The Republic of Argentina is one of the most Europeanized countries in Latin America, although other cultures and ethnic groups are also represented in incredible diversity. Argentina has the southernmost railway in the world, the southernmost city on the planet Ushuaia, the southernmost glaciers (not counting the pole). This is not taking into account an interesting story and, of course, an economic miracle, which, unfortunately, cannot be repeated. At least that's what experts say.
In short, the history of Argentina is directly related to Spain and the colonization process in general. Despite a series of conflicts, at the beginning of the twentieth century the whole world knew about the Argentinean economic miracle in the boom of agriculture and animal husbandry. Today, Argentina is a fairly economically developed country (especially when compared with its neighbors in Latin America), but the problems of bureaucracy and corruption are expressed here.
origin of name
The name comes from the Latin word "silver", which in turn comes from the Greek "Argentos", which means "radiant", "white". "Argentina" entrenched when navigator Sabstian Cabot picked up Juan Diaz de Solis, one of the first Europeans to visit La Plata Bay in South America, on the shores of Francisco de Puerto. Juan Diaz de Solis told Cabot about the Silver Mountains north of the bay. The researcher went in search of silver, but it turned out that in La Plata there are no deposits of valuable metals. So, an unconfirmed rumor became the reason why the country was named Argentina.
The first use of this name dates from 1602. The word "Argentina" brought to the title of his poem Martin del Barco Centenera. This name of the region was already widely used by the eighteenth century, and in 1776 the country officially became known as the Viceroyalty of Rio de la Plata. Many references to the word "Argentina" were in the first hymn of 1812. For the first time at the official level, this name was recorded in the constitution of 1853. Already in 1860 the name Argentine Republic was adopted, which remains to this day.
Argentina: geographical features
Argentina is a South American country located in the southeast of the continent. Geographically, the territory of the state can be divided into the northeast plains, Patagonia and Pampas, the Argentine Northwest and the mountainous regions of the Andes. Due to its rather large length from north to south, the country crosses several climatic zones. There are tropical forests and the harsh Argentine Antarctica (the Antarctic Peninsula and a small triangular sector from the Atlantic Ocean to the South Pole).
They occupy the eighth line in the territory among all countries of the world. Argentina covers an area of 2.8 million square kilometers. It borders in the western part with Chile, in the north with Paraguay and Bolivia, in the northeast - with Uruguay and Brazil. In the east, the state is washed by the waters of the Atlantic Ocean. The shores are weakly cut, only La Plata Bay cuts into the mainland for 320 kilometers, the Andes pass along the western border of the country, and the vast volcanic plateau Pune lies in the northwest. In the north lies the plain of Gran Chaco,
Natural Resources of Argentina
Argentina has a sufficient base for the active development of industry, but there are no large deposits here. Argentina is among the ten leaders in terms of reserves of uranium ores, there are deposits of manganese, beryllium, copper, zinc and lead, tungsten and iron ore. Of great importance to the economy are natural gas and petroleum products. Patagonia has proven deposits of brown coal. The country is also distinguished by reserves of non-metals, for example, sulfur. Deposits of building materials (granite, marble) are numerous.
From a geological point of view, the territory is poorly studied. One of the main problems in the development of industry is not so much the lack of basic types of raw materials as the extremely unfavorable location of deposits. Most of them are located in remote areas where a small population lives. For example, in Patagonia (which is one third of the country's territory) there is a combination of water and forest resources, fuel and minerals, but only 3% of the population lives in this region.
Unique flora and fauna of the country
The wildlife of Argentina is very diverse: from semi-deserts in Patagonia and Pune, tropical forests, subtropical forests in Mesopotamia. To the south, there are more and more grassy areas, and in the southern part of the province of Entre Rios there is a cereal prairie, which is a transitional area to Pampa. Forests occupy twelve percent of the land fund, in this regard, forests of the humid Andes and Mesopotamia, Chaco province, are of exceptional value. The resources in Chaco are best utilized, but due to the continuous exploitation of forests, the issue of their protection and restoration is already a question.
The fauna is not as diverse as in other Latin American countries, but there are many unique species. These include the Pampass cat, Pampass deer, Magellanic dog. These animals live in the Andes, a sparsely populated area of Patagonia. In Pune, there is the only surviving representative of the short-haired Jews subfamily - the Andean, or spectacled bear. Puma is common in the savannahs; vicuna (a cloven-hoofed mammal a bit like an alpaca) and chinchilla are found. One of the centers of seasonal migration is the Valdez Peninsula. Killer whales and southern smooth whales, gray dolphins, penguins come here. All year round you can meet sea lions, armadillos, Magellanic sea elephants, Patagonian otters, Ondu ostriches.
