Argentina Destinations Travel Guide
Population: 40,677,348
Calling code: +54
Currency: Peso (ARS)
Language: Spanish
Argentina, officially called the Argentine Republic, is a sovereign country of South America, located in the extreme south and southeast of said subcontinent. It adopts the form of republican, democratic, representative and federal government. Argentina is organized as a decentralized federal state, integrated since 1994 by a national state and 24 self-governed states, which in turn are 24 national legislative electoral districts, this is 23 provinces and the autonomous city of Buenos Aires designated as the country's capital. Each self-governed state has its own political autonomy, constitution, flag and security body. The 23 provinces maintain all the powers not delegated to the national State and guarantee the autonomy of their municipalities. It integrates the Mercosur -block of which it was founded in 1991, the Union of South American Nations (Unasur), the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) and the Organization of American States (OAS).
Pampas
The economic heartland of Argentina is located in the
central east of the country. It is a vast grassy plain that is now used
extensively for agriculture, particularly for raising livestock, which
is why it is sometimes jokingly called 'the world's largest cow
pasture'. Most of the country's major cities are located in this region,
including the capital Buenos Aires.
Province of Buenos Aires · La
Pampa · South of Santa Fe · East of Córdoba
Mesopotamia
Mesopotamia, intermediate river country, is the name given to the
north-east of the country, which is located between the two rivers Río
Paraná and Río Uruguay. While the south is flat, low mountain ranges can
be found in the northeast, in the province of Misiones. The Iguazú Falls
are the area's main attraction.
Entre Rios Corrientes Missiones
Chaco
A flat bush savannah landscape that adjoins Mesopotamia to
the west. While the east is humid and used intensively for agriculture,
the west has a long dry period with frequent droughts in the winter
months. There lies the Impenetrable, an impenetrable bush jungle.
Formosa Chaco Santiago del Estero North of Santa Fe Laguna Mar Chiquita
Sierra's Pampeanas
A low mountain range in central and western
Argentina. The mountain ranges in some cases reach heights of up to
6,000 meters and are mostly covered by dry scrubland. The best known as
a tourist destination are the Sierras de Córdoba in the province of the
same name.
Sierras de Cordoba · Sierras de San Luis · Sierras de
Valle Fértil · Sierras de La Rioja · Sierras de Catamarca
Cuyo
Connects to the west of the Pampine Sierren. It includes the central
Andes in the west and a flat to hilly dry steppe in the east, in which
wine is cultivated thanks to artificial irrigation. The Cuyo is known
for its particularly sunny climate.
Mendoza · Andean area of San Juan
· Andean area of La Rioja
Patagonia
Southern Argentina, south
of the Rio Colorado, is an arid scrub steppe with a windy but mild
climate. The area is sparsely populated, but has many attractions such
as the Valdés Peninsula.
Rio Negro Neuquen Chubut Santa Cruz Tierra
del Fuego
Northwest Argentina
The border area to Chile and
Bolivia is characterized by diverse mountain landscapes between the Puna
plateau at 3,500 m and subtropical jungle areas and is the area of
Argentina with the most buildings from the colonial era.
Jujuy
Tucumán Salta Andean area of Catamarca
Most of Argentina's big cities, especially the capital Buenos Aires,
have a very European flair because many immigrants from Europe have
settled in them. Buenos Aires, for example, is known as "the Paris of
South America". In contrast, the cities in the north of the country in
particular seem more like how Latin America is imagined in Europe - more
colourful, chaotic and also poorer.
In addition to the colonial
architecture, which is only occasionally really worth seeing (especially
in Salta and Córdoba), the Argentine cities are often dominated
architecturally from the period between 1900 and 1930. Styles such as
Art Nouveau (French Art Nouveau) and Art Deco can be found in almost all
larger towns. Cultural life is often rich and each city has its own
strengths and local specialities, but due to the lack of calendars of
events you usually have to ask the locals for advice, and even the
tourist information offices are not always very knowledgeable.
The biggest cities:
Buenos Aires (2.9 million inhabitants,
metropolitan area approx. 12.8 million), the capital and by far the
largest city in Argentina with a cultural scene worth seeing.
Córdoba
(1.6 million inhabitants with suburbs), the inland metropolis, with a
lot of culture and colonial buildings
Rosario (1.3 million
inhabitants with suburbs), port city on the Río Paraná with a pleasant,
subtropical atmosphere
Mendoza (1 million inhabitants with suburbs),
the largest city in western Argentina, an oasis metropolis worth seeing
San Miguel de Tucumán (pop. 800,000), the hot, nocturnal capital of the
Northwest, nestled in an idyllic subtropical landscape
La Plata
(700,000 inhabitants), modern and clean capital of the province of
Buenos Aires
Mar del Plata (580,000 inhabitants), largest seaside
resort on the Atlantic, with over two million visitors a year
Salta
(500,000 inhabitants), the best preserved colonial city in the country,
situated in an idyllic valley.
Santa Fe (500,000 inhabitants), port
city on the Río Paraná with the venerable flair of the 19th century
San Juan (470,000 inhabitants), oasis metropolis near the Andes, with
good excursion possibilities
Resistencia (population 380,000 with
suburbs), the hot "City of Sculptures" on the northern Río Paraná
Corrientes (350,000 inhabitants), opposite Resistencia, known for its
buildings and its hot carnival
Neuquén (350,000 inhabitants with
suburbs), largest city in Patagonia, situated on two rivers
Posadas
(320,000 inhabitants with suburbs), modern capital of the province of
Misiones
San Salvador de Jujuy (320,000 inhabitants with suburbs),
the capital of the province of Jujuy situated in wooded mountains with a
colonial center and a cultural scene worth seeing
Bahía Blanca
(300,000 inhabitants), port city on the Atlantic, with a center and
harbor worth seeing
San Carlos de Bariloche, holiday resort in the southern Andes, in a
lake landscape worth seeing
San Martín de los Andes, seaside resort
in the southern Andes on the idyllic Lake Lacar
Ushuaia, the
southernmost city in the world on the wild southern tip of Tierra del
Fuego
Puerto Iguazú, town near the famous Iguazú Falls
Cafayate, a
wine-growing metropolis in the province of Salta, beautifully situated
in a high valley
Chaco Province
Chubut Province
Lago Puelo National Park is situated in the Chubut Province. This natural reserve covers an area of 276.74 sq km.
Los Alerces National Park is located 28 mi (45 km) West of Esquel in Chubut Province. It covers an area of 2,630 sq km.
Reserva Faunística Península Valdés is a natural reserve that protects biosphere of the peninsula Valdes in Argentina.
Punta Tombo Provincial Reserve is located 66 mi South of Trelew. It is famous for huge colonies of various species of penguins who come here.
Cordoba Province
Quebrada del Condorito National Park is located 53 mi (85 km) Southwest of Córdoba, Córdoba Province in Argentina.
Corrientes Province
Ibera Wetlands covers an area of 20,000 km² making it one of the largest wetland biosphere in the World.
Entre Rios Province
El Palmar National Park is situated in 31 mi (50 km) North of Colón, Entre Ríos. This natural reserve covers an area of 85 sq km.
Palacio San Jose is an elegant historic palace in Entre Ríos Province.
Predelta National Park is located 62 mi North of Rosaria, Entre Ríos Province in Argentina. Predelta National Park covers an area of 24.58 km².
Formosa Province
Río Pilcomayo National Park is located 224 mi North of Resistancia, Formosa Province. Río Pilcomayo National Park covers an area of 47,754 ha.
Jujuy Province
Calilegua National Park was established in 1979 to preserve La Yungas or subtropical humid Oranense Forest.
Quebrada de Humahuaca is about 155 km and its well protected unique biosphere made this valley a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Santa Catalina is a beautiful Roman Catholic Church of the Jesuit order and situated 13 mi North of Jesus Maria in the province of Córdoba.
La Pampa Province
Nature preserve of Lihué Calel National Park is situated in La Pampa Province of Argentina.
La Rioja Province
Talampaya National Park is a nature preserve located in La Rioja Province in Argentina.
Mendoza Province
Aconcagua Provincial Park takes its name from quechua word of 'Ackon-Cauak', which roughtly is translated as ‘Stone Sentinel’.
Las Lenas Ski Resort is one of the largest ski resorts in the South America. It is located 43 mi North-west of Malarque at a elevation of 3,430 m.
Misiones Province
Iguaçu Falls or Iguazu Falls are located 12 mi (19 km) Northeast of Puerto Iguaçu on the border between Brazil and Argentina.
San Ignacio Mini in Misiones Province in Argentina is famous for ruins of the Jesuit mission from the 17th century.
Neuquén Province
Centro Paleontologico Lago Barreales is famous for its collection of fossils of ancient animals and even participate in digs yourself.
Laguna Blanca National Park is situated 93 mi (150 km) West of Neuquen in Argentina. It covers an area of 112.5 sq km.
Lanín National Park is nature reserve named after breath taking Lanin volcano that rises within its borders.
Los Arrayanes National Park is situated in Neuquén Province and covers an area of 17.53 sq km of Quetrihué Peninsula in the North Nahuel Huapi Lake.
Parque Nacional Nahuel Huapi is famous for unknown water monster as well as a former site of a secret lab where Nazis worked after World War II.
San Juan Province
El Leoncito National Park is located in San Juan Province in Argentina. The national park covers and area of 760 sq km.
Ischigualasto is famous for its picturesque, unique rock formations and covers an area of 603.7 km2 (233 sq mi).
San Guillermo National Park is located in Iglesia Province in Argentina. San Guillermo National Park covers an area of 160,000 hectares.
San Luis Province
Sierra de las Quijadas National Park is located 104 mi (167 km) Southeast of San Juan, San Luis Province in Argentina.
Salta Province
El Rey National Park is situated 155 mi (250 km) South- East of Jujuy. This national preserve covers an area of 441 sq km.
Los Cardones National Park is located 16 mi North of Cafayate, Salta Province in Argentina. Los Cardones National Park covers an area of 650 km².
Santa Cruz Province
Cueva de las Manos is is famous for prehistoric rock paintings that were made 9000 years ago.
Monte Fitz Roy or Fitzroy is a mountain on the border between Argentina and Chile. Mount Fitz Roy mountain reaches a height of 3,359 m (11,020 ft).
Perito Moreno National Park is named after famous Argentinean explorer Perito Moreno it covers an area of 115,000 hectares.
Monte León National Park is located 28 mi (45 km) Southeast of Puerto Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz Province in Argentina.
Monumento Natural Bosques Petrificados is a natural park that protects fossils of the ancient petrified forest located 159 mi West of Puerto Peseado.
Tierra del Fuego Province
Tierra del Fuego National Park is located in Tierra del Fuego Province of Argentina. This national park covers an area of 630 sq km.
