The Abipones ( Spanish : Abipones , singular Abipón ) were an indigenous people of Argentina 's Gran Chaco region, speakers of one of the Guaicuruan languages . They ceased to exist as an independent ethnic group in the early 19th century. A small number of survivors assimilated into Argentine society.
134-756: The Abipones originally occupied the Gran Chaco of Argentina , in the lower portions of the Bermejo River . They were originally a seasonally mobile people of hunters, gatherers, fishers and to a limited extent farmers. By 1641, the Abipones had already obtained the horse from the Spanish settlers and abandoned farming for cattle and horse raiding. By that time they still lived north of the Bermejo River They became feared by their neighbours and
268-669: A clandestine organization. José López Rega organized the Argentine Anticommunist Alliance (AAA) to fight against them and the People's Revolutionary Army (ERP). Perón died in July 1974 and was succeeded by his wife, who signed a secret decree empowering the military and the police to "annihilate" the left-wing subversion, stopping ERP's attempt to start a rural insurgence in Tucumán province. Isabel Perón
402-684: A critical role in the party, died of cancer in 1952. As the economy continued to tank, Perón started losing popular support, and came to be seen as a threat to the national process. The Navy took advantage of Perón's withering political power, and bombed the Plaza de Mayo in 1955. Perón survived the attack, but a few months later, during the Liberating Revolution coup, he was deposed and went into exile in Spain. The new head of State, Pedro Eugenio Aramburu , proscribed Peronism and banned
536-463: A final heart attack on Monday, 1 July 1974, and died at 13:15. He was 78 years old. After his death, Isabel Perón , his wife and vice president, succeeded him in office. During her presidency, a military junta, along with the Peronists' far-right fascist faction, once again became the de facto head of state . Isabel Perón served as President of Argentina from 1974 until 1976, when she was ousted by
670-643: A fleet to reach Peru by sea, and sought the military support of various rebels from the Viceroyalty of Peru. In 1822 the two men met at the Guayaquil Conference in Ecuador, where they failed to agree on governance strategies for the liberated nations. Two years later Bolívar's forces beat the Spanish at the Battle of Ayacucho , securing the independence of Peru and the rest of South America. In
804-551: A left-wing Peronist, who took office on 25 May 1973. A month later, in June, Perón returned from Spain. One of Cámpora's first presidential actions was to grant amnesty to members of organizations that had carried out political assassinations and terrorist attacks, and to those who had been tried and sentenced to prison by judges. Cámpora's months-long tenure in government was beset by political and social unrest. Over 600 social conflicts, strikes , and factory occupations took place within
938-459: A long history of colonialism , the overwhelming majority of South Americans speak Spanish or Portuguese , and societies and states are rich in Western traditions . Relative to Africa, Asia, and Europe, post-1900 South America has been a peaceful continent with few wars, although high rates of violent crime remain a concern in some countries. South America occupies the southern portion of
1072-571: A major military effort by the Spanish began gradually to impose authority on the Abipones. By 1750 Jesuit missions had been established among them (chiefly by Martin Dobrizhoffer , who had been a missionary in Paraguay for eighteen years), and they had been largely Christianized and turned sedentary. The colonies had incessant trouble with Spanish settlers, and were often raided by the Tobas and
1206-747: A military coup d'état led by General Arturo Rawson toppled the democratically elected government of Ramón Castillo . Under pressure from the United States, later Argentina declared war on the Axis Powers (on 27 March 1945, roughly a month before the end of World War II in Europe ). During the Rawson dictatorship a relatively unknown military colonel named Juan Perón was named head of the Labour Department. Perón quickly managed to climb
1340-561: A nation in the course of less than half a century. The survivors assimilated into the general Argentinian population. They learned to speak Spanish , and abandoned their old customs. The last speaker of the Abipón language is believed to have died in the 19th century. According to Martin Dobrizhoffer, who lived among them for a period of seven years, the Abipones were a group of tall, well-formed, handsome people, with black eyes, aquiline noses and thick black hair, which they plucked out from
1474-682: A part of Oceania, also administered by Chile), the Galápagos Islands (administered by Ecuador , sometimes considered part of Oceania), and Tierra del Fuego (split between Argentina and Chile). In the Atlantic Ocean, Brazil administers Fernando de Noronha , Trindade and Martim Vaz , and the Saint Peter and Saint Paul Archipelago , while the Falkland Islands (Spanish: Islas Malvinas ) and South Georgia and
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#17327760737341608-618: A proposal known as the Inca plan of 1816, which proposed that the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata (Present Argentina) should be a monarchy, led by a descendant of the Inca . Juan Bautista Túpac Amaru (half-brother of Túpac Amaru II ) was proposed as monarch. Some examples of those who supported this proposal were Manuel Belgrano , José de San Martín and Martín Miguel de Güemes . The Congress of Tucumán finally decided to reject
1742-613: A second term . With the economy beginning to decline in 1995, and with increasing unemployment and recession, the UCR, led by Fernando de la Rúa , returned to the presidency in the 1999 elections . De la Rúa left Menem's economic plan in effect despite the worsening crisis, which led to growing social discontent. Massive capital flight from the country was responded to with a freezing of bank accounts , generating further turmoil. The December 2001 riots forced him to resign. Congress appointed Eduardo Duhalde as acting president, who revoked
1876-467: A single month. Even though far-left terrorist organisations had suspended their armed struggle, their joining with the participatory democracy process was interpreted as a direct threat by the Peronist right-wing faction. Amid a state of political, social, and economic upheaval, Cámpora and Vice President Vicente Solano Lima resigned in July 1973, calling for new elections, but this time with Perón as
2010-481: A site called Chavín de Huantar in modern Peru at an elevation of 3,177 meters (10,423 ft). Chavín civilization spanned 900 BC to 300 BC. In the central coast of Peru, around the beginning of the 1st millennium AD, Moche (100 BC – 700 AD, at the northern coast of Peru), Paracas and Nazca (400 BC – 800 AD, Peru) cultures flourished with centralized states with permanent militia improving agriculture through irrigation and new styles of ceramic art. At
2144-689: A subtropical climate of the dinaric type. At the highest points of the Andean region, climates are colder than the ones occurring at the highest point of the Norwegian fjords. In the Andean plateaus, the warm climate prevails, although it is tempered by the altitude, while in the coastal strip, there is an equatorial climate of the Guinean type. From this point until the north of the Chilean coast appear, successively, Mediterranean oceanic climate , temperate of
2278-414: A system of social assistance for the most vulnerable sectors of society. The economy began to decline in 1950 due in part to government expenditures and the protectionist economic policies. He also engaged in a campaign of political suppression. Anyone who was perceived to be a political dissident or potential rival was subject to threats, physical violence and harassment. The Argentine intelligentsia ,
2412-1075: Is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere , with a considerably smaller portion in the Northern Hemisphere . It can also be described as the southern subregion of the Americas . South America is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east by the Atlantic Ocean ; North America and the Caribbean Sea lie to the northwest. The continent includes twelve sovereign states : Argentina , Bolivia , Brazil , Chile , Colombia , Ecuador , Guyana , Paraguay , Peru , Suriname , Uruguay , and Venezuela ; two dependent territories :
2546-526: Is because the most extensive part of the continent is in the equatorial zone (the region has more areas of equatorial plains than any other region), therefore giving the Southern Cone more oceanic influence, which moderates year round temperatures. The average annual temperatures in the Amazon basin oscillate around 27 °C (81 °F), with low thermal amplitudes and high rainfall indices. Between
2680-460: Is by far the most populous South American country, with almost half of the continent's population, followed by Colombia, Argentina, Venezuela, and Peru. In recent decades, Brazil has also generated half of the continent's GDP and has become the continent's first regional power. Most of the population lives near the continent's western or eastern coasts while the interior and the far south are sparsely populated. The geography of western South America
2814-605: Is dominated by the Andes mountains; in contrast, the eastern part contains both highland regions and vast lowlands where rivers such as the Amazon , Orinoco and Paraná flow. Most of the continent lies in the tropics, except for a large part of the Southern Cone located in the middle latitudes . The continent's cultural and ethnic outlook has its origin with the interaction of Indigenous peoples with European conquerors and immigrants and, more locally, with African slaves . Given
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#17327760737342948-614: Is now Colombia. They established the Muisca Confederation of many clans, or cacicazgos , that had a free trade network among themselves. Many were goldsmiths and farmers. Other important Pre-Columbian cultures include: the Cañaris (in south central Ecuador), Chimú Empire (1300–1470, Peruvian northern coast), Chachapoyas , and the Aymaran kingdoms (1000–1450, Western Bolivia and southern Peru). Holding their capital at
3082-480: Is one of the most biodiverse continents on Earth. It is home to many unique species of animals including the llama , anaconda , piranha , jaguar , vicuña , and tapir , and to one of the largest known insects in the world, the Titan beetle . The Amazon rainforests possess high biodiversity , with Brazil estimated to contain 10% of Earth's species . 83% of South America's large mammals ( megafauna ) became extinct at
3216-576: Is the federal capital and largest city of the nation, Buenos Aires . The provinces and the capital have their own constitutions, but exist under a federal system . Argentina claims sovereignty over the Falkland Islands , South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands , the Southern Patagonian Ice Field , and a part of Antarctica . The earliest recorded human presence in modern-day Argentina dates back to
3350-582: Is the largest country in South America, covering a little less than half of the continent's land area and encompassing around half of the continent's population. The remaining countries and territories are divided among four subregions : the Andean states , Caribbean South America , The Guianas , and the Southern Cone . Physiographically, South America also includes some of the nearby islands. The Dutch ABC islands ( Aruba , Bonaire , and Curaçao ),
3484-632: The Cordobazo and the Rosariazo . The terrorist guerrilla organization Montoneros kidnapped and executed Aramburu. The newly chosen head of government, Alejandro Agustín Lanusse , seeking to ease the growing political pressure, allowed Héctor José Cámpora to become the Peronist candidate instead of Perón. Cámpora won the March 1973 election , issued pardons for condemned guerrilla members, and then secured Perón's return from his exile in Spain. On
3618-519: The Altiplano , Tiahuanaco or Tiwanaku (100 BC – 1200 AD, Bolivia) managed a large commercial network based on religion. Around the 7th century, both Tiahuanaco and Wari or Huari Empire (600–1200, Central and northern Peru) expanded its influence to all the Andean region, imposing the Huari urbanism and Tiahuanaco religious iconography. The Muisca were the main indigenous civilization in what
3752-586: The Archipelago of San Andrés, Providencia and Santa Catalina ( San Andrés Island , Providencia Island , and Santa Catalina Island etc., which are administered by Colombia ) are politically parts of South American countries but physiographically parts of North America. Other islands often associated with geopolitical South America are the Chiloé Archipelago and Robinson Crusoe Island (both administered by Chile), Easter Island (culturally
3886-820: The Atacama Desert ; the wettest place on earth, López de Micay in Colombia; the largest rainforest, the Amazon rainforest ; the highest capital city, La Paz , Bolivia ; the highest commercially navigable lake in the world, Lake Titicaca ; and, excluding research stations in Antarctica , the world's southernmost permanently inhabited community, Puerto Toro , Chile. South America's major mineral resources are gold, silver, copper, iron ore, tin , and petroleum. These resources have brought high income to its countries, especially in times of war or of rapid economic growth by industrialized countries elsewhere. However,
4020-717: The Bering Land Bridge (now the Bering Strait ) at least 15,000 years ago from the territory that is present-day Russia. They migrated south through North America, and eventually reached South America through the Isthmus of Panama . Amongst the oldest evidence for human presence in South America is the Monte Verde II site in Chile, suggested to date to around 14,500 years ago. From around 13,000 years ago,
4154-624: The Bombing of Plaza de Mayo in 1955. The Trelew massacre of 1972, the actions of the Argentine Anticommunist Alliance commencing in 1973, and Isabel Perón 's "annihilation decrees" against left-wing guerrillas during Operativo Independencia (Operation Independence) in 1975, are also possible events signaling the beginning of the Dirty War. Onganía shut down Congress, banned all political parties, and dismantled student and worker unions. In 1969, popular discontent led to two massive protests:
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4288-634: The Caribbean colonies and Brazil, as European nations built up economically slave-dependent colonies in the New World . Nearly 40% of all African slaves trafficked to the Americas went to Brazil. An estimated 4.9 million slaves from Africa came to Brazil during the period from 1501 to 1866. In contrast to other European colonies in the Americas which mainly used the labor of African slaves, Spanish colonists mainly enslaved indigenous Americans. In 1750,
4422-738: The Centralists and the Federalists —a move that would define Argentina's first decades of independence. The Assembly of the Year XIII appointed Gervasio Antonio de Posadas as Argentina's first Supreme Director . On 9 July 1816, the Congress of Tucumán formalized the Declaration of Independence , which is now celebrated as Independence Day, a national holiday. One year later General Martín Miguel de Güemes stopped royalists on
4556-709: The Charrúa , Minuane and Guaraní in the northeast, with slash and burn semisedentary existence; the advanced Diaguita sedentary trading culture in the northwest, which was conquered by the Inca Empire around 1480; the Toconoté and Hênîa and Kâmîare in the country's centre, and the Huarpe in the centre-west, a culture that raised llama cattle and was strongly influenced by the Incas. Europeans first arrived in
4690-955: The Falkland Islands and South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands ; and one internal territory : French Guiana . The ABC islands of the Dutch Caribbean (north of Venezuela in the Leeward Antilles ), Ascension Island (a part of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha ), Bouvet Island (a dependency of Norway ), Panama , and the Caribbean island country of Trinidad and Tobago may also be considered parts of South America. South America has an area of 17,840,000 square kilometers (6,890,000 sq mi). Its population as of 2021 has been estimated at more than 434 million. South America ranks fourth in area (after Asia, Africa, and North America) and fifth in population (after Asia, Africa, Europe, and North America). Brazil
4824-470: The Fishtail projectile point style became widespread across South America, with its disappearance around 11,000 years ago coincident with the disappearance of South America's megafauna. Maize was present in northern South America by around 6,000 years ago. By 2000 BC, many agrarian communities had been settled throughout the Andes and the surrounding regions. Fishing became a widespread practice along
4958-472: The Fortaleza area, contemporaneous with the pyramids of Ancient Egypt , one of the oldest-known civilizations in the Americas and one of the six sites where civilization separately originated in the ancient world. Caral–Supe governing class established a trade network and developed agriculture then followed by Chavín by 900 BC, according to some estimates and archaeological finds. Artifacts were found at
5092-578: The Laborioust candidate. The Labour Party (later renamed Justicialist Party ), the most powerful and influential party in Argentine history, came into power with the rise of Juan Perón to the presidency in 1946. He nationalized strategic industries and services, improved wages and working conditions, paid the full external debt and claimed he achieved nearly full employment . He pushed Congress to enact women's suffrage in 1947, and developed
5226-508: The Macri Government introduced neoliberal austerity measures intended to tackle inflation and overblown public deficits. Under Macri's administration, economic recovery remained elusive with GDP shrinking 3.4%, inflation totaling 240%, billions of US dollars issued in sovereign debt, and mass poverty increasing by the end of his term. He ran for re-election in 2019 but lost by nearly eight percentage points to Alberto Fernández ,
5360-658: The Maracaibo Lake and the mouth of the Orinoco, predominates an equatorial climate of the type Congolese, that also includes parts of the Brazilian territory. The east-central Brazilian plateau has a humid and warm tropical climate. The northern and eastern parts of the Argentine pampas have a humid subtropical climate with dry winters and humid summers of the Chinese type, while the western and eastern ranges have
5494-429: The Mocovís , hostile Guaycuru peoples. By 1768, over half of the Abipones had succumbed to disease and they numbered not more than 5,000. The expulsion of the Jesuits by the Spaniards in that year was fatal for the Abipones. When they attempted to resume their former lifestyles, they found their traditional lands occupied by settlers and other indigenous nations. The Tobas and Mocovís, aided by disease, destroyed them as
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5628-423: The Organization of Ibero-American States . The description of the region by the word Argentina has been found on a Venetian map in 1536. In English, the name Argentina comes from the Spanish language ; however, the naming itself is not Spanish, but Italian . Argentina ( masculine argentino ) means in Italian '(made) of silver, silver coloured', derived from the Latin argentum for silver. In Italian,
5762-472: The Orinoco Llanos and in the Guianas Plateau , the precipitation levels go from moderate to high. The Pacific coast of Colombia and northern Ecuador are rainy regions, with Chocó in Colombia being the rainiest place in the world along with the northern slopes of Indian Himalayas. The Atacama Desert, along this stretch of coast, is one of the driest regions in the world. The central and southern parts of Chile are subject to extratropical cyclones , and most of
5896-473: The Paleolithic period. The Inca Empire expanded to the northwest of the country in Pre-Columbian times. The country has its roots in Spanish colonization of the region during the 16th century. Argentina rose as the successor state of the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata , a Spanish overseas viceroyalty founded in 1776. The declaration and fight for independence (1810–1818) was followed by an extended civil war that lasted until 1861, culminating in
6030-481: The Portuguese Crown abolished the enslavement of indigenous peoples in colonial Brazil , under the belief that they were unfit for labor and less effective than enslaved Africans. Enslaved Africans were brought to the Americas on slave ships , under inhuman conditions and ill-treatment, and those who survived were sold in slave markets . After independence, all South American countries maintained slavery for some time. The first South American country to abolish slavery
6164-427: The Portuguese Kingdom of Brazil , Dom Pedro I (also Pedro IV of Portugal), son of the Portuguese King Dom João VI , proclaimed the independent Kingdom of Brazil in 1822, which later became the Empire of Brazil . Despite the Portuguese loyalties of garrisons in Bahia , Cisplatina and Pará , independence was diplomatically accepted by Portugal in 1825, on condition of a high compensation paid by Brazil mediated by
6298-424: The South American Plate . South America is home to several superlatives, including the world's highest uninterrupted waterfall , Angel Falls in Venezuela; the highest single-drop waterfall Kaieteur Falls in Guyana; the largest river by volume, the Amazon River ; the longest mountain range, the Andes (whose highest mountain is Aconcagua at 6,962 m or 22,841 ft); the driest non-polar place on earth,
6432-399: The Southern Cone . The Dirty War involved state terrorism in Argentina and elsewhere in the Southern Cone against political dissidents, with military and security forces employing urban and rural violence against left-wing guerrillas, political dissidents, and anyone believed to be associated with socialism or somehow contrary to the neoliberal economic policies of the regime. Victims of
6566-409: The Spanish farmers, and even threatened major cities. It is likely they were driven south of their original range by the Spaniards and other native tribes, such as the Tobas . They were finally concentrated in the Argentinian territory lying between Santa Fe and Santiago del Estero , between the Rio Bermejo on the north and the Salado River on the south. Before the introduction of the horse in
6700-411: The Spanish American wars of independence between the patriots, who promoted such autonomy, and the royalists , who supported Spanish authority over the Americas. The Juntas, in both Spain and the Americas, promoted the ideas of the Enlightenment . Five years after the beginning of the war, Ferdinand VII returned to the throne and began the Absolutist Restoration , as the royalists got the upper hand in
6834-445: The Spanish Empire , and " United Provinces of the Río de la Plata " after independence. The 1826 constitution included the first use of the name "Argentine Republic" in legal documents. The name "Argentine Confederation" was also commonly used and was formalized in the Argentine Constitution of 1853 . In 1860 a presidential decree settled the country's name as "Argentine Republic", and that year's constitutional amendment ruled all
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#17327760737346968-428: The absolutist monarchy that ruled the country. As in the rest of Spanish America, the overthrow of Ferdinand VII during the Peninsular War created great concern. Beginning a process from which Argentina was to emerge as successor state to the Viceroyalty, the 1810 May Revolution replaced the viceroy Baltasar Hidalgo de Cisneros with the First Junta , a new government in Buenos Aires made up from locals. In
7102-399: The boleadoras . In battle, they wore an armour fashioned out of a tapir's hide, over which a jaguar's skin was sewn. Even Abipón women were reputedly aggressive and held considerable power in their people's religious rites. The Abipones were good swimmers and horsemen. During the five-month-long flood season, they lived on islands or even in shelters built in the trees. They shared most of
7236-712: The native populations had no immune resistance – caused large-scale depopulation of the native population under Spanish control. Systems of forced labor, such as the haciendas and mining industry's mit'a also contributed to the depopulation. After this, enslaved Africans , who had developed immunities to these diseases, were quickly brought in to replace them. The Spaniards were committed to converting their native subjects to Christianity and were quick to purge any native cultural practices that hindered this end; however, many initial attempts at this were only partially successful, as native groups simply blended Catholicism with their established beliefs and practices. Furthermore,
7370-440: The neo-Keynesian economic policies laid by Duhalde, Kirchner ended the economic crisis attaining significant fiscal and trade surpluses, and rapid GDP growth. Under his administration, Argentina restructured its defaulted debt with an unprecedented discount of about 70% on most bonds, paid off debts with the International Monetary Fund , purged the military of officers with dubious human rights records, nullified and voided
7504-463: The 1916 election . He enacted social and economic reforms and extended assistance to small farms and businesses. Argentina stayed neutral during World War I . The second administration of Yrigoyen faced an economic crisis, precipitated by the Great Depression . In 1930, Yrigoyen was ousted from power by the military led by José Félix Uriburu . Although Argentina remained among the fifteen richest countries until mid-century, this coup d'état marks
7638-462: The Americas. The continent is generally delimited on the northwest by the Darién watershed along the Colombia–Panama border , although some may consider the border instead to be the Panama Canal . Geopolitically and geographically, all of Panama – including the segment east of the Panama Canal in the isthmus – is typically included in North America alone and among the countries of Central America . Almost all of mainland South America sits on
7772-446: The Argentine Patagonia is desert . In the Pampas of Argentina, Uruguay and South of Brazil the rainfall is moderate, with rains well distributed during the year. The moderately dry conditions of the Chaco oppose the intense rainfall of the eastern region of Paraguay. In the semiarid coast of the Brazilian Northeast the rains are linked to a monsoon regime. Important factors in the determination of climates are sea currents, such as
7906-479: The Breton type and, already in Tierra del Fuego , cold climate of the Siberian type. The distribution of rainfall is related to the regime of winds and air masses. In most of the tropical region east of the Andes, winds blowing from the northeast, east and southeast carry moisture from the Atlantic, causing abundant rainfall. However, due to a consistently strong wind shear and a weak Intertropical Convergence Zone , South Atlantic tropical cyclones are rare. In
8040-415: The Falkland Islands . The United Kingdom dispatched a task force to regain possession. Argentina surrendered on 14 June and its forces were taken home. Street riots in Buenos Aires followed the humiliating defeat and the military leadership stood down. Reynaldo Bignone replaced Galtieri and began to organize the transition to democratic governance. Raúl Alfonsín won the 1983 elections campaigning for
8174-431: The Full Stop and Due Obedience laws, ruled them as unconstitutional, and resumed legal prosecution of the Junta's crimes. He did not run for reelection, promoting instead the candidacy of his wife, senator Cristina Fernández de Kirchner , who was elected in 2007 and reelected in 2011 . Fernández de Kirchner's administration established positive foreign relations with countries such as Venezuela, Iran, and Cuba, while at
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#17327760737348308-439: The Inca plan, creating instead a republican, centralist state. The 1820 Battle of Cepeda , fought between the Centralists and the Federalists, resulted in the end of the Supreme Director rule . In 1826 Buenos Aires enacted another centralist constitution , with Bernardino Rivadavia being appointed as the first president of the country. However, the interior provinces soon rose against him, forced his resignation and discarded
8442-508: The Justicialist Party candidate. President Alberto Fernández and Vice President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner took office in December 2019, just months before the COVID-19 pandemic hit Argentina and among accusations of corruption , bribery and misuse of public funds during Nestor and Cristina Fernández de Kirchner's presidencies . On 14 November 2021, the center-left coalition of Argentina's ruling Peronist party, Frente de Todos (Front for Everyone), lost its majority in Congress, for
8576-490: The Justicialist Party nominee. Perón won the election with his wife Isabel Perón as vice president. Perón's third term was marked by escalating conflict between left and right-wing factions within the Peronist party, as well as the return of armed terror guerrilla groups such as the Guevarist ERP , leftist Peronist Montoneros , and the state-backed far-right Triple A . After a series of heart attacks and signs of pneumonia in 1974, Perón's health deteriorated quickly. He suffered
8710-472: The Peronist Carlos Menem won the 1989 election . Soon after, riots forced Alfonsín to an early resignation . Menem embraced and enacted neoliberal policies: a fixed exchange rate , business deregulation , privatizations , and the dismantling of protectionist barriers normalized the economy in the short term. He pardoned the officers who had been sentenced during Alfonsín's government. The 1994 Constitutional Amendment allowed Menem to be elected for
8844-447: The South Sandwich Islands ( biogeographically and hydrologically associated with Antarctica) have been administered as two British Overseas Territories under the Crown , whose sovereignty over the islands is disputed by Argentina . An isolated volcanic island on the South American Plate , Ascension Island is geologically a part of South America. Administered as a dependency of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha ,
8978-830: The Spaniards brought their language to the degree they did with their religion, although the Roman Catholic Church 's evangelization in Quechua , Aymara , and Guaraní actually contributed to the continuous use of these native languages albeit only in the oral form. Eventually, the natives and the Spaniards interbred, forming a mestizo class. At the beginning, many mestizos of the Andean region were offspring of Amerindian mothers and Spanish fathers. After independence, most mestizos had native fathers and European or mestizo mothers. Many native artworks were considered pagan idols and destroyed by Spanish explorers; this included many gold and silver sculptures and other artifacts found in South America, which were melted down before their transport to Spain or Portugal. Spaniards and Portuguese brought
9112-483: The Spanish and Portuguese colonies. First, Napoleon invaded Portugal, but the House of Braganza avoided capture by escaping to Brazil . Napoleon captured King Ferdinand VII of Spain, and appointed his own brother instead. This appointment provoked popular resistance, which created Juntas to rule in the name of the captured king. Many cities in the Spanish colonies, however, considered themselves equally authorized to appoint local Juntas like those of Spain. This began
9246-423: The United Kingdom. The newly independent nations began a process of fragmentation, with several civil and international wars. However, it was not as strong as in Central America. Some countries created from provinces of larger countries stayed as such up to modern times (such as Paraguay or Uruguay), while others were reconquered and reincorporated into their former countries (such as the Republic of Entre Ríos and
9380-439: The United States government during the Johnson , Nixon , Ford , Carter , and Reagan administrations. The exact chronology of the repression is still debated, yet the roots of the long political war may have started in 1969 when trade unionists were targeted for assassination by Peronist and Marxist paramilitaries. Individual cases of state-sponsored terrorism against Peronism and the left can be traced back even further to
9514-562: The United States'—led to a near-reinvention of Argentine society and economy that by 1908 had placed the country as the seventh wealthiest developed nation in the world. Driven by this immigration wave and decreasing mortality, the Argentine population grew fivefold and the economy 15-fold: from 1870 to 1910, Argentina's wheat exports went from 100,000 to 2,500,000 t (110,000 to 2,760,000 short tons) per year, while frozen beef exports increased from 25,000 to 365,000 t (28,000 to 402,000 short tons) per year, placing Argentina as one of
9648-594: The United States, Argentina is a developing country with the second-highest HDI (human development index) in Latin America after Chile . It maintains the second-largest economy in South America, and is a member of G-15 and G20 . Argentina is also a founding member of the United Nations , World Bank , World Trade Organization , Mercosur , Community of Latin American and Caribbean States and
9782-544: The adjective or the proper noun is often used in an autonomous way as a substantive and replaces it and it is said l'Argentina . The name Argentina was probably first given by the Venetian and Genoese navigators, such as Giovanni Caboto . In Spanish and Portuguese, the words for 'silver' are respectively plata and prata and '(made) of silver' is plateado and prateado , although argento for 'silver' and argentado for 'covered in silver' exist in Spanish. Argentina
9916-562: The allegiance of escaped Filipinos in San Blas who defected from the Spanish to join the Argentine navy, due to common Argentine and Philippine grievances against Spanish colonization. Jose de San Martin's brother, Juan Fermín de San Martín , was already in the Philippines and drumming up revolutionary fervor prior to this. At a later date, the Argentine sign of Inca origin, the Sun of May
10050-518: The area now known as Argentina are dated from the Paleolithic period, with further traces in the Mesolithic and Neolithic . Until the period of European colonization, Argentina was relatively sparsely populated by a wide number of diverse cultures with different social organizations, which can be divided into three main groups. The first group are basic hunters and food gatherers without
10184-528: The border, and the appropriation of the indigenous territories. The first conquest consisted of a series of military incursions into the Pampa and Patagonian territories dominated by the indigenous peoples, distributing them among the members of the Sociedad Rural Argentina , financiers of the expeditions. The conquest of Chaco lasted up to the end of the century, since its full ownership of
10318-486: The bridegroom." Infanticide was common, never more than two children being reared in one family. The young were suckled for two years. Argentina Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is a country in the southern half of South America . Argentina covers an area of 2,780,400 km (1,073,500 sq mi), making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil ,
10452-489: The coast, helping establish fish as a primary source of food. Irrigation systems were also developed at this time, which aided in the rise of an agrarian society . South American cultures began domesticating llamas , vicuñas , guanacos , and alpacas in the highlands of the Andes circa 3500 BC. Besides their use as sources of meat and wool, these animals were used for transportation of goods. The rise of plant growing and
10586-461: The concentration in producing one, or few, major export commodities has often hindered the development and diversification of its economies. The fluctuation in the price of commodities in international markets has led historically to major highs and lows, booms and busts, in the economies of South American states, often causing political instability. This has led for calls to diversify production and increase trade within South America itself. Brazil
10720-548: The conflict. The independence of South America was secured by Simón Bolívar (Venezuela) and José de San Martín (Argentina), the two most important Libertadores . Bolívar led a great uprising in the north, then led his army south towards Lima , the capital of the Viceroyalty of Peru . Meanwhile, San Martín led an army across the Andes Mountains, along with Chilean expatriates, and liberated Chile. He organized
10854-630: The constitution. Centralists and Federalists resumed the civil war; the latter prevailed and formed the Argentine Confederation in 1831, led by Juan Manuel de Rosas . During his regime he faced a French blockade (1838–1840), the War of the Confederation (1836–1839), and an Anglo-French blockade (1845–1850), but remained undefeated and prevented further loss of national territory. His trade restriction policies, however, angered
10988-490: The country was slow to meet its original goals of industrialization: after the steep development of capital-intensive local industries in the 1920s, a significant part of the manufacturing sector remained labour-intensive in the 1930s. Between 1878 and 1884, the so-called Conquest of the Desert occurred, with the purpose of tripling the Argentine territory by means of the constant confrontations between natives and Criollos in
11122-441: The country's reorganization as a federation . The country thereafter enjoyed relative peace and stability, with several waves of European immigration , mainly Italians and Spaniards , influencing its culture and demography . Following the death of President Juan Perón in 1974, his widow and vice president, Isabel Perón , ascended to the presidency, before being overthrown in 1976 . The following military junta , which
11256-640: The current Humboldt and Falklands . The equatorial current of the South Atlantic strikes the coast of the Northeast and there is divided into two others: the current of Brazil and a coastal current that flows to the northwest towards the Antilles , where there it moves towards northeast course thus forming the most Important and famous ocean current in the world, the Gulf Stream . South America
11390-521: The customs of the Guaycurú, including the couvade. They seldom married before the age of thirty, and were singularly chaste. Charles Darwin reported that "With the Abipones when a man chooses a wife, he bargains with the parents about the price. But it frequently happens that the girl rescinds what has been agreed upon between the parents and bridegroom, obstinately rejecting the very mention of marriage. She often runs away and hides herself, and thus eludes
11524-533: The day Perón returned to Argentina, the clash between Peronist internal factions— right-wing union leaders and left-wing youth from the Montoneros—resulted in the Ezeiza Massacre . Overwhelmed by political violence, Cámpora resigned and Perón won the following September 1973 election with his third wife Isabel as vice-president. He expelled Montoneros from the party and they became once again
11658-664: The development of pottery , such as the Selk'nam and Yaghan in the extreme south. The second group are advanced hunters and food gatherers which include the Puelche , Querandí and Serranos in the centre-east; and the Tehuelche in the south—all of them conquered by the Mapuche spreading from Chile —and the Kom and Wichi in the north. The last group are farmers with pottery, such as
11792-545: The end of the Pleistocene around 11,000 years ago as part of the Quaternary extinction event , among the highest of any continent, with the casualties including saber-toothed cats , ground sloths , glyptodonts , gomphotheres , the equines Hippidion and Equus neogeus , and all remaining South American native ungulates . South America is thought to have been first inhabited by humans when people were crossing
11926-461: The first ballotage in Argentina's history, beating Front for Victory candidate Daniel Scioli and becoming president-elect. Macri was the first democratically elected non- peronist president since 1916 that managed to complete his term in office without being overthrown. He took office on 10 December 2015 and inherited an economy with a high inflation rate and in a poor shape. In April 2016,
12060-652: The first clashes of the Independence War the Junta crushed a royalist counter-revolution in Córdoba , but failed to overcome those of the Banda Oriental , Upper Peru and Paraguay , which later became independent states. The French-Argentine Hippolyte Bouchard then brought his fleet to wage war against Spain overseas and attacked Spanish California , Spanish Peru and Spanish Philippines . He secured
12194-492: The first time in almost 40 years, in midterm legislative elections . The election victory of the center-right coalition, Juntos por el Cambio (Together for Change) limited President Alberto Fernandez's power during his final two years in office. Losing control of the Senate made it difficult for him to make key appointments, including to the judiciary. It also forced him to negotiate with the opposition every initiative he sends to
12328-424: The fixed exchange rate established by Menem, causing many working- and middle-class Argentines to lose a significant portion of their savings. By late 2002, the economic crisis began to recede, but the assassination of two piqueteros by the police caused political unrest, prompting Duhalde to move elections forward. Néstor Kirchner was elected as the new president . On 26 May 2003, he was sworn in. Boosting
12462-426: The forehead to the crown as a tribal mark. The faces, breasts and arms of the women were tattooed with black figures of various designs according to their age and social status, and the lips and ears of both sexes were pierced. The men were brave fighters, their chief weapons being the bow and arrow, the spear and the club –all of which were carved out of a local hardwood tree known to them as netergé– , as well as
12596-580: The fourth-largest country in the Americas , and the eighth-largest country in the world. It shares the bulk of the Southern Cone with Chile to the west, and is also bordered by Bolivia and Paraguay to the north, Brazil to the northeast, Uruguay and the South Atlantic Ocean to the east, and the Drake Passage to the south. Argentina is a federal state subdivided into twenty-three provinces , and one autonomous city , which
12730-498: The government after elected labour movement officials were forcefully replaced by Peronist puppets from the Peronist Party . Reyes was soon arrested on charges of terrorism, though the allegations were never substantiated. Reyes, who was never formally charged, was tortured in prison for five years and only released after the regime's downfall in 1955. Perón managed to get re-elected in 1951 . His wife Eva Perón , who played
12864-556: The great city of Cusco , the Inca civilization dominated the Andes region from 1438 to 1533. Known as Tawantin suyu , and "the land of the four regions", in Quechua , the Inca Empire was highly distinct and developed. Inca rule extended to nearly a hundred linguistic or ethnic communities, some nine to fourteen million people connected by a 25,000 kilometer road system . Cities were built with precise, unmatched stonework, constructed over many levels of mountain terrain. Terrace farming
12998-448: The interior provinces and in 1852 Justo José de Urquiza , another powerful caudillo , beat him out of power . As the new president of the Confederation, Urquiza enacted the liberal and federal 1853 Constitution. Buenos Aires seceded but was forced back into the Confederation after being defeated in the 1859 Battle of Cepeda . Overpowering Urquiza in the 1861 Battle of Pavón , Bartolomé Mitre secured Buenos Aires' predominance and
13132-480: The island is geopolitically a part of Africa. All of the world's major climate zones are present in South America. The distribution of the average temperatures in the region presents a constant regularity from the 30° of latitude south , when the isotherms tend, more and more, to be confused with the degrees of latitude. In temperate latitudes, winters and summers are milder than in North America. This
13266-673: The islands of Trinidad and Tobago ( Trinidad Island and Tobago Island etc.), the State of Nueva Esparta , and the Federal Dependencies of Venezuela sit on the northern portion of the South American continental shelf and are sometimes considered parts of the continent. Geopolitically, all the island countries and territories in the Caribbean have generally been grouped as a subregion of North America instead. By contrast, Aves Island (administered by Venezuela ) and
13400-534: The land outside Europe should be an exclusive duopoly between the two countries. The treaty established an imaginary line along a north–south meridian 370 leagues west of the Cape Verde Islands , roughly 46° 37' W. In terms of the treaty, all land to the west of the line (known to comprise most of the South American soil) would belong to Spain, and all land to the east, to Portugal. As accurate measurements of longitude were impossible at that time,
13534-610: The left-wing. By the end of 1976, the Montoneros had lost nearly 2,000 members and by 1977, the ERP was completely subdued. Nevertheless, the severely weakened Montoneros launched a counterattack in 1979, which was quickly put down, effectively ending the guerrilla threat and securing the junta's position in power. In March 1982, an Argentine force took control of the British territory of South Georgia and, on 2 April, Argentina invaded
13668-465: The legislature. In April 2023, President Alberto Fernandez announced that he will not seek re-election in the next presidential election . The 19 November 2023 election run-off vote ended in a win for libertarian outsider Javier Milei with close to 56% of the vote against 44% of the ruling coalition candidate Sergio Massa . On 10 December 2023, Javier Milei was sworn in as the new president of Argentina. South America South America
13802-476: The line was not strictly enforced, resulting in a Portuguese expansion of Brazil across the meridian. Beginning in the 1530s, the people and natural resources of South America were repeatedly exploited by foreign conquistadors , first from Spain and later from Portugal. These competing colonial nations claimed the land and resources as their own and divided it into colonies. European infectious diseases ( smallpox , influenza , measles , and typhus ) – to which
13936-458: The mid-17th century. It became a Dutch colony in 1667. The indigenous peoples of the Americas in various European colonies were forced to work in European plantations and mines; along with enslaved Africans who were also introduced in the proceeding centuries via the slave trade . European colonists were heavily dependent on indigenous labor during the initial phases of settlement to maintain
14070-418: The middle-class, university students, and professors were seen as particularly troublesome. Perón fired over 2,000 university professors and faculty members from all major public education institutions. Perón tried to bring most trade and labour unions under his thumb, regularly resorting to violence when needed. For instance, the meat-packers union leader, Cipriano Reyes , organized strikes in protest against
14204-408: The military. Her short presidency was marked by the collapse of Argentine political and social systems, leading to a constitutional crisis that paved the way for a decade of instability, left-wing terrorist guerrilla attacks, and state-sponsored terrorism. The "Dirty War" (Spanish: Guerra Sucia ) was part of Operation Condor , which included the participation of other right-wing dictatorships in
14338-417: The names since 1810 as legally valid. In English , the country was traditionally called "the Argentine", mimicking the typical Spanish usage la Argentina and perhaps resulting from a mistaken shortening of the fuller name 'Argentine Republic'. 'The Argentine' fell out of fashion during the mid-to-late 20th century, and now the country is referred to as "Argentina". The earliest traces of human life in
14472-507: The national economic system only took place when the mere extraction of wood and tannin was replaced by the production of cotton . The Argentine government considered indigenous people as inferior beings, without the same rights as Criollos and Europeans. In 1912, President Roque Sáenz Peña enacted universal and secret male suffrage , which allowed Hipólito Yrigoyen , leader of the Radical Civic Union (or UCR), to win
14606-448: The north, and General José de San Martín . He joined Bernardo O'Higgins and they led a combined army across the Andes and secured the independence of Chile; then it was sent by O'Higgins orders to the Spanish stronghold of Lima and proclaimed the independence of Peru . In 1819 Buenos Aires enacted a centralist constitution that was soon abrogated by federalists. Some of the most important figures of Argentine independence made
14740-448: The party from any future elections. Arturo Frondizi from the UCR won the 1958 general election . He encouraged investment to achieve energetic and industrial self-sufficiency, reversed a chronic trade deficit and lifted the ban on Peronism; yet his efforts to stay on good terms with both the Peronists and the military earned him the rejection of both and a new coup forced him out. Amidst
14874-417: The political ladder, being named Minister of Defence by 1944. Being perceived as a political threat by rivals in the military and the conservative camp, he was forced to resign in 1945, and was arrested days later. He was finally released under mounting pressure from both his base and several allied unions. He would later become president after a landslide victory over the UCR in the 1946 general election as
15008-414: The political turmoil, Senate leader José María Guido reacted swiftly and applied anti- power vacuum legislation, ascending to the presidency himself; elections were repealed and Peronism was prohibited once again. Arturo Illia was elected in 1963 and led an increase in prosperity across the board; however he was overthrown in 1966 by another military coup d'état led by General Juan Carlos Onganía in
15142-622: The prosecution of those responsible for human rights violations during the Proceso : the Trial of the Juntas and other martial courts sentenced all the coup's leaders but, under military pressure, he also enacted the Full Stop and Due Obedience laws, which halted prosecutions further down the chain of command . The worsening economic crisis and hyperinflation reduced his popular support and
15276-557: The region with the 1502 voyage of Amerigo Vespucci . The Spanish navigators Juan Díaz de Solís and Sebastian Cabot visited the territory that is now Argentina in 1516 and 1526, respectively. In 1536 Pedro de Mendoza founded the small settlement of Buenos Aires , which was abandoned in 1541. Further colonization efforts came from Paraguay —establishing the Governorate of the Río de la Plata — Peru and Chile. Francisco de Aguirre founded Santiago del Estero in 1553. Londres
15410-499: The region, they subsisted by hunting, fishing, food gathering and only a limited amount of agriculture. With the horse, came a change in the regional and in particular the Abipon's way of surviving. They shifted away from agriculture and towards hunting from horseback, wild cattle , rhea , guanaco , deer , and peccary . The horses also lead them to raid the Spanish ranches and even the cities of Asuncion and Corrientes . From 1710,
15544-620: The same time relations with the United States and the United Kingdom became increasingly strained. By 2015, the Argentine GDP grew by 2.7% and real incomes had risen over 50% since the post-Menem era. Despite these economic gains and increased renewable energy production and subsidies, the overall economy had been sluggish since 2011. On 22 November 2015, after a tie in the first round of presidential elections on 25 October , center-right coalition candidate Mauricio Macri won
15678-512: The self-proclaimed Argentine Revolution , creating a new military government that sought to rule indefinitely. Following several years of military rule, Alejandro Agustín Lanusse was appointed president by the military junta in 1971. Under increasing political pressure for the return of democracy, Lanusse called for elections in 1973. Perón was banned from running but the Peronist party was allowed to participate. The presidential elections were won by Perón's surrogate candidate, Hector Cámpora ,
15812-504: The silver and gold mines in Bolivia and Peru, and as such it became part of the Viceroyalty of Peru until the creation of the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata in 1776 with Buenos Aires as its capital. Buenos Aires repelled two ill-fated British invasions in 1806 and 1807. The ideas of the Age of Enlightenment and the example of the first Atlantic Revolutions generated criticism of
15946-434: The start of the steady economic and social decline that pushed the country back into underdevelopment. Uriburu ruled for two years; then Agustín Pedro Justo was elected in a fraudulent election , and signed a controversial treaty with the United Kingdom . Argentina stayed neutral during World War II , a decision that had full British support but was rejected by the United States after the attack on Pearl Harbor . In 1943
16080-421: The subsequent appearance of permanent human settlements allowed for the multiple and overlapping beginnings of civilizations in South America. One of the earliest known South American civilizations was Caral–Supe , on the central Peruvian coast. Though a pre-ceramic culture, the monumental architecture of Caral–Supe created one of the first cities of the world, generally dated to around 3500 BC, at Huaricanga in
16214-470: The subsistence economy, and natives were often captured by expeditions. The importation of African slaves began midway through the 16th century, but the enslavement of indigenous peoples continued well into the 17th and 18th centuries. The Atlantic slave trade brought enslaved Africans primarily to South American colonies, beginning with the Portuguese since 1502. The main destinations of this phase were
16348-450: The violence in Argentina alone included an estimated 15,000 to 30,000 left-wing activists and militants, including trade unionists, students, journalists, Marxists , Peronist guerrillas , and alleged sympathizers. Most of the victims were casualties of state terrorism . The opposing guerrillas' victims numbered nearly 500–540 military and police officials and up to 230 civilians. Argentina received technical support and military aid from
16482-517: The western European architectural style to the continent, and helped to improve infrastructures like bridges, roads, and the sewer system of the cities they discovered or conquered. They also significantly increased economic and trade relations, not just between the old and new world but between the different South American regions and peoples. Finally, with the expansion of the Portuguese and Spanish languages, many cultures that were previously separated became united through that of Latin American. Guyana
16616-510: The world's top five exporters. Its railway mileage rose from 503 to 31,104 km (313 to 19,327 mi). Fostered by a new public, compulsory, free and secular education system, literacy quickly increased from 22% to 65%, a level higher than most Latin American nations would reach even fifty years later. Furthermore, real GDP grew so fast that despite the huge immigration influx, per capita income between 1862 and 1920 went from 67% of developed country levels to 100%: In 1865, Argentina
16750-472: Was Chile in 1823, Uruguay in 1830, Bolivia in 1831, Guyana in 1833, Colombia and Ecuador in 1851, Argentina in 1853, Peru and Venezuela in 1854, Suriname in 1863, Paraguay in 1869, and in 1888 Brazil was the last South American nation and the last country in western world to abolish slavery. The European Peninsular War (1807–14), a theater of the Napoleonic Wars , changed the political situation of
16884-633: Was a useful form of agriculture. The Mapuche in Central and Southern Chile resisted the European and Chilean settlers, waging the Arauco War for more than 300 years. In 1494, Portugal and Spain, the two great maritime European powers of that time, on the expectation of new lands being discovered in the west, signed the Treaty of Tordesillas , by which they agreed, with the support of the Pope, that all
17018-591: Was adopted as a symbol by the Filipinos in the Philippine Revolution against Spain. He also secured the diplomatic recognition of Argentina from King Kamehameha I of the Kingdom of Hawaii . Historian Pacho O'Donnell affirms that Hawaii was the first state that recognized Argentina's independence. He was finally arrested in 1819 by Chilean patriots. Revolutionaries split into two antagonist groups:
17152-473: Was already one of the top 25 nations by per capita income. By 1908, it had surpassed Denmark, Canada and the Netherlands to reach 7th place—behind Switzerland, New Zealand, Australia, the United States, the United Kingdom and Belgium. Argentina's per capita income was 70% higher than Italy's, 90% higher than Spain's, 180% higher than Japan's and 400% higher than Brazil 's. Despite these unique achievements,
17286-404: Was elected as the first president of the reunified country. He was followed by Domingo Faustino Sarmiento and Nicolás Avellaneda ; these three presidencies set up the basis of the modern Argentine State. Starting with Julio Argentino Roca in 1880, ten consecutive federal governments emphasized liberal economic policies . The massive wave of European immigration they promoted—second only to
17420-485: Was first associated with the silver mountains legend , widespread among the first European explorers of the La Plata Basin . The first written use of the name in Spanish can be traced to La Argentina , a 1602 poem by Martín del Barco Centenera describing the region. Although "Argentina" was already in common usage by the 18th century, the country was formally named " Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata " by
17554-413: Was founded in 1558; Mendoza , in 1561; San Juan , in 1562; San Miguel de Tucumán , in 1565. Juan de Garay founded Santa Fe in 1573 and the same year Jerónimo Luis de Cabrera set up Córdoba . Garay went further south to re-found Buenos Aires in 1580. San Luis was established in 1596. The Spanish Empire subordinated the economic potential of the Argentine territory to the immediate wealth of
17688-562: Was initially colonized by the Dutch before coming under British control , though there was a brief period during the Napoleonic Wars when it was occupied by the French . The region was initially partitioned between the Dutch, French and British before fully coming under the control of Britain. Suriname was first explored by the Spanish in the 16th century and then settled by the English in
17822-599: Was ousted one year later by a junta of the combined armed forces, led by army general Jorge Rafael Videla . They initiated the National Reorganization Process , often shortened to Proceso . The Proceso shut down Congress, removed the judges on the Supreme Court, banned political parties and unions, and resorted to employing the forced disappearance of suspected guerrilla members including individuals suspected of being associated with
17956-519: Was supported by the United States , persecuted and murdered thousands of political critics, activists, and leftists in the Dirty War , a period of state terrorism and civil unrest that lasted until the election of Raúl Alfonsín as president in 1983 . Argentina is a regional power , and retains its historic status as a middle power in international affairs. A major non-NATO ally of
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