic problems, corruption, public revulsion and defeat in the Falklands War.

Since then, four free elections have underscored Argentina's progress in democratic consolidation, albeit with an unprecedented economic implosion at the end of 2001.

Politics

Main article: Politics of Argentina

The Argentine constitution of 1853, as revised in 1994, mandates a separation of powers into executive, legislative, and judicial brancheses at the national and provincial level. The president and vice president are directly elected to 4-year terms. Both are limited to two consecutive terms; they are allowed to stand for a third term or more after an interval of at least one term. The president appoints cabinet ministers, and the constitution grants him considerable power as both head of state and head of government, including authority to enact laws by presidential decree under conditions of "urgency and necessity" and the line-item veto.

Argentina's parliament is the bicameral National Congress or Congreso Nacional, consisting of a senate (Senado) of 72 seats and a Chamber of Deputies (Cámara de Diputados) of 257 members. Since 2001, senators have been directly elected, with each province, including the Federal Capital, represented by three senators. Senators serve 6-year terms. One-third of the Senate stands for reelection every 2 years. Members of the Chamber of Deputies are directly elected to 4-year terms. Voters elect half the members of the lower house every 2 years. Both houses are elected via a system of proportional representation.

Provinces

Main article: Provinces of Argentina

Argentina consists of 23 provinces (provincias; singular: provincia), and 1 federal district (distrito federal), marked with an asterisk:

Note: The official name for the federal district is "Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires". The official name for the alphabetically second-to-last province is "Tierra del Fuego, Antártida e Islas del Atlántico Sur".

Major cities

About 88 percent of Argentina's people live in cities and towns. About 3 million live in Buenos Aires, and roughly 11 million people live Greater Buenos Aires, making it one of the largest cities in the world. Many European immigrants to Argentina settled in the cities. These cities offered jobs, education, and other opportunities that enabled newcomers to enter the middle class. Compared to most Latin American countries today, Argentina has a very large middle class. Many of these middle class people work in industry, own small businesses, or have government or professional jobs. They live in tall modern apartment buildings or bungalows that have small yards or gardens. Wealthy Argentines and business executives live in mansions and luxurious apartments in the cities or in fashionable suburbs.

Since the 1930's many rural workers have moved to the big cities to seek work, causing a shortage of housing. Many slums have sprouted in the city outskirts and slum dwellers live in shacks. Most of them can only find part-time work.

Argentina's urban areas have a European look, reflecting the influence of their European settlers. Many towns and cities are built like Spanish cities around a main square called a plaza. A cathedral and important government buildings face the plaza.

Geography

Main article:
Geography of Argentina

Argentina can roughly be divided into three parts: the fertile plains of the Pampas in the northern half of the country, the centre of Argentina's agricultural wealth; the flat to rolling plateau of Patagonia in the southern half down to Tierra del Fuego; and the rugged Andes mountain range along the western border with Chile, with the highest point being the Cerro Aconcagua at 6,960 m.

Major rivers include the Paraguay, Bermejo, Colorado, Uruguay and the largest river, the Paraná. The latter two flow together prior to meeting the Atlantic Ocean, forming the estuary of the Rio de la Plata (River of Silver). The Argentine climate is predominantly temperate with extremes ranging from subtropical in the north to arid/sub-Antarctic in far south.

Economy

Main article: Economy of Argentina

Argentina benefits from rich natural resources, a highly literate population, an export-oriented agricultural sector, and a diversified industrial base. However, since the late 1980s the country had piled up huge external debts, inflation had reached 200% per month, and output was plummeting. To combat the economic crisis, the government embarked on a path of trade liberalisation, deregulation, and privatisation. In 1991, it implemented radical monetary reforms which pegged the peso to the US dollar and limited the growth in the monetary base by law to the growth in reserves.

Though initially a success, with inflation dropping and a recovering GDP growth, subsequent economic crises in Mexico, Asia, Russia and Brazil contributed to ever worsening conditions from 1999 onward. The government sponsored tax increases and spending cuts to reduce the budget deficit, which had ballooned to 2.5% of GDP in 1999, though both domestic and foreign investors remained skeptical of the government's ability to pay debts and maintain the peso's fixed exchange rate with the US dollar.

The economic situation worsened still further in 2001 with the widening of spreads on Argentine bonds, massive withdrawals from the banks, and a further decline in consumer and investor confidence. Government efforts to achieve a "zero deficit", to stabilise the stricken banking system, and to restore economic growth proved inadequate in the face of the mounting economic problems. Newly elected president Eduardo Duhalde met with IMF officials to secure an additional $20 billion loan, but immediate action seemed unlikely. The peso's peg to the dollar was abandoned in January 2002, and the peso was floated from the dollar in February.

As of January 2004, the economical situation of the country showed a slight improvement over the past few years, apparently due to the internal growth of 2003. Economic restoration is expected to continue over the next few years with constant, internal growth rates.

Demographics

Main article: Demographics of Argentina

Argentines are a fusion of diverse national and ethnic groups, with descendants of Italian and Spanish immigrants predominant. Waves of immigrants from many European countries arrived in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The Patagonian Chubut Valley has a significant Welsh descended population and retains many Welsh placenames and aspects of Welsh culture. Syrian, Lebanese, and other Middle Eastern immigrants number about 500,000, mainly in urban areas. The only official language is Spanish, though immigrants have to an extent retained their original languages.

Argentina's population is overwhelmingly Roman Catholic, which is Argentina's official religion, but it also has the largest Jewish population in Latin America, about 300,000 strong, and is home to one of the largest Islamic mosques in Latin America. Protestant communities are also present. The indigenous population, estimated at 700,000, is concentrated in the provinces of the north, northwest, and south.