Tucuman Province
Quilmes Ruins are located in 110 mi Northwest of Tucuman, Tucumán Province. It is famous for one of the largest settlements from pre-Columbian era.
entry requirements
EU citizens are exempt from the visa
requirement and only need a valid passport to enter the country. A
return or onward ticket is sometimes, but not always, required. The
tourist visa, which is given free of charge upon arrival, lasts 90 days
and can be extended once for a further 90 days for a moderate fee at any
branch of the Immigration Office (Dirección Nacional de Migraciones, to
be found in every provincial capital). Children traveling alone and
those with only one legal guardian need a travel permit from the legal
guardian or the second parent. In addition, adults up to the age of 21
should carry a certificate of legal majority in their home country.
Pets require a health certificate that is no more than 10 days old
and proof of a rabies vaccination (except for pets under 3 months old).
Upon arrival at the airport, a veterinary examination is carried out,
the cost of which must be borne by the traveler.
Airplane
The
arrival is usually via the capital Buenos Aires and can be done at two
airports. The international Airport Ministro Pistarini (colloquially
called Ezeiza) is served by numerous airlines from all over the world -
some with stopovers in Europe or Brazil.
The airport is about 40
km south of the city. You can either take one of the private taxi/depots
to the city center or take a shuttle bus (Manuel Tienda León). There is
also a regular bus (lines 8 and 51) to the city center, but it takes a
long time; for those on a budget it is more advisable to take a taxi or
bus (line 502) to the nearby town of Ezeiza and from there take the
train to Constitución train station. The correct prices are also
signposted at the airport - but if you want to be sure, it's best to ask
the taxi driver again.
The second airport of Buenos Aires Jorge
Newbery (colloquially Aeroparque) is located in the city itself, in the
Palermo district on the Río de la Plata. Thus, the costs for access are
correspondingly lower. From here you can reach all important and larger
destinations within Argentina and Uruguay, but sometimes there are also
connections to Santiago de Chile or Lima. However, the Aeroparque has no
overseas connections. In many cases one has to transfer between the two
airports to get to inland destinations. The Manuel Tienda León bus line
is recommended here (approx. 1 hour 20 minutes).
The only other
airport in Argentina with direct connections to most neighboring
countries and Central America is Córdoba. There are also international
connections from neighboring countries to the airports in Rosario,
Mendoza, Tucumán, Río Gallegos and Salta.
The airspace over Chile
and parts of South America was disrupted by the ash cloud from the
Chilean volcano Puyehue in spring 2011, and numerous flights were
cancelled. Such an incident can be repeated at any time and mostly
affects the south-west of the country (Neuquén/Bariloche area), where
flight connections are sometimes canceled for weeks.
Rail
There are currently no official international passenger train routes
through which one can enter Argentina. The only route is from
Antofagasta (Chile) to Salta on which a freight train with passenger
service operates. However, this route was temporarily closed at the end
of 2005 due to the poor condition of the route. Until 2010, only one
tourist train was reactivated on this route, the Tren a las Nubes, but
it did not reach the Chilean border.
bus
There are
international connections from the neighboring countries of Chile,
Uruguay, Paraguay and Brazil to the largest cities, especially Buenos
Aires and Córdoba, as well as to towns near the border. Coming from Peru
and Bolivia, you have to change trains at the border town after crossing
the border on foot or by taxi.
car/motorcycle/bicycle
Good,
tarred roads lead into Argentina from all neighboring countries. See
also: Panamericana. It should be noted that most border crossings to
Chile are on mountain passes, which are at least temporarily closed in
winter. The exception is the new Paso de Jama in the province of Jujuy
(connection between Antofagasta and Jujuy/Salta), and the
Santiago-Mendoza route is also mostly passable. They are described in
the country article Chile. The Chilean border police provide a complete
list.
Ship
The largest port is the city of Buenos Aires. All
publicly accessible ships from Europe arrive here, regardless of whether
they are freighters or passenger ships. However, the latter is rare. Car
ferries from Montevideo and Colonia del Sacramento (Uruguay) arrive in
the old port of Buenos Aires (Puerto Madero).
Almost all important tourist destinations or economically important
places in Argentina can be reached by plane and are usually served
daily. The only major airlines that survived the Argentina crisis around
the turn of the millennium are Aerolíneas Argentinas, the state-owned
Líneas Aéreas del Estado (LADE) (in the south) and LAN Argentina
(offshoot of LAN Chile), and there are also regional companies such as
Sol, Silver Sky and Andes, which are comparable to the low-cost airlines
in Europe in terms of comfort, but are only slightly cheaper than the
large companies - they often also offer cross-routes between smaller
cities. The hub of national air traffic is Buenos Aires with its two
large airports Ministro Pistarini (Ezeiza) and Jorge Newbery.
The
flight prices are more expensive than the corresponding bus connections
and also more expensive than European "low-cost airlines", but due to
the large distances in the country they are often justified in terms of
time. However, early bookers can get significant discounts on popular
routes, pushing the plane down to bus price levels. However, almost all
airlines charge foreign tourists a higher fare than locals (surcharge of
20% - 40%), since the cheapest fare class is subsidized and residents
(residents in Argentina) are reserved.
The railway currently
plays a minor role in public transport in Argentina. Since for a long
time hardly any money was spent on maintaining the sometimes very
extensive route networks, most connections were shut down. After 2004,
some routes were reopened, but no modernization has been associated with
this so far. There have been plans for a high-speed network since the
Menem era; In 2008 the government signed a contract with Alstom, which
also operates the French TGV, for a new line between Buenos Aires and
Córdoba. However, the project is currently on hold and it is unlikely
that it will be implemented in the near future.
Long-distance
trains run between Buenos Aires and several locations in the province of
Buenos Aires (including Mar del Plata, Tandil and Bahía Blanca), as well
as to Rosario, Córdoba, Santa Rosa and San Miguel de Tucumán. Many of
these lines, especially those in the province of Buenos Aires, are often
closed for repairs, so it's a good idea to check the Satélite
Ferroviario, an independent, regularly updated website with all
timetables and prices, for the latest updates. In Patagonia, in the
province of Río Negro, there are the train routes Viedma - San Antonio
Oeste - Ingeniero Jacobacci - Bariloche and the "Old Patagonia Express"
(El Trochita) from Ingeniero Jacobacci to Esquel, which, however, runs
irregularly and mostly only on partial routes as a tourist train .
The condition of the trains is variable, but has improved in the
years following the economic crisis, particularly on long-distance
routes and in the higher classes. Nevertheless, they often take
significantly more time than an intercity bus on the same route.
Exceptions are the well-developed routes to places on the Atlantic coast
and to Rosario. On the other hand, the trains are significantly cheaper
than the buses, have a restaurant and sometimes a cinema or even a disco
car on board and sometimes offer the option of renting a sleeper car and
taking your car with you (car travel trains).
There are several
regional and suburban train connections in the greater Buenos Aires
area. There is also a suburban train and two regional trains around
Resistencia in the northeast. A modern light rail system has been
operating in Mendoza since 2012, there are some regional connections in
Entre Ríos and Salta and the Tren de las Sierras in Córdoba.
The
bus is the most popular means of transport in Argentina and is usually
the cheapest way to get around. They run several times a day, especially
between the larger towns (e.g. Córdoba − Buenos Aires), and night trips
are usually offered for distances of more than 500 km. You can buy your
ticket at ticket counters at the bus terminal and in travel agencies,
and large lines now also offer the option of booking tickets online. The
buses are usually comfortable, clean and have air conditioning. At best,
on very long routes, such as in Patagonia, later boarding passengers
have to reckon with cleanliness problems. For longer distances you can
choose between semi cama or cama seats; the seats can be folded down and
converted into loungers, so that you can sleep on overnight bus
journeys. These are highly recommended as due to the large distances in
Argentina a journey can easily take 12 to 24 hours. However, semi-cama
buses can be quite narrow for tall people. Websites where you can check
the current connections and prices (unfortunately many bus companies are
missing) are Plataforma 10 and Central de Pasajes. For bus connections
from Buenos Aires, the current departure times and prices for all bus
companies can be queried from Omnilineas, at least for all larger or
touristically interesting travel destinations. The price system is
largely standardized, and there are only real bargains on a few routes.
Expect to pay around 70-100 ARS per 100km, some remote routes are e.g.
T. significantly more expensive.
Rental cars are available at all
major airports, with international companies such as Avis being
particularly common. The cost is around ARS 500-900 per day for a small
car, with larger cars costing proportionately more. Renting an off-road
vehicle is almost mandatory, especially in remote areas, because you
often have to rely on gravel roads.
Hitchhiking in Argentina is
only recommended on busy roads and in tourist areas - unless you have a
lot of patience. The best thing to do is ask truck drivers at petrol
stations, who often take travelers with them for small favors or for
free. If you hitchhike, don't dress too casually, as Argentine drivers
are very suspicious and may mistake you for a thief. Hoodies, baseball
caps and sweatpants in particular make things more difficult. It is also
almost hopeless and sometimes dangerous to wait for drivers in a big
city - you usually have to drive a few kilometers out of town, for
example with a local bus. Information about hitchhiking in Argentina can
be found on the Autostop Argentina website, which also runs a wiki.
Furthermore, the situation seems to have improved in recent years, as
can be read on the English-language WikiVoyage page.
Carpooling:
In rural areas, it is common to stand in a known spot (e.g. a plaza)
where cars that frequent the route will stop and ask for some money for
gas. The corresponding bus fare is often asked for, but fraud is rare in
rural areas. Here you have to ask the locals what is customary. There
have also been car-sharing agencies on the Internet for a few years,
including Carpoolear, which uses the social network Facebook, and
Viajamos Juntos from Spain (with an Argentina page). However, you only
have a chance on busy routes.
For Europeans, counting the house
numbers is confusing at first, but it is good for orientation in the
chessboard pattern that characterizes almost all cities in the country.
For each complete block (cuadra, each measuring about 100 meters), the
figure increases by 100, according to the even or odd side of the
street, starting mostly from the streets that intersect in the central
square of the town. For example, the house number 1830 means a distance
of about 18 blocks and 30 meters to the reference street. In Buenos
Aires, for example, this space for the Microcentro area is the Parque
Colón, which is located in front of the Casa Rosada (see Buenos
Aires/Center).
The official language is Spanish (called "español" or "castellano"),
with clear differences from standard Spanish. In Buenos Aires and other
tourist centers one can expect to get by with English for the main
services, otherwise the population's English skills are limited,
especially in rural areas, although English is a compulsory subject in
schools everywhere.
Pronunciation
Argentine pronunciation
differs slightly from school Spanish. The double L (ll) is not
pronounced like "j" but like a soft "sh", the same applies to the "y",
which is also pronounced like a soft "sch". An "S" in the middle of a
word is often blurred into a soft, barely audible "ch". In central and
northwestern Argentina, the rolled "r" becomes a hybrid, soft "rsch".
grammar
The du form is formed and accented differently: instead
of tú, the pronoun vos is used and in the verb form the last syllable is
stressed. Thus, in Argentina, the Castilian Tu puedes becomes Vos podés.