A Brief History of Argentina
The territory of modern Argentina at the beginning of the sixteenth century was occupied by different ethnic groups: these are guarani, and Mapuche, and Teuelche. At the end of the first third of the sixteenth century, the expedition established Fort Santa Maria del Buen Aire, the capital of Argentina. The country on these lands was formed only in 1776. Then, Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay, and part of Bolivia became part of the Viceroyalty of Rio de la Plata. In the future, the history of Argentina was inextricably linked not only with its neighbors, but also with the colonialists. Every now and then a revolutionary movement flared up, and in 1819 a discussion between the factions led to a civil war.
A significant contribution to the struggle for the independence of Argentina (in the history of the country he is an important figure) was made by General Jose de San Martin, who led the army that defeated the Spaniards. San Martin is also known in Chile and Peru. Peace in these territories was partially restored in 1820, but the question of the form of government remained unresolved. This led to new conflicts: a constitution was adopted in 1852, but the province of Buenos Aires did not join it and declared independence, and soon a rebellion broke out against the federal government.
Desert War: Genocide or Security
Another famous page in the history of Argentina is the Desert War (1879-1900). The military campaign led to the conquest of vast territories favorable for the development of animal husbandry and agriculture. Some scholars consider the establishment of Argentine domination over Patagonia a deliberate extermination of the Indians, others as the suppression of aggressive tribes of the wild, who made numerous attacks on peaceful immigrants.
Active development of the state
The next fifty years in the history of the country of Argentina have been very successful. It was possible to achieve significant success in the economic and social spheres. By the beginning of the twentieth century, Argentina had become one of the richest countries in the world. The social environment remained stable until the 1930s, when a military coup, known as the September Revolution, took place. In 1946, Juan Peron, a prominent political figure, was elected head of the country. The president and his wife, who conducted a number of social programs, were popular. But the regime was overthrown in 1955 after Peron’s attempt to secularize the state.
After the change of several governments, Juan Peron returned to the post, but died a year later (in 1974). The president’s chair was taken by his second wife, who had no experience in political affairs, but was elected vice president. During her reign, the Argentine left partisan organization unleashed the terror that was used for the military coup. Then the army launched a "dirty war" against all the "subversive elements." Thousands of Argentines at that time were killed or missing.
Modern period of history
In short, the history of Argentina during the “dirty war” is far from the best page. The military junta announced a process of national reorganization, the real manifestations of which were kidnappings, arrests for ideological reasons, illegal charges, other measures to intimidate the population and reduce the possibility of citizens participating in any protest movement. From 1976 to 1983, between 10 and 30 thousand citizens, real or imaginary rebels, went missing. Democracy was restored after seven years of undivided power of the military junta. In December 1983, Raul Alfonsin took over as president. A new stage has begun in the history of Argentina.
Raul Alfonsin put forward a new economic program, took care of creating a national currency reserve, refused to spend money on payments on external debts until the conditions are changed in the interests of an early recovery of the Argentine economy, replaced the peso with the australian, introduced austerity regime, reduced costs for public needs. In 1989, he was succeeded by Carlos Menem, who warned the people of Argentina about neoliberal reforms. In a relatively short period of time, he managed to cope with inflation, reduce military spending, and completely restore government control over the army. But the social situation worsened during the second term of Menem. He failed to secure public support for a second term. After the presidency, Nestor Kirchner (2003-2007) and Christina Kirchner (since 2007), his wife. The modern history of Argentina is written by the hand of President Mauricio Macri.
Political structure
The power in the country is divided at the national and local levels into executive, judicial and legislative. Argentina is a federation in terms of internal organization. This type of country (Argentina is divided into twenty-three provinces and one metropolitan area, in each of which the local authorities have sufficient powers) allows you to more successfully organize the economy. The head of state is the president, who is elected for four years. Now the president of Argentina is M. Macri, who took office in 2015.
Administrative division
Each subject of the federation has its own constitution and exercises self-government. Provinces are divided into departments (except Buenos Aires, which is divided into districts). The most densely populated provinces are Mendoza (1.7 million people), Tucuman (1.4 million), Entre Rios (1.2 million), Salta (1.2 million), Misiones (1.1 million people), Chaco ( 1 million people). The largest cities are the capital Buenos Aires, Rosario, Mar del Plata, Santa Fe, San Juan, Resistencia, Posadas, Parana, Rio Quarto, etc.
In the scientific literature, the country is divided into areas that are distinguished by cultural, historical and natural characteristics. Argentina has six or seven such areas. The exact number depends on whether or not to divide the Pampas into the Pampas and Sierra Pampas Plains. Following this approach, we can distinguish the Gran Chaco, Mesopotamia, Cuyo, Patagonia, Argentine Northwest and Patagonia.
Argentina Economy
Argentina is a developing country. Such are characterized by underdeveloped industry and dependence on developed countries. But in Argentina, for example, the situation is not catastrophic: the population is quite educated, standards of living standards are average, civil rights and freedoms are ensured. Since the beginning of the nineties, foreign capital has been actively attracted to the state, and thanks to the entry into the South American market, the domestic market has expanded significantly.
In 2001, Argentina experienced an economic crisis, which led to a significant decrease in living standards, increased tension in society and the depreciation of the currency. One of the reasons for the rapid deterioration of the economic situation is called the ill-conceived reforms of Domingo Cavallo, during which the national currency was pegged to the US dollar and state property privatized. As a result, Argentinean goods became uncompetitive in the market, which negatively affected the development of industry, and the central bank ceased to really control the situation.
High territorial concentration of industry is a feature of the country. In Argentina, most enterprises are concentrated in the industrial belt between Rosario and Buenos Aires, the lower reaches of Parana, and more than half of the products are produced in Greater Buenos Aires. An important sector of the economy is oil production. Argentina fully meets its own needs; oil does not import. In terms of production, it is fourth in Latin America.
Of the non-ferrous metallurgy industries, the leading place is occupied by the production of aluminum, lead, zinc, and copper based on both our own and imported raw materials from abroad. Argentina's ferrous metallurgy is the oldest on the continent, but due to lack of raw materials it is slowly developing. According to the cost of production in heavy industry, engineering occupies a leading place. Transport engineering has been developed (there are Siemens, Chrysler, Ford, Peugeot factories in Argentina), production of equipment for food factories, electrical engineering, shipbuilding and ship repair, helicopter manufacturing, aircraft manufacturing, and agricultural engineering.
Among export, a special place is occupied by the traditional and specific for the Argentinean economy (the country is one of the largest producers) industry - meat and cold industry. Of other industries, winemaking and the production of oils (especially soybean) are of great export importance. Beverage, fruit and vegetable, sugar and canning industries are oriented to the domestic market.
Not only the full provision of their needs with food, but also export is an important feature in the characterization of the country. Argentina surpasses the rest of the region in food consumption, agricultural products account for more than 50% of export earnings, the country takes fifth place in the production of meat products per capita, the first in consumption, and the sixth in the world in terms of cattle stock. At the same time, only 2% of the country's population is employed in agriculture. In Argentina, they really love meat - this is a national food. The leading place in crop production is occupied by tobacco, grain and oilseeds of export value. The country is one of the leading collectors of tobacco and wheat in the world, and Argentina is also an important exporter of barley, eggs, milk and tobacco.
State population
Argentines are the third largest national group on the continent after the Mexicans, Brazilians and Colombians. Modern inhabitants of the country are descendants of Indians, Europeans and Africans. The population was formed during the processes of crossbreeding (mixing different populations of people) of the colonial period and European immigration. So, before the arrival of the Spanish colonialists in Argentina (in the history of the country's development, the arrival of the colonialists was an important stage in all respects), the population consisted of a few numerically Indian tribes. After that, the Mauchis-Gauch class was formed - the descendants of local Native American or imported African women and Spanish colonists.
The population of Argentina is 43 million people. The average age is 30 years, and life expectancy is 77 years. The birth rate exceeds mortality (17 per 1000 people versus 7). Most Argentinean citizens identify themselves as Catholics (87%), there are few Protestants (9%), Jews (3%) and followers of other religions (4%). The urban population prevails (83%).
Education and Health
Adult literacy rate is 97%. Three out of every eight people over 20 have a secondary or higher education. The country has a mandatory school education for children from 5 to 17 years. The school system consists of primary and secondary levels, the duration of training is 6 or 7 and 5 or 6 years, respectively. Education is free, except for the main part after university. Interestingly, from the middle of the last century, the literacy rate of the population was close to absolute. At the same time, most of the youth at the beginning of the last century did not have access to secondary and higher education, and with the introduction of free demand, demand began to exceed budgetary opportunities.
Health care is provided through voluntary health insurance and state insurance plans funded by employers. Currently, health care spending reaches 10% of GDP and will continue to grow in line with the increase in the number of people over 65 years of age. Public and private spending in the health care system is divided almost equally. Access to health care is relatively free. In the country, infant mortality rates are declining and life expectancy at birth is gradually increasing (from 60 to 76 years). The indicators are good against the background of global, but still do not reach the level of developed countries.