Culture

Main article: Culture of Argentina

Miscellaneous topics

External links

Argentine newspapers

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    Sport Venture
    Sport fishing, and hunting packages to many international destinations. We specialize in Central and South America.
    http://www.sportventure.com

    Compañía de Guías de Patagonia
    Mountain guide company organizing trekkings trips, mountain climbing and expeditions in patagonia and Tierra del Fuego.
    http://www.companiadeguias.com.ar

    Bolivian Adventures
    Offers dove hunting in Bolivia. Also offer Dove hunts and Peacock-bass fishing combination trips. Includes guide and contact information, destinations, and photographs.
    http://www.bolivianadventures.com/

    Andes Trek
    Offers trekking and mountaineering tours and guided trips in Ecuador, including equipment rental. Site features photos and general area information.
    http://www.andes-trek.com

    Cap'n Dave Outfitter
    Offers hunting and sportfishing vacations in Argentina, Costa Rica, Bolivia, Mexico, and Brazil. Includes photos and trip details.
    http://www.capndave-outfitter.com

    Andisimo
    Tour operator in Ecuador also sells and rents equipment at a retail store in Quito. Tours include climbing, trekking, rafting, and biking.
    http://www.andisimo.com/

    Patagonia Experience
    Operates in Argentine and Chilean Patagonia. Offers fixed itinerary trekking, climbing, rafting, kayaking, fishing, and mountain biking tours. Includes trip details and costs.
    http://www.patagonia-experience.com/

    Rios Ecuador Rafting and Kayaking Outfitters
    Located in Quito. Offers fixed intinerary trips and instruction for kayaking and whitewater rafting in Ecuador.
    http://www.riosecuador.com

    Andes Mouintain Expediciones
    Offers trekking, climbing, biking, and general travel tours in Chile, including Aconcagua. Includes trip details and costs.
    http://www.andesmountain.cl/index_ing.htm

    Alaya Adventural SRL
    Trekking, mountaineering, or 4x4 trips in the Andes cordillera, the Real range, or the valley of Yungas in Brazil. Includes trip details and pricing.
    http://www.alaya-bolivia.com/

    Trekking Travel
    Offers horse back riding and rekking in the Los Andes Mountain Range and mountaineering expeditions to Aconcagua. Includes inteneraries and schedule.
    http://www.trekking-travel.com.ar

    Sporting Destinations
    Private guiding for hunting or fishing in Argentina.
    http://www.sportingd.com

    Ulysses Trekk
    Climbing and trekking in the Andes. Content in English and Spanish.
    http://www.ulyssestrekk.com.ar/

    Cotopaxi Adventure Programs
    Offers trekking, kayaking, mountaineering and multi-sport tours in Ecuador. Based in Quito.
    http://www.cotopaxi.com/

    Brazil Adventures Expeditions
    Trekking, mountain biking, kayaking, rafting, canyoning, caving, and diving trips throughout Brazil.
    http://www.brazil-adventures.com

    Sporting Destinations.com
    Offering big game hunting, wing shooting for dove, duck, and perdiz, and fishing in Argentina. Includes photo and video gallery, and contact information.
    http://www.sportingdestinations.com

    Parque Rincon de Luna
    Offering hunting and fly fishing. Includes details and contact information. Located in Calamuchita's Valley, 88 miles from Córdoba International Airport in Argentina.
    http://www.parquerincondeluna.com/

    Argentina Big Hunting
    Offers deer, ram, goat, buffalo and antelope hunting, and wingshooting on more than 30 private game preserves. Includes details of packages, facilities, seasons, price lists, photos and contact information. Located in La Plata.
    http://www.argentinabighunting.com

    Argentina Safari.com
    Offering big game, wingshooting and fishing trips in Argentina and Uruguay. Includes photos, FAQs and contact details. [English, Spanish and German].
    http://www.ArgentineSafari.com

    Hucal Safaris - Argentina
    Offering big and small game hunting, and sport fishing. Includes details, photos, season dates, booking and contact information. Located in Bahía Blanca, Buenos Aires.
    http://www.hucalsafaris.com

    Argentina Hunt and Fish
    Offering wing shooting, big game hunts, and fishing packages. Includes details, terms and conditions, and contact information. Requires Flash. [English and Italian]
    http://www.argentinahuntandfish.com

    Outback Bolivia
    Offering trekking, climbing, fishing, biking, overland and Amazon trips. Includes itinerary details, rates, photos, terms and conditions, and contact information. Located in La Paz. [English and Spanish]
    http://www.outbackbolivia.com

    Hunting for VIPs
    Offering big game and small game in Argentina and sportive fishing. Includes details of packages, photos, general conditions, tips and contact information.
    http://www.huntingforvips.com.ar

    Cordoba Wingshooting
    Offering duck, partridge, pigeon and dove hunts in Argentina. Includes details and contact information. [English and Spanish]
    http://www.wingshooting.com.ar/

    Four Seasons Adventures S.A.
    Offering hunting and fishing trips in Argentina. Includes details, travel tips, map and contact form.
    http://www.1a-dove-hunting.com

    Alba Dorada
    Offering hunting and fishing in the Santa Fe district of Argentina. Includes package details, rates, conditions and contact information. [English, Spanish and Italian]
    http://www.hunting-argentina.com

    Cordoba Hunting.com
    Offering dove and duck hunting, and fishing in Argentina. Includes package details, photos, prices, reservation form and contact information.
    http://cordobahunting.com.ar



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