The vosotros ("you") is replaced by the polite ustedes. In addition, the
form of the pretérito perfecto (e.g. he viajado) is rarely used and is
replaced by the pretérito indefinido (e.g. viajé). However, the
respective standard Spanish form is also understood without any
problems.
Some words mean something different in Argentine
Spanish than in traditional Spanish, and can cause unintentional
hilarity. In particular, the verb coger ("to take"), which is common in
Spanish, is a vulgar expression for sexual intercourse in Argentina and
is therefore replaced by tomar or agarrar.
languages of the
indigenous peoples
The languages of the indigenous peoples (“pueblos
indígenas”), such as Quechua, Guaraní and Mapudungun, are still spoken
in isolated rural areas. There are still around one million people of
Amerindian origin living in Argentina, but unlike in neighboring
countries, almost all of them also speak Spanish. An exception are the
Toba (also qom) and Wichi in Formosa, Chaco, Salta and Jujuy, who live
in remote areas in very primitive conditions and great poverty and are
mostly illiterate.
Argentina's price level is comparable to that of most European
countries. Up until the early 1990s, Argentina was notorious for its
chronic financial instability. Devaluations of 100% and more annually
were not uncommon, often resulting in perks for travellers. After a
stable period of peso-dollar parity between 1991 and 2001, the Argentine
peso (ARS for short), the country's currency, fell again against the
dollar to less than a third of its previous value as a result of the
economic crisis. This made Argentina significantly cheaper for travelers
from Europe and the USA in the short term. Since 2007, prices have only
been significantly below the European level in a few cases (energy,
public transport, some groceries, and also rent in the north) due to
high inflation. Significant devaluations of the peso in 2009, 2014, 2015
and 2018 by 30 to 40 percent each prevented a further relative increase
in price. Overall, Buenos Aires and southern Patagonia are the most
expensive in terms of prices, central and eastern Argentina are roughly
in the middle, and northern Argentina is the cheapest.
Haggling
(called hacer precio, [get a better] price) is not usually common in
Argentina, at least not in shops. In the case of sales of used goods
between private individuals, including on advertising platforms on the
Internet, it is certainly possible to discuss the price; more than 10% -
15% discount can hardly be knocked out.
Between 2011 and 2015,
strict foreign exchange restrictions were in place at times due to fears
of capital flight. These were repealed in 2015 but reintroduced in
modified form in 2019; Individuals are only allowed to purchase $200 a
month at the official rate and are subject to a 20 percent tax and an
advance on income tax.
souvenirs
Argentinian leather products
are particularly popular with foreigners, some of which are
significantly cheaper than in Europe and also have their own traditional
style in terms of style. Traditional accessories such as mate cups,
ponchos, traditional musical instruments and jewelry are also popular
purchases.
Every town tends to have at least one craft market
selling traditional and modern items. There the souvenirs are often much
cheaper than in the souvenir shops in the city centres. One can also
assume that souvenirs from a certain region (e.g. the traditional
musical instruments of the Andes region) are cheapest locally and that
there is also the largest selection.
Daily Needs
In Argentina
there are supermarkets of all sizes in every town (large supermarkets
are called hipermercados) where you can get all the groceries you need
and often clothes and stationery. Most of the time, there are also
numerous supermercados chinos in the barrios of small and large cities,
small supermarkets that are mostly run by Chinese or Koreans and often
have a fruit and vegetable stand and a butcher's counter. Bags and
backpacks, with any goods you may have already bought, usually have to
be locked in small lockers at the entrance to self-service shops, which
the security staff will be happy to point out. Also typical of the
suburbs are corner shops, almacenes or despensas, which are sometimes
cheaper than the respective supermarkets. Vegetables and meat are sold
separately in verdulerías and carnicerías (butchers, chicken butchers
are called pollerías), which have held up well so far despite
competition from supermarkets.
Clothing of all types is about as
expensive in Argentina as it is in Europe, but branded clothing can also
be more expensive. It should be noted that oversize shoes in particular
(from around 41 for women and 45 for men) are difficult to obtain. The
same applies to pants, but here, at least in big cities, there are
special shops for plus sizes. Since the late 1980s, the shopping malls,
large galleries based on the US model with a large number of shops and
often also cinemas, restaurants and small amusement parks for children,
have been popular for buying clothes and shoes.
The food alone can be worth a trip to Argentina. Gastronomy is
described in the article Eating and drinking in Argentina.
Although the breakfast is rather spartan, there are already delicious
pastry specialties (golosinas and facturas), particularly typical here
are the criollos, small biscuits made of puff pastry. You can also have
a leisurely breakfast in a restaurant, where you get orange juice,
coffee, water, criollos, toast, medialunas (croissants), dulce de leche
or jam and butter as a complete desayuno. Eggs, cheese and sausage are
not common in Argentinian breakfasts.
Certainly the most popular
food is the asado, where various types of beef including offal and spicy
sausages ("chorizos") are usually grilled in the garden and then eaten
with various salads. In restaurants, the asado is called parrillada.
Different types of meat are served here for as long as your stomach
allows.
But if you think Argentina only serves rare steaks,
you're wrong. Certainly, being a vegetarian has it a little harder,
since most restaurants have very few non-meat dishes on their menus.
However, pizza magherita (known locally as pizza muzzarella) is
ubiquitous, and it's usually very tasty too, and is usually served with
a thicker crust and more cheese than in Europe. A pizza is enough for
two to three people. In big cities, however, there are also vegetarian
and vegan restaurants and takeaways that are slowly becoming more
popular. If you have the opportunity to cook for yourself, you should
buy all kinds of fruit and vegetables for a few pesos at small fruit and
vegetable stands and let off steam in the kitchen.
Pasta dishes,
chicken, milanesa (schnitzel) and many types of sandwiches and burgers
(i.e. meat in bread) are also popular. Fish is also on the menu in good
restaurants, but it's only really popular on the coast. Also highly
recommended are the specialties from northern Argentina: empanadas
(stuffed dumplings), humita (overcooked corn served with peppers in
leaves) and locro (meat, sausage and corn stew with a whole range of
spices), considered the national dish of the country is applicable.
The portions are usually generous and there are often inexpensive
menu options that include a starter, salad and dessert. Often the
tenedor libre or served libre, "all-you-can-eat" restaurants, where you
can serve yourself from a buffet for a fixed price as often as you like.
With very cheap offers, however, skepticism is appropriate because of
the quality.
McDonald's and Burger King are somewhat at a
disadvantage in this country, because compared to all the restaurants
and takeaways, Argentina's burger chains are rather expensive and
boring. There is also an armada of fast food stands and restaurants,
most of which are cheaper than McDonald's. Each city typically has its
own fast food chain, and many eateries are independently operated.
Maybe a little tip: if you go out to eat, you should bring some time
with you and not get upset if everything is a bit slower and more
relaxed.
Finally, to the sweets. What is not salty in Argentina
is usually extremely sweet. The dulce de leche, a very sweet caramel
cream, is present in almost every pastry. There are entire supermarkets
that sell nothing but sweets. Those with a sweet tooth shouldn't miss
the opportunity to buy and enjoy an alfajor (small mini cake with dulce
de leche) for a few pesos while strolling at one of the many kiosks.
The ice cream in the heladerias (ice cream parlors), especially in
the big cities, hardly has to hide from Italian ice cream, perhaps also
due to the tradition that some ice cream parlor operators once made a
living in Argentina in the southern summer and in Italy in the northern
summer. Usually you first say at the checkout which cup you want to
choose and then take the receipt to the counter, which is usually
presented in groups of chocolate, dulce-de-leche varieties, fruit on
water, cremas and fruit on milk. Here you name 2 or 3 types, depending
on the size of the sundae or the cone - another tip, Frutas al agua
should not be confused with Central European water ice and should not be
missed.
Argentinian wine is well-known abroad and is considered one of the
best in the world. Compared to European wines, it is very cheap,
especially when it comes to quality varieties. It is mostly grown in the
west of the country. An infinite number of brands are recommended, e.g.
B. Trapiche, Postales del Fin del Mundo and San Felipe. Recently, many
"favourite" wines (e.g. New Age, Freeze, Suá and O2) have appeared,
which are mostly low-carbonated sparkling wines with a mild taste. (See
also: Argentina wine country at Koch-Wiki)
The beer, on the other
hand, has a very uniform taste and is average in quality (brands:
Quilmes, Isenbeck, Bieckert, Schneider and Palermo - of which Isenbeck
and Schneider do not contain any additives - as well as the foreign
beers Brahma, Warsteiner, Corona, Stella Artois and Heineken). If you
can't do without German beer, you can buy it in the supermarkets of the
Jumbo and (less choice) Vea/Disco chains. Locally made spirits are very
cheap, but foreign imports are quite expensive.
Since the 1990s,
a particularly typical fashion drink has been Fernet Branca with cola,
fernet con coca or fernando. The majority of world production of this
herbal liqueur, which actually comes from Italy, is consumed in
Argentina, especially in the central Argentine Cuarteto scene around
Córdoba.
Coffee is drunk very often in Argentina and is usually
very heavily sweetened, but of course you can get the sugar separately
in a café or restaurant. Café con leche is a latte, while café cortado
is coffee with a dash of milk. Al revés (vice versa) or lagrima, on the
other hand, means that the milk content exceeds the coffee content.
Argentina's national drink is mate, an herbal tea drunk from a
calabash with a straw. Mate drinking is a true ritual, with all members
of a group drinking from a single mate cup.
Soft drinks from
international brands (such as Coca-Cola etc.) are available everywhere
in Argentina, while fruit juices are rarer and relatively expensive.
Recently, many brands of sweetened diet sodas with a fitness image (e.g.
Ser, Magna) have established themselves. Mineral water is usually drunk
non-carbonated. A cheap alternative to normal carbonated mineral water
is soda, normal drinking water mixed with carbonic acid, which tastes
almost indistinguishable from mineral water and is completely harmless
to health.
In Argentina, nightlife used to really start around 2:00 a.m. Since
the mid-2000s, but increasingly since 2009, there have been strict
curfew regulations or alcohol curfews in Buenos Aires and the main
provinces as well as in the north, so that the opening hours of the
nightclubs have been pushed back a little. The previously popular
after-hours have since been banned in Buenos Aires and Córdoba or have
migrated to the illegal and private sphere. In the meantime, depending
on local conditions, it is therefore ideal to go between 0:00 and 1:00
a.m., also to avoid long queues.
In all major cities there is a
variety of bars, pubs, clubs and discotheques for every taste (only the
Gothic scene is a bit behind, but there is a lot of Latin American
music). Even every village has its boliche, where young people spend the
night on Fridays and Saturdays.
There are roughly four types of
nightclubs. On the one hand there are the typical mainstream clubs that
play a mixture of popular rock and pop hits, some dancefloor and Latin
American music. Then there are alternative rock and reggae clubs with
live music and changing styles of music, sometimes theater shows too.
Thirdly, there are also purely techno and house discotheques, often in
the upper price range, and last but not least there are the traditional
"bailantas", in which only local variants of Latin American music
(especially cumbia and cuarteto) are played and the particularly
frequented by working-class youth.
You can only consume alcohol
in Argentina at the age of 18. However, there are special discotheques
for young people under 18, so-called matinés, which close earlier and in
which no alcohol is sold. The counterpart are the boliches para mayores,
where only visitors over a certain age (usually over 30) are admitted.
LGTB clubs only exist in the biggest cities; however, in small
cities with more than 100,000 inhabitants, there is usually at least one
gay-friendly club where a mixed gay-heterosexual crowd goes out, this is
often the case with clubs with electronic music. In smaller places
(exception: well-known tourist places), however, the intolerance against
gays, which is widespread among the rural population, is often a
problem.
In Argentina there are several types of accommodation besides regular
hotels. Hosterías are mostly larger country hotels with a garden and
often with a swimming pool, but less comfort than in normal hotels,
whereby the two names hotel and hostería overlap a bit and the prices
hardly differ. Hotels and hosterías are categorized with stars (one to
five stars) that provide information about price and services and
roughly correspond to the international "star categories" - one star is
considered simple accommodation, two stars as middle class, three stars
upper middle class, four stars upper class and five stars luxury class.
Residenciales and Hospedajes are small, rather basic hotels; the
bathroom often has to be shared here. They are divided into categories
"A" and "B", with the B residenciales often only offering the bare
essentials, e.g. B. No TV. Albergues and hosteles are comparable to
youth hostels and hostels respectively, but accommodate guests of all
ages. In addition to rooms, you can also rent single beds in them. These
multi-bed rooms are often very cramped, but the operators often speak
foreign languages and there are usually lockers for valuables. Hotel
prices are still quite cheap compared to Europe, with the exception of
the top price range.
It should be noted that love hotels are also
referred to as "hotel". They are usually recognizable by their lighting
(red-pink), their name and the addition "albergue transistorio" or
"hotel alojamiento".
In some Argentinian cities, especially on
busy highways, there are also motels based on the US model, where you
can drive to your bedroom.
Camp
There are plenty of campsites
in Argentina, almost every village has a campsite somewhere. There are
two price systems: either you pay per person and per tent or car (the
normal case) or you pay a flat rate for a parcel (parcela), the latter
system being particularly common in large tourist resorts. The price of
a pitch mostly depends more on its location than on its comfort. Camping
Municipal are usually very inexpensive campsites that are managed by the
respective municipality. With the exception of the high-price pitches in
the tourist areas, the equipment on the campsites cannot be compared
with Europe; many campgrounds in remote areas offer only minimal
amenities (e.g. no hot water) and are sometimes completely shadeless. On
the other hand, these courses in particular are often located in very
idyllic natural landscapes and only cost minimal fees.
Free
camping is actually only allowed where it is expressly stated -
especially in nature and national parks, where there are almost always
small camping areas. In practice, however, this prohibition is almost
never observed in remote areas. If an area is clearly identifiable as
private property (e.g. by a fence or a house), you should always ask the
owner for permission to camp and also to enter the area - otherwise you
risk being mistaken for a thief or tramp! You can also often camp at
petrol stations, some even have showers, since long-distance drivers
also spend the night there.
A warning: In many areas, especially
in central and western Argentina, the risk of forest fires is very high.
You should therefore be careful when making a fire and observe the
relevant prohibitions. Tens of thousands of hectares of forest and
bushland burn down every year, a large part of which is caused by
careless campers and grillers.
Many Argentinian universities have cooperation programs with German
universities. Detailed information can be found on the website of the
German Academic Exchange Service and on the websites of the respective
universities themselves. You can get any degree you want in Argentina
with a student visa, but not at all universities (especially smaller
universities do not accept foreigners).
Important universities
are the Universidad de Buenos Aires (UBA), the Universidad Nacional de
Córdoba (UNC) and the Universidad Nacional de La Plata (UNLP); as is the
nationwide Universidad Tecnológica Nacional (UTN). There are also many
private universities, but they have a dubious reputation for being
impossible to fail an exam at. The Universidad Católica, which has
branches in several cities in Argentina and is comparable in quality to
the state universities, is usually rated the best. However, it is
considered to be very conservative in the treatment of students.
Student exchange programs also exist in many Argentinian cities.
Spanish language courses in Argentina have become very popular,
especially after 2002. There are facilities for learning Spanish mainly
in the metropolises of Buenos Aires, Córdoba, Rosario and Mendoza, but
also in some smaller cities. Some courses also include internships.
Despite the sensationalist media reports, crime in Argentina is not
that much higher than in Europe, for example, and the murder rate has
even been falling since the turn of the millennium (according to the
Ministry of Justice it was 9.2 in 2002 and 5.8 in 2008 per 100,000
inhabitants). However, almost all cities have "red zones" where muggings
are common; these are often poorer neighborhoods and slums (known as
villas miserias). If you have to, you should only visit such quarters
with a companion, preferably with a goal and only during the day. The
best thing to do is to ask the locals, as the focus of crime often
changes. In contrast to many Latin American countries, however, the
areas around the bus stations are almost always safe (exception: Villa
31 in Buenos Aires, which you do not have to cross when going to the bus
station). In small towns you don't have to worry about your belongings -
the locals even leave their expensive mountain bikes without a lock!
Tips:
Pickpockets take advantage of crowded buses and subways.
Valuables (smartphones and digital cameras, for example, are very
popular) should therefore not be packed in the outer pockets of the
backpack or in the back of your trousers. In such situations, backpacks
are often carried with a strap on the chest.
Watches, jewelery and
cameras can be carried in city centers without any problems - provided
you are careful about pickpockets - but only if they are not valuable
objects in poorer suburbs.
Groups of young people who are
conspicuously hiding on the outskirts of large cities (e.g. behind trees
or in bushes) should always be avoided, as these are often petty
criminals who attack passers-by for a few pesos. Since not all of them
have firearms, small and frail individuals are at greater risk of being
mugged. In principle, one should never defend oneself.
Hotels are
mostly safe, but there is a general security problem at campsites in
major tourist centers, as these are sometimes poorly cordoned off. It's
a good idea to lock the tent with a small suitcase lock (most locals do
the same) and leave valuables with the site management or in a
guardaequipaje (luggage storage service, found mainly at bus stations).
These services can be trusted in the vast majority of cases. There are
also lockers at some bus stations.
Credit cards and larger amounts of
money should be carried on the skin and appropriate bags should be
bought. These are rarely discovered even during a raid.
If you are
traveling in more dangerous areas, you should have a small amount of
money (equivalent to around 10 US dollars) with you in order to be able
to "offer something" to the thieves in the event of an attack -
otherwise they can become very aggressive, even murders are nice because
of this happened. The size of this amount depends on the appearance.
There are no particular health risks in most of Argentina. In the
north, isolated tropical diseases have appeared, particularly in the
jungle areas of Misiones, Tucumán and Salta, with dengue fever being the
most common. There is also a purely theoretical risk of contracting
malaria in these areas, but in practice this disease only occurs very
rarely and prophylaxis is only necessary if you stay in remote areas in
the wild for a long time ( e.g. on longer trekking tours in the jungle
areas). In Argentina, with an HIV prevalence of 0.6%, AIDS is about as
widespread as in the USA. People who have frequent informal, unprotected
sex contacts are particularly at risk, as are visitors to brothels,
whose hygienic standards are usually miserable, also because they live
in a working in a legal gray area (prostitution is officially illegal
and disguised as "dating" in special bars).
Eating and drinking
can almost always be enjoyed without any problems. Caution with
sensitive stomachs is advised with extremely cheap offers, especially in
tenedor libre restaurants (see above) and stands on the street. But you
have to be particularly unlucky to get food poisoning in such cases.
Hospitals and doctors are common in cities. In public hospitals,
which are free of charge, long waiting times for treatment are often the
norm. Therefore, should the z. B. can afford through a travel insurance,
prefer a private clinic, also to keep the state hospitals free for those
who depend on them. If possible, complex treatments, such as rare
diseases, should be carried out in Buenos Aires, Córdoba, Rosario or
Mendoza.
Argentina shares a wide variety of climate zones. The best travel
time varies depending on the area: in Patagonia the summer months, in
the center (Buenos Aires, Santa Fe, Córdoba, Mendoza) spring and autumn
and in the north the dry winter months (summer is very humid there). All
major cities can get stiflingly hot in midsummer, and they're dead in
January when many people go on vacation.
In the Pampa region
(e.g. Buenos Aires) and Mesopotamia, the climate is temperate to
subtropical and humid all year round. Summers are muggy (average highs
28°C in Buenos Aires and around 33°C in Misiones) and winters are cool
to mild (15°C in Buenos Aires, around 22°C in Misiones). The weather
character alternates between longer periods of sunshine and cloudy rainy
weather, which can sometimes last for several days. The rains are often
very intense. Strong winds are also common.
Central and
north-west Argentina (e.g. Córdoba, Mendoza and Tucumán), the Sierras
Pampeanas and the Chaco are very dry in the winter months. Summers are
hot and relatively humid (average high temperature 32°C in Cordoba,
sweltering 37°C in Formosa) and winters are dry and mild (19°C in
Cordoba, 24°C in Formosa). The rainiest months are November and
December. The driest area of the region is the Puna with only 80 - 300
mm of rainfall a year, while the subtropical jungles in Tucumán get up
to 1,200 mm, and still often experience periods of drought in winter.
Patagonia is dry all year round, with slightly more rain in winter
than in summer. Exceptions are the southern Andes and southern Tierra
del Fuego, which are significantly wetter all year round. Temperatures
are generally mild throughout the year, but vary widely between north
and south. San Antonio Oeste has an average maximum temperature of 32 °C
in summer, in Comodoro Rivadavia it is 25 °C and in Ushuaia only 15 °C.
In winter, the difference is somewhat smaller, with San Antonio and
Comodoro Rivadavia reaching 12 °C, Ushuaia still 3 °C.
Behaviors are generally quite similar to those in Europe,
particularly in the Mediterranean.
Dress and Appearance: Many
Argentines attach great importance to their dress and appearance in
general, especially when going out and especially when dining in fine
restaurants. In everyday life, too, you should make sure that you look
reasonably well-groomed - otherwise you will be put in a corner with
vagabonds and hippies, who are particularly noticeable among older
Argentines. And: The young, alternative Argentinians also value what
they wear, women in particular pay great attention to figure-hugging
clothing. The cliché that used to be common in Argentina that you should
only go into the city center in smart clothes no longer applies today -
shorts can also be found in city centers.
Behaviour: Many Argentines
always try to remain nice and friendly to those around them just to look
good - even if they don't really interest them. For example, as a
foreigner in a pub, you can be sure that many people will invite you to
the "Asado" - and then you're surprised if the person concerned doesn't
even remember his name the next day. Or: You ask for directions on the
street and are surprised that although the person addressed seemed to
know everything perfectly, the information was wrong. This can be
misunderstood as superficiality by foreigners, but it is part of
Argentine culture and also contributes to a pleasant atmosphere. You
shouldn't necessarily believe everything you're told. Nevertheless,
profound conversations are possible in the circle of friends even after
a short time, as soon as trust has been established.
Queuing and
drawing numbers: Central Europeans, who expect a "hot-blooded
temperament" from Argentines, might find the discipline with which
Argentines queue up on many occasions strange. Even at bus and train
stops there are markers behind which you line up. On the other hand,
people never try to push oneself in such a queue - it is considered
extremely impolite, not even young people do it (the exception is
discotheques, where pushes can definitely occur). In almost all
authorities, but also in shops, it is customary to draw a number, which
is then announced either on a display board or by calling out. Only: In
order to get the number, you often have to stand in line first...
Ladies First: Ladies First is still strictly enforced throughout the
country. It is common on buses, subways, etc. to offer the seat,
especially to older women. Women, especially mothers with young
children, are also often let in front of men in queues, at elevators and
when boarding public transport.
Eating and drinking: Although you go
to a good restaurant in smart clothes, there is only a dress code in a
few very exclusive restaurants. Eating on the street and on the bus is
quite uncommon and considered rude by older Argentines, although it
seems to be becoming more common among young people. Of course, this
does not apply to long-distance buses, where they often even serve a
little something. Almost all of Argentina, except for a few small towns,
prohibits the consumption of alcohol in public. However, the enforcement
of this ban varies, in parks or on the beach, for example, the law
enforcement officers do not take it as seriously as on the street.
However, if you are found drunk in public, you can be almost certain
that the police will take care of you. There are often police checks at
night, especially at nightlife hotspots, during which drunk people, but
unfortunately sometimes also uninvolved passers-by, are put in a drunk
tank for a few hours. It is best to avoid these controls. In most
cities, including Buenos Aires and Córdoba, there are alcohol sales
curfews (for kiosks and shops usually 11:00 p.m. or 12:00 a.m., for bars
and discos 5:00 a.m. or 6:00 a.m.). However, these laws are not always
respected.
Viveza Criolla: One of the "Argentinian virtues" often
criticized in the media is the so-called viveza criolla, "native
cunning". What is meant is the alleged habit of the Argentines to get
all sorts of advantages through trickery and to cheat the ignorant. For
example, if foreigners charge a higher price for a good or service than
local residents, or if change is given in a taxi in a currency that has
long been out of use (e.g. Australes). Although such rip-offs are not
generally to be expected, they can certainly occur. Perhaps it is
therefore advantageous to find out about the usual prices first,
especially if you are planning a larger investment, such as buying a car
or house.
Partnership and sexuality: In terms of heterosexual
partnerships, Argentina is now almost as liberal as in Europe - you can
usually show your romantic feelings in public anywhere. At most, in
rural, remote areas, kissing that is too wild still meets with
rejection. Having sex in public is a criminal offense everywhere,
though, so if you must, make sure no one is watching. There are a large
number of love hotels (hotel alojamiento / albergue transistorio,
colloquially telo). An Argentinian specialty are the so-called villa
cariño, mostly secluded but safe streets where a large number of couples
meet in their cars and you can sometimes even order food and drinks to
the car.
Information for gays and lesbians: When it comes to
homosexuality and LGTB, the country is unfortunately not quite as
tolerant as Central Europe, even though conditions have improved
significantly after democratization in 1983 and especially since the
centre-left government took office in 2003 have. However, public
kissing, especially between two men, can still be considered a public
nuisance and can take a few hours to the police station. Since
Argentinian women are generally quite at ease with each other, lesbian
couples have it easier than men. Gays also often risk malicious ridicule
from traditionally macho-oriented Argentines. Basically, the big cities,
but also tourist resorts, are more liberal than small towns and
villages. In contrast, in the trendy districts of Buenos Aires
(especially Palermo and Recoleta), Córdoba (Güemes and Nueva Córdoba)
and Rosario as well as in the large cities of Patagonia, homosexuality
can also be lived out in public without any problems. In every big city
there are still institutions such as cultural and political
associations, media and fanzines, bars and clubs for homosexuals that
actively defend themselves against discrimination and do lobbying.
Nude bathing: Nude bathing and nudism in general is prohibited outside
of marked areas and can be prosecuted as an administrative offence.
Sometimes you get a warning even for publicly moving. But as everywhere,
the rule here is "where there is no plaintiff, there is no judge", and
in view of the many secluded lakes and beaches, nude bathers can also
get their money's worth. There are also a few naturist beaches and
naturist camps (campamento nudista or campamento naturista), see the Ser
Nudista page for a list of organized naturist areas. While topless is
tolerated, it often attracts onlookers and can draw derisive comments,
as Argentinian women are quite prudish in this regard. But don't be
afraid of American conditions, especially when it comes to small
children - if they run around naked on the beach, nobody cares.
Topics of Conversation: Due to the conflict over the Falkland Islands or
the Falklands War of 1982, it is best to avoid talking about these
topics and Britain in general. The Argentines don't speak of the
"Falklands" either, but of the "Malvinas". These are very sensitive
issues for many Argentines and can trigger a strong reaction and create
an uncomfortable situation for you. Wearing British symbols (e.g. flags
or football shirts) should also be avoided. Although there are no
documented abuses in this regard, locals can get very upset and you may
receive icy looks and treatment from the populace. In addition, one
should avoid talking about the earlier times under the Peróns, the
military dictatorship, the topics of politics, corruption and religion.
These are sensitive issues for many Argentines and can also cause a
strong reaction. Comparing Argentina to its neighbors Brazil and Chile
should also be avoided as they are seen as competitors primarily in the
economic sphere. Historical conflicts also play a role here.
With the exception of very remote areas, the communication network in
Argentina is very well developed and can be compared to Europe.
phone
Many Argentines now have smartphones and, to a lesser extent,
landlines, even in remote areas. Public telecentros with telephone
booths and often also fax and internet connections have become
increasingly rare since around 2010. The same applies to public
telephones (rarely "cells"). It should be noted that long-distance calls
and international calls via the telephone network are significantly more
expensive than in Europe, which is why messaging apps are now used
almost exclusively for this purpose.
There are mobile phone
antennas in almost every town. The most common standard is (as of 2022)
LTE (4G), but in remote regions there is sometimes only GSM or Edge
(2G). 5G is increasingly being expanded in large cities and tourist
locations. Mobile phone companies are Movistar (Telefónica Group),
Personal (Telecom) and Claro (América Móviles). The previously frequent
incompatibilities with networks and devices have mostly no longer
existed since the 3G era.
When calling an Argentinian mobile
phone from abroad, a "9" is appended to the country code 0054, followed
by the city code (without the 0) and the phone number (without the 15 at
the beginning). E.g. call to Buenos Aires: 0054-9-11-XXXX XXXX. This
does not apply to calls to Argentinian landlines.
Note: In the
years 2011/2012 numerous area codes changed, also in larger cities. So
it can happen that z. B. old area codes can still be found on the
Internet. With the mobile phone number * 120 (asterisk-120) or * 611
(Nextel) you can inquire about the new numbers.
Internet
As
early as the mid-1990s, the internet was used by many Argentines in big
cities - today the web is ubiquitous. DSL, cable modem and wireless
services are available in all cities, in some large cities also FTTH,
dial-up services are now only relevant in remote areas.
Internet
cafés (cibercafé or cíber) were widespread in the late 1990s and up
until around 2007, but today many Argentines have a fixed or mobile
connection. Nevertheless, even in small towns you can almost always find
a place where you can connect to the network without your own device,
often in larger kiosks or switchboards.
WLAN zones (WiFi) are
common and can be found in most hotels, restaurants and cafes. In many
cities and even smaller towns there are government-sponsored free WiFi
zones, but some services such as file sharing are blocked.
post
There are several postal companies in Argentina, the largest is the
ex-monopolist Correo Argentino, there are also OCA, Andreani and UPS and
DHL for parcel shipping.
Really valuable shipments to Argentina
should not be sent with the Correo Argentino (also not with Deutsche
Post or DHL), but with UPS and similar services, the theft or loss of
the entire package has often occurred. It should be noted that valuable
shipments are subject to customs duties.
Domestic shipping, on
the other hand, is relatively safe. Here is the cheap and safe
alternative of the encomienda; the package is handed over to a bus
company (usually at the local bus station). The recipient must then also
pick it up at the bus station upon presentation of the ID. Of course,
this is only possible if the route is served by a bus line. Another
possibility are comisionistas, small entrepreneurs who transport mail on
certain routes in their own car. They are often more flexible than the
bus companies, deliver directly to the recipient and are hardly more
expensive. Since you have to trust these service providers, you should
seek advice from locals.
The name of the country, "Argentina", is derived from the Latin word
lat. argentum ("silver"), which in turn comes from the Greek ἀργήντος
(argentos), earlier ἀργήεις, which meant "white", "shining". Αργεντινός
(argentinos) is a Greek adjective meaning "silver". The name arose after
Sebastian Cabot picked up Juan Diaz de Solis left by the expedition on
the shores of Francisco del Puerto, who told Cabot about the "White
King" and the Silver Mountains located north of La Plata. Cabot believed
the legend and, leaving the original plan to explore navigation on the
way to the Moluccas, found by the Magellan-Elcano expedition, went in
search of silver. But the information turned out to be false - there are
no deposits of valuable metals in the La Plata basin (rather, the legend
spoke about the Inca Empire), but the rumor about silver was the reason
why the country was named "Argentina".
The first use of the name
Argentina can be attributed to the 1602 poem "Argentina and the conquest
of the Rio de la Plata" (Spanish: La Argentina y conquista del Río de la
Plata) by Martin del Barco Centenera. Although this name for the region
was already in common use by the 18th century, in 1776 the country was
officially named the Viceroyalty of Río de la Plata. The independent
government formed after the May Revolution of 1810 replaced the name
"viceroyalty" with "United Provinces".
The name "Argentina"
became famous after its use in the first Argentine anthem of 1813, which
had many references to the ongoing Argentine War of Independence. The
first official name of the Argentine Republic was recorded in the
constitution of 1826. After the return to the confederation of the
province of Buenos Aires in 1859, the name of the country was changed to
the Argentine Nation. The name Argentine Republic was returned after the
adoption of the law of October 8, 1860 and remains to this day.
Argentina is among the ten largest countries in the world. It
occupies the southeastern part of the mainland of South America and the
eastern part of the Tierra del Fuego archipelago.
It borders
Chile to the west, Bolivia and Paraguay to the north, and Brazil and
Uruguay to the northeast. In the east it is washed by the waters of the
Atlantic Ocean, in the south by the Drake Passage.
The shores are
scarcely indented, only the La Plata estuary cuts into the land for 320
kilometers. The territory of Argentina is elongated in the meridional
direction. Its greatest length from north to south is 3.2 thousand
kilometers. The large length of maritime borders played an important
role in the development of Argentina's foreign economic relations.
Area - 2.8 million km² (excluding the Falkland (Malvinas) Islands,
disputed by Argentina and the UK). It is only slightly larger than
Kazakhstan and ranks 8th in the world in terms of area.
The
nature of Argentina is diverse due to the large extent from north to
south and differences in relief. According to the structure of the
surface, the country can be divided into approximately 63 ° W. into two
parts: flat (north and east) and elevated (south and west).
Along
the entire western border of Argentina are the Andes - the largest
mountain range in the Western Hemisphere, formed mainly during the
Alpine orogeny. They are distinguished by the complexity and diversity
of the geological structure.
In the northwest, between the
northern border of the country and 28 ° S. sh., at an altitude of
3000-4000 m lies a vast closed volcanic plateau Puna. The mountains that
frame Pune from the east rise to 6500 m. They are crowned by the snowy
peaks of the Nevados.
South of the Andes, they narrow sharply.
They reach their greatest height in the central part (between 32° and
37° S), where alpine pointed landforms predominate. Here the highest
peaks of South America crowned with powerful snow caps rise: Aconcagua
(6962 m), Tupungato, Mercedaryo. The combination of various forms of
relief with different colors of the slopes and the snowy attire of the
mountains creates a special beauty of the Andean mountain landscapes.
In the north, from the northern border to 29 ° S. sh., and to the
Parana River in the east, the Gran Chaco plain (25-50 m) is spread,
filled with detrital material and alluvial sediments.
The
interfluve of the Parana and Uruguay is basically a flat area composed
of red sandstones and marls overlain by a thick layer of clayey alluvium
and loess. The northern part of the area is a lava plateau, which is
part of the lava plateau of the Brazilian Plateau. The central part of
Mesopotamia is a flat swampy lowland. And the south is a hilly plain,
crossed by sandstone ridges - cuchillas.
Due
to the diversity of the relief and the peculiarities of the geological
structure, Argentina has a rich mineral and raw material base for the
development of industry. But there are almost no world-class deposits
(as in other countries of Latin America). In the western regions there
are ore minerals. The country is distinguished by reserves of uranium,
manganese, copper ores, beryllium; there are lead-zinc, tungsten and
iron ores. In terms of uranium ore reserves, Argentina is among the top
ten countries in the world.
Of the fuel and energy resources,
natural gas and oil are of the greatest importance. The main deposits
are confined to sedimentary rocks in the troughs of the Patagonian
platform and the intermountain troughs of the Andes (in the provinces of
Neuquen, Mendoza, Salta) and on Tierra del Fuego. Argentina's proven
natural gas reserves are estimated at 600 billion cubic meters. Its
production has increased (especially with the discovery of a deposit in
the province of Neuquen). There are small reserves of brown coal in
Patagonia.
Argentina stands out for its reserves of non-metallic
minerals, including sulfur. There are quite numerous deposits of various
building materials (marble, granite, etc.).
At the same time, the
geological knowledge of the territory as a whole is low. But one of the
main problems in the development of Argentina's industries lies not so
much in the absence of certain types of raw materials (although there is
a shortage of coking coal, bauxite, potash salts, etc.), but in their
extremely unfavorable location (mainly in outlying, sparsely populated
areas). So, for example, in Patagonia (30% of the country's territory)
there is a combination of sources of mineral raw materials and fuel,
water and forest resources. This area already accounts for half of the
mining industry. However, only 3% of the country's population lives in
this area.
The natural basis for economic development was, first
of all, the rich land resources of Argentina. In the structure of the
land fund, agricultural land occupies about 70% (but pastures
predominate). Plowed a significant part of the territory of the Pampas.
A favorable combination of agro-climatic resources determined the
country's specialization in the international division of labor in grain
farming and animal husbandry on natural pastures.
Among the water
resources of Argentina, the main role belongs to the rivers. The river
network is better developed in the northeast, where two high-water
rivers merge at the common mouth of La Plata. Parana is the second
(after the Amazon) river in South America in terms of length and basin
area. The largest rivers of Argentina have a rain type of food. The main
economic hydropower potential belongs to the rivers of Patagonia,
originating in the mountains, as well as the rivers of the Paraná and
Uruguay basins. But only a small part of this potential is used.
In the Argentine Andes there are almost 100 mountains over 6000 m
high. They include the highest mountain on the American continent,
Aconcagua at 6961 m and the two highest volcanoes on earth, Ojos del
Salado at 6880 m and Monte Pissis at 6795 m. In the southern Andes, the
mountains are less high; many are always snow-covered because of the
damp and cold climate. In the Sierras Pampeanas, too, very great heights
are sometimes measured: The Sierra de Famatina in the province of La
Rioja also reaches over 6000 m. The heights of this mountain complex,
however, fall towards the east, in the Sierras de Córdoba only a maximum
of 2800 meters are reached .
The northern Patagonids (Mesetas
Patagoniens) still have a height of 4700 m in the south-east of Mendoza,
their height decreases towards the south-east. In the other areas of
Argentina, the mountains rarely reach a height of more than 1000 m.
These include the Sierras Australes Bonaerenses (Sierra de la Ventana
and Sierra de Tandil) on the Atlantic coast and the hills and mountains
of Misiones.
Argentina's hydrology is dominated by the tributaries of the Río de
la Plata. Its catchment area covers about 5,200,000 km². About a third
of this is in Argentina, the rest in Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay and
Uruguay. The Río Paraná and the Río Uruguay are tributaries of the Río
de la Plata. In the north on the border with Brazil is the Iguazú
National Park. In it the Iguazú River with the Iguazú Falls, which are
three times the size of Niagara Falls. The Río Colorado has the second
largest drainage basin in northern Patagonia, with its largest
tributary, the Río Salado del Oeste, draining much of western Argentina,
although much of its water volume evaporates along the way or seeps into
swamps due to the arid climate.
Argentina has two major lake
areas. The most extensive is at the foot of the southern Andes, where a
long chain of meltwater lakes stretches from the province of Neuquén to
Tierra del Fuego. In addition, there are numerous lowland lakes in the
western central Pampa and in the southern Chaco, some of which are only
a few meters deep and often saline. The flatland lake Mar Chiquita with
5770 km² in the province of Córdoba as well as the Andean lakes Lago
Argentino (1415 km²) and Lago Viedma (1088 km²) are located in the Los
Glaciares National Park, which has been declared a UNESCO World Heritage
Site. There is also the Perito Moreno glacier.
Despite its long coastline, Argentina has only a few islands. The
largest is the Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego, which belongs to the
Tierra del Fuego archipelago with 47,020 km², shared by Argentina
(Tierra del Fuego province, 21,571 km²) and Chile (25,429 km²). The only
other island area of importance is the south of the province of Buenos
Aires, where there are two extensive mudflats in the bays of Bahía
Blanca and Bahía Anegada. The islands there are flat and uninhabited,
with the exception of Isla Jabalí, on which the seaside resort of San
Blas is located. The largest island is Isla Trinidad with 207 km². There
are also some smaller rocky islands off the Patagonian coast.
The
Falkland Islands (also Malwinen, English Falkland Islands, Spanish Islas
Malvinas) are a disputed territory under international law, a group of
islands in the southern Atlantic. They belong geographically to South
America, are 600 to 800 km east of southern Argentina and Tierra del
Fuego at 52° South and 59° West and are British Overseas Territory. They
have been claimed by Argentina since 1833. Argentina's occupation of the
islands on April 2, 1982 sparked the Falklands War, which lasted until
June 14, 1982 and ended in Argentina's defeat. The largest islands of
the Falkland Islands are East Falkland (Soledad) with 6683 km² and West
Falkland (Gran Malvina) with 5278 km². Under the same status is the
territory of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, southeast of
the Falkland Islands.
The northern half of Argentina is in the subtropics (in the far
north-east a small part reaches the always-humid tropics) and the
southern half in the cool-temperate zone. There are great contrasts from
fully humid to fully arid climates across the entire country. Added to
this are the mountainous climates of the Andes.
Northwest
Argentina is dry in the Andes with a short rainy season in summer. In it
you will find the Puna high desert, the west of which is one of the
areas in the world with the least rainfall, as well as the semi-desert,
barren Monte at the foot of the Andes in the provinces of Mendoza, San
Juan and La Rioja.
The eastern slopes of the Fore Andes are home
to subtropical cloud forests in the provinces of Tucumán, Salta and
Jujuy, which are very wet in summer due to rain from the humid east
winds, but relatively dry in winter. To the east, the Gran Chaco joins
in the central north, its rainfall is concentrated in the summer, the
same applies to the region of the Sierras Pampeanas in central
Argentina. In both regions, precipitation decreases towards the west.
The Northeast and Pampas regions are wet year-round, with the
highest rainfall occurring in the subtropical rainforest of Misiones
Province.
The south (Patagonia) lies in the west wind zone, which
is why the western part receives more precipitation here than the east.
The Andes are perpetually wet and cool-temperate in temperature. They
act as a barrier for the humid Pacific winds, so that the adjacent
Patagonian strata to the east are very dry and semi-desert. In this
region, the Pampero wind, which regularly blows from the southwest every
one to two weeks, determines the climate. A special case is the climate
in the southern part of Tierra del Fuego with a cool oceanic climate,
where both Pacific and Atlantic influences determine the weather because
the Andes climate divide is missing there. There, the amounts of
precipitation are relatively high and the temperatures show a relatively
small deviation between summer and winter.
In the subtropical dry forests of the Gran Chaco,
tropical-subtropical plants thrive, such as rosewood (Dalbergia), guaiac
trees (Guaiacum officinale), Rio rosewood (Jacaranda mimosifolia) and
quebracho trees (Schinopsis lorentzii), from which tannic acid is
extracted, but also palm trees . In many cases, Algarrobo trees (mainly
Prosopis alba and Prosopis nigra) are also formative. The south and east
of the Chaco, with its milder climate, is used intensively for
agriculture, while the north is still largely pristine.
The pampa
is an extensive subtropical grassland with various grasses. Apart from
non-native eucalyptus (Eucalyptus), American plane (Platanus
occidentalis) and acacia (Acacia), there are no trees here. The only
tree native to the pampas is the evergreen ombú. Due to the very fine
stone-free and fertile soil, agricultural use is very productive, so
that only little original vegetation has been preserved.
In the
arid central areas of Argentina, many cacti (Cactaceae) and thorn bushes
can be found in the arid semi-deserts.
Patagonia is already in
the rain shadow of the Andes and is a barren and largely treeless arid
landscape. Grasses like those in the pampas predominate here, but mostly
shrubs in dry semi-deserts and shrubby savannah formations. Because of
the stony soil and the harsh climate, grain cultivation (except along
river valleys) is not possible, instead the Patagonian plateau is used
for pasture.
In the foothills of the Andes and on Tierra del
Fuego there is a strip of grass steppes and forests several hundred
kilometers long. Unlike the northern hemisphere, there are no pure
coniferous forests in the southern hemisphere; even the native mountain
forest is made up exclusively of deciduous trees (especially beech
species (Nothofagus) such as coihue, lenga and Antarctic beech), which
are supplemented regionally by a second tree layer of conifers (e.g.
Alerce, Chilean cedar, Chilean river cedar, Chilean yew tree, plum -
Locust Yew, Patagonian Yew and Chilean Araucaria). Today, however, many
Andean slopes are characterized by imported softwoods such as spruce
(Picea), cypress (Cypressus), pine (Pinus), cedar (Cedrus) and other
timber. The tree line is around 3500 m.
The flower of the Ceibos
(cockscomb tree or coral tree) is one of the national symbols as the
so-called "national flower".
The fauna of Argentina, although not as rich and diverse as in other
countries of Latin America, has many endemic species. Almost all of
these animals live in the Andes and their foothills, as well as in the
sparsely populated region of Patagonia. In Pune there is a relic
spectacled bear.
In the open semi-desert spaces of Patagonia and
in the Chaco savannahs, a puma is common. In the Andes, there are also
vicuñas, which have soft wool, and chinchillas (chinchillas) with
delicate silver fur. However, both of them were subjected to almost
complete extermination. Lots of rodents, armadillos. In the Chaco,
Mesopotamia, Patagonia, nutrias and otters are widespread.
Swamps
and lakes are inhabited everywhere by waterfowl, many of which stand out
for their bright colors. On the banks of the reservoirs you can see
flamingos, herons. In the forests there are hummingbirds, among which
there are endemic species, for example, the so-called fluttering emerald
in the Patagonian Andes. The stove-maker living in Argentina became in
1928 one of the national symbols of the country.
The Valdes
Peninsula is one of the centers of seasonal animal migration. From June
to December, southern right whales come here, from September to
March-April - Magellanic penguins and killer whales, from December to
March - gray dolphins. All year round you can see colorful dolphins,
elephant seals, sea lions, guanacos, Patagonian maras, rhea ostriches,
gray foxes and armadillos.
Jaguar, toucan.
Research assumes that human settlement in present-day Argentina dates
back to around 15,000 BC. from North America.
The Pampas Indians
Het (Querandíes), Charrúa and other small tribes living in the Pampa
region of today's Argentina were not settled until the Spaniards arrived
and lived as hunters and gatherers or fishermen. The tribes in the
northwest of the country (e.g. the Diaguita), on the other hand,
practiced agriculture and animal husbandry from around the time of the
early European Middle Ages and were particularly advanced in the area of
architecture. In the 13th and 14th centuries, the Inca Empire expanded
strongly southward and, around 1450, encompassed large parts of
northwestern Argentina to the north of what is now Mendoza province.
Europeans first reached the region with the voyage of Amerigo
Vespucci in 1502. Today's Argentina was colonized by the Spanish from
two directions in the 16th century. From the estuary of the Río Paraná
on the Atlantic, Spanish branches were founded on the river system of
the Río de la Plata (“Silver River”), including Buenos Aires first in
1536. However, the Spaniards were only able to establish themselves
there permanently in 1580, after the first attempt to found the city had
failed due to the resistance of the indigenous Pampas inhabitants. After
the La Plata colony was initially administered from Asunción, which was
founded in 1537, the rise of the re-established Buenos Aires to become
the most important economic center of the colony in the course of the
17th century saw the increasing institutional separation of the southern
part of the silver country from the northern part, the today's Paraguay.
The northwestern parts of present-day Argentina (particularly in the
Gran Chaco) were occupied by the Spanish from Peru in the 1540s.
The areas of present-day Argentina (Patagonia) further south of Buenos
Aires in the southern cone remained in fact outside of Spanish rule
during the colonial period. They were ruled for about 300 years by
Indian horsemen (Puelche), who were in an exciting cultural exchange
with the colonists. In several campaigns, the colonists or their
descendants finally conquered the areas in the 19th century with great
losses on the part of the indigenous population. At the same time,
Mapuche peoples from western Patagonia were able to maintain a high
degree of independence well into the mid-19th century.
Administratively, today's Argentina was initially part of the
Viceroyalty of Peru, which included all of South America with the
exception of Venezuela and the Portuguese sphere of influence. In 1776,
the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata with the capital Buenos Aires was
split off, which included Argentina, today's Paraguay, Uruguay and parts
of today's Bolivia.
The Latinized name Argentina ("Silver Land")
for the colony first appears in the title of the historical long poem La
Argentina by Martín del Barco Centenera, printed in Portugal in 1602, in
which the former conquistador and deacon describes the conquest of the
La Plata colony and in the process tried to imitate the style of La
Araucana, the successful verse novel by Alonso de Ercilla y Zúñiga about
the war of conquest in Chile.
The independence declared in Buenos Aires on May 25, 1810 under the
influence of the French Revolution and the coalition wars in Europe
initially had only local effects as the May Revolution, but led to a
nationwide war of liberation against the Spaniards. The country finally
gained independence on July 9, 1816 in San Miguel de Tucumán. Like
Paraguay before it in 1811, Bolivia split off in 1825 and Uruguay in
1828 from what was then the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata.
Between 1816 and 1880 Argentina's development was characterized by
dictatorships (under the Bonarensian governor Juan Manuel de Rosas) and
civil wars. The provinces were initially largely autonomous, and the
country was only briefly united in 1826-1827. In 1853, today's Argentine
Republic was founded, initially without the breakaway province of Buenos
Aires, and a federal constitution was passed in its first capital,
Paraná. In 1861 and 1862, after a military conflict, the province of
Buenos Aires rejoined, national elections were called, and Bartolomé
Mitre became the first all-Argentinian president. During his reign, the
Triple Alliance War took place from 1864 to 1870, in which Argentina,
together with Brazil and Uruguay, prevailed against expansive tendencies
in Paraguay, which at that time had developed into one of the strongest
military powers in South America. Through this war, Argentina gained the
territory of today's states of Misiones, Formosa and Chaco.
The years from 1880 to 1912 were characterized by large numbers of
immigrants, mainly Italians and Spaniards, who settled in the cities and
in the so-called "colonies" in the countryside. Politically, this time
can be described as a sham democracy, because the government of Julio
Argentino Roca and the following governments were oligarchically
oriented, with great influence of the large landowners. The majority of
the population were denied their political rights through an ingenious
system of electoral fraud by the governing party, the Partido
Autonomista Nacional, which governed uninterruptedly from 1874 to 1916;
the immigrants also had no voting rights.
From 1893, border
problems with Chile worsened after Bolivia ceded part of the Puna de
Atacama to Argentina. This had been occupied by Chile since the
Saltpeter War. An arms race broke out between Chile and Argentina. Only
the British King Edward VII was able to settle the border dispute in
1902. Patagonia and Tierra del Fuego were redivided, giving 54,000 km²
to Chile and 40,000 km² to Argentina.
In 1912, universal male
suffrage was introduced by President and leader of the PAN's liberal
wing, Roque Sáenz Peña. As a result, the Unión Cívica Radical, which
emerged from the bourgeois protest movement, came to power in 1916. This
was followed by the fickle so-called Etapa Radical from 1916 to 1930.
The Unión Cívica Radical ruled until 1930, when a military coup
reinstated a conservative system. The 1930s in particular are now
referred to as the Década infame, the notorious decade in which
democracy existed only on paper and electoral fraud was the order of the
day.
During the first half of the 1940s, a young officer, Juan Domingo
Perón, maneuvered his way to power. First Minister of Labor under the
Ramírez military regime, he quickly became a popular hero among the
working class for his far-reaching concessions to the unions, so that
after his fall in July 1945 mass demonstrations forced his return. In
1946 he was elected President.
Argentina was officially neutral
during World War II. It initially sympathized with the Axis powers, but
towards the end of the war supported the Allies. Before and during the
war, Argentina was a destination for refugees from Europe, including
around 45,000 Jews; after the war numerous national socialists and
fascists found refuge in Argentina as well as in other Latin American
countries via the so-called "rat line". Among the most prominent Nazi
war criminals in Argentina were Adolf Eichmann, who was kidnapped by the
Mossad in 1960 and sentenced to death in Israel, Josef Mengele, Walther
Rauff and Erich Priebke. Large assets belonging to the National
Socialists were also transferred to Argentina via so-called key
companies.
On March 15, 2015, the discovery of a building from
the 1940s in a forest area of the Teyu Cuare Natural Park about 1000
kilometers north of the state capital Buenos Aires became known. It has
never been used. According to the Center for Urban Archeology (CAU),
evidence such as the architectural style and objects found suggest that
it was intended as a hiding place for fugitive Nazi greats. "The
National Commission into the Investigation of Nazi Activities (CEANA)
estimates that at least 180 war criminals fled to the South American
country."
Under Perón, who sympathized with fascist ideas,
Argentina's goal was to ward off communism by making concessions to
workers. During his first reign, the country's industrialization, which
had begun after the Great Depression around 1930, was deepened and an
import substitution policy was implemented. The accelerated
industrialization and the active social policy led to an unprecedented
level of prosperity for the masses, which has not yet been reached
again, who therefore supported the increasingly authoritarian regime,
but also to rising inflation and national debt. In Perón's second term,
economic difficulties and conflicts with the powerful Catholic Church
arose.
In 1955 he was deposed in a coup and fled into exile in
Spain.
In the period that followed, Argentina experienced alternating
economic ups and downs. Until 1983 there was a period of instability in
which the country was alternately controlled by civilian and military
governments. The democratically elected governments Frondizis
(1958-1962) and Illias (1963-1966) were prematurely overthrown by the
anti-Peronist military. From 1966 to 1973 there was a longer right-wing
conservative military dictatorship under Onganía and his successors,
which was finally abandoned after popular protests in 1973. The country
found its way back to democracy for a short time, the still popular
Perón was allowed to enter again and was soon able to regain power.
Perón's second term of office, from October 1973 to his death on
July 1, 1974, brought only a minor calm to Argentina's political and
economic situation. After his death, his third wife, Isabel Perón (known
as "Isabelita"), whom he had made vice-president, was installed as
president at the instigation of the Peronist party. This, a former
nightclub dancer, was completely overwhelmed with this office and served
only as a puppet for right-wing Peronists like José López Rega, who had
already used a paramilitary group with the Alianza Anticomunista
Argentina under Perón, which tortured and murdered opponents of the
regime. In addition, economic problems increased and inflation rose
sharply. Several guerrilla groups (guerilleros) such as the Montoneros
were active in this context and various kidnappings occurred. The
kidnapping in October 1975 of Heinrich Metz, the production manager
responsible for Mercedes-Benz's Argentina site (he was later released
for a ransom of several million US dollars) triggered a wave of refugees
who worked for German companies in Argentina.
In 1976 there was
another military coup and a military dictatorship was installed under
the leadership of Jorge Rafael Videla, led by a three-member junta who
ruled with open state terror. The period between 1976 and 1978 is
therefore also known as the "Dirty War". Among the estimated 30,000
Desaparecidos (“disappeared”) were numerous students whose mothers
banded together to demonstrate on the square in front of the government
building (Plaza de Mayo), despite their self-endangerment, and thus went
down in history. The aim of the Madres de Plaza de Mayo (Mothers of the
Plaza de Mayo) was and is to get information about the whereabouts of
their children. The organization Abuelas de Plaza de Mayo (Grandmothers
of the Plaza de Mayo), founded in 1977, has set itself the goal of
bringing back to their families the children of the disappeared who were
born in captivity and put up for illegal adoption.
After their
parents were killed, the orphans were raised as spoils of war by people
close to the dictatorship. Only about 100 of these children have found
out about their true identity to date. Despite all the efforts of
relatives and the searchers, there is still no trace of 400 others. In
later court cases against responsible military officers, which could
only be enforced with difficulty, it became known that the military
authorities had disposed of numerous people in a cruel way: the victims
were drugged and thrown out of the plane over the Río de la Plata or the
open sea . The German Elisabeth Käsemann was also one of the victims of
the dictatorship in 1977. The documentary film The Girl – What happened
to Elisabeth K.? contains statements by surviving relatives and
politically responsible persons.
In 1971, to settle sovereignty
disputes (see Beagle Conflict) over the islands at the southern tip of
America, Argentina and Chile commissioned an international tribunal to
decide on a binding interpretation of the 1881 border treaty. In 1977,
the Beagle Arbitration Court ruled that all islands south of Isla Grande
de Tierra del Fuego belonged to Chile. In 1978 Argentina declared the
decision null and void and prepared the military capture of the islands
(see Operation Soberanía), which could only be prevented through the
mediation of Pope John Paul II. It was only in 1984, as part of the
process of democratization, that Argentina finally recognized the
verdict in the 1984 Friendship and Peace Treaty between Chile and
Argentina – after the exchange of navigation rights and a shift of the
maritime border to the west.
In April 1982, Argentina, under the
new junta chief Leopoldo Galtieri, began the Falklands War against
Britain. It was about the Falkland Islands off Argentina (referred to as
"Islas Malvinas" in Argentina), which according to Argentine legal
opinion belong to their own national territory, but are also regarded as
their own sovereign territory by Great Britain and have been under its
administration since 1833. The invasion by Argentine soldiers was
successfully reversed by UK forces with air raids, a naval war and a
landing operation. Argentine troops surrendered on June 14, 1982.
In 1983 the country returned to democracy. The first president of
this era was Raúl Alfonsín (Unión Cívica Radical), who resigned
prematurely in 1989 as a result of a severe economic crisis. The
Peronist Party returned to power with Carlos Menem. Menem's neoliberal
economic policy and the 1:1 peg of the Argentine peso to the US dollar
was extremely successful during his first term in office and was able to
stabilize the country. During his second term of office, however, the
negative sides of this economic policy became more and more noticeable.
Between 1998 and 2002, the country fell into a severe economic
crisis again, during which economic power fell by 20%. In 1999 the Menem
government was replaced by a centre-left coalition with President
Fernando de la Rúa. However, De la Rúa was unable to quickly and
sustainably improve the muddled economic situation left behind by his
predecessor. Presidential hesitation, infighting within the coalition
and strong extra-parliamentary opposition from the unions, traditionally
close to the Peronists, increasingly weakened de la Rúa. This culminated
at the end of 2001 in the resignation of President Fernando de la Rúa
after severe unrest and looting.
There were subsequently several
Peronist interim presidents until Eduardo Duhalde was put in charge of
managing the crisis. This dissolved the dollar parity again. In May
2003, after a very chaotic presidential election, Néstor Kirchner, who
belongs to the social-democratic wing of the Peronist Party, was elected
the new head of state. Despite his low election results, Kirchner was
very popular with the population during his tenure because he was able
to successfully overcome the crisis and therefore improve the country's
overall situation. The economy experienced a strong growth spurt: in
2003 Argentina recorded a growth in gross domestic product of +8.7%
compared to -10.9% in 2002. However, Kirchner has also faced criticism,
particularly for his autocratic leadership style and partly because of
his cooperation with the Piquetero protest movement, which was
interpreted as populism.
In the elections for the Argentine
Senate and the Argentine Chamber of Deputies in October 2005, Néstor
Kirchner's supporters emerged victorious with around 40% of the votes.
His wife, Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, defeated the wife of former
President Eduardo Duhalde, Hilda González de Duhalde, who also belongs
to the Peronist Party, in the election for senators in the province of
Buenos Aires. The president was thus strengthened and was able to rely
on a large majority in both chambers, including within his own party.
The ruling Peronists, in particular Kirchner's electoral platform,
Frente para la Victoria, won the presidential and parliamentary
elections on October 28, 2007 with an overwhelming victory. Cristina
Fernández de Kirchner was able to prevail in the first ballot with 45.3%
of the votes and thus avoid a runoff. She took office on December 10,
2007. Kirchnerismo was also slightly strengthened in Parliament.
As a result, the Peronist Party was affected by factional fighting.
Official splitting of the party was even considered several times.
However, after Kirchner took over as party chairman in 2008, the
situation within the governing party stabilized again.
However,
the Frente para la Victoria (FPV) lost in the parliamentary elections on
June 28, 2009. As a result, Néstor Kirchner handed over the leadership
of the Peronist Party to the governor of the province of Buenos Aires,
Daniel Scioli. In October 2010 he died of a heart attack.
In 2015
there was a change of power: in the first run-off in Argentine history,
Mauricio Macri, party leader of the conservative Propuesta Republicana
party and mayor of Buenos Aires since 2007, narrowly defeated candidate
Daniel Scioli, who was supported by the Kirchner government. According
to Argentina's constitution, Cristina Kirchner could not stand for
re-election; she has been president for two terms.
After 2016,
Macri ended the exchange control system in place since 2012 and floated
the exchange rate of the peso, abolished subsidies for gas, electricity
and public transport, and reduced agricultural taxes on exports.
After economic recession, high inflation and strong popular protests in
2019, Macri had to admit defeat in the presidential elections to the
electoral formula Alberto Fernández / Cristina Fernández (Frente de
Todos).
Under the 1994 constitution, Argentina is a federal, republican,
presidential democracy.
In September 1947, after Eva Perón's
personal commitment to this project, active and passive women's suffrage
was passed by Parliament. In some provinces, women had been given the
right to vote and stand for election earlier.
The President of
the Nation (“Presidente de la Nación Argentina”, “Poder Ejecutivo
Nacional”) is the head of state and head of government in person and has
a powerful position, including the ability to govern by decree. He is
directly elected in two ballots every four years (until 1995: every six
years) together with the Vice-President, who deputizes for him in his
absence. To win in the first round, the winning candidate must have 45
or more percent of the valid votes cast, or 10 percentage points ahead
of the runner-up when the score is between 40 and 45 percent. In all
other cases there is a runoff. If one of the two most successful
candidates in the first round does not participate in the run-off
election (last in 2003), the other candidate is considered the winner,
so the third-placed candidate does not move up in this case. A
presidency is possible for a maximum of two consecutive terms, but a
renewed candidacy is permitted after a break of four years. The
president must be an Argentine citizen, among other things, and had to
belong to the Roman Catholic faith until the 1994 constitutional reform.
The legislature (general term: Congreso, Congress, consisting of the
Chamber of Deputies and Senate) is usually elected at different times in
all provinces.
The number of deputies in the Chamber of Deputies
is determined by proportional representation and is distributed among
the provinces according to a specific key; it amounts to around one
deputy per 152,000 inhabitants. The deputies are elected for four years,
although half of the deputies are elected every two years. The number of
senators is three per province and three for the Autonomous City of
Buenos Aires. In contrast to the Chamber of Deputies, the Senate is
elected according to a special case of majority voting; The party with
the most votes gets two senator seats and the party with the second most
votes gets one seat. The senators are elected for a period of six years,
with one third of the senators being elected every two years.
Since the economic crisis, the debate about political reform has arisen,
as the current system is very opaque, especially for voters, and
encourages both a cult of personality and corruption.
For
example, elections to the Senate and the House of Representatives are
usually held together with mayoral elections, which leads to distortions
due to the so-called Listas Sábanas. This is due to the fact that in
Argentina there are no crosses on ballots, each party has its own ballot
(Lista Sábana) and you cast your vote by choosing the right ballot.
However, if there are many simultaneous elections, you can split the
votes. In this case, if you want to vote for candidates from different
parties, you have to cut the ballot papers apart and throw only the
appropriate sections into the ballot box. However, only a few voters
make use of this option, which leads to distortions when elections are
held more frequently on the same day. Listas Sábanas (German: sheet
(large) lists) are called the ballot papers because they are often very
large.
The respective majorities in the legislature are also
hardly made public, which is also due to the fact that the composition
changes almost every year.
The party landscape in Argentina is characterized by great
fragmentation and discontinuity. The second half of the 1990s up to the
Argentina crisis in particular marked a clear turning point, after which
numerous new groups emerged, some of which were split off from the
traditional parties.
One of the largest parties today is the PJ
(Partido Justicialista, usually called in German: Peronist Party), which
emerged from the Peronist movement and which gathers about 50% of the
electoral potential at the national level. It is followed at some
distance today by the UCR (Unión Cívica Radical), which formed a de
facto two-party system with the PJ between 1945 and 2003 and has been in
government several times. From 2015 to 2019, the Propuesta Republicana
(usually referred to as PRO) provided the president with Mauricio Macri.
The Propuesta Republicana is seen as conservative-liberal.
The
parties ARI (social-democratic), Propuesta Republicana
(conservative-liberal) and the oldest left-wing party, Partido
Socialista, founded after the Argentina crisis, are of great regional
importance and enter into multiple alliances at state level, some of
which also integrate parts of the PJ and UCR. There are also numerous
regional parties with strong membership, which occupy dominant positions
in their respective provinces and also alternately form coalitions with
the nationally active parties. In Argentina, therefore, the European
right-left schema cannot be clearly applied to certain parties, since
many of them frequently change their alignment. Some parties that
enjoyed intermittent successes in the 1990s, such as the liberal Acción
por la República and the social-democratic Frente Grande, which was part
of the government in the Frente País Solidario coalition between 1999
and 2001, are now only of local importance .
Since the late 1990s
there have been substantial debates between wings of the PFY, which are
ideologically very different. The wings are usually inscribed with the
name of their leading personality. Kirchnerismo, which ruled between
2003 and 2015 (starting from Néstor and Cristina Kirchner), is
social-democratically oriented, while Menemismo, which dominated in the
1990s, was economically liberal. Another wing was Duhaldismo, which
ruled in the province of Buenos Aires for a long time and was originally
allied with Kirchnerism. After Kirchner seized power, the alliance
between the two blocs broke up due to differences, especially in
relation to Carlos Menem, and Duhaldismo lost its importance overall.
With Macri's presidency from 2015 to 2019, the PJ appeared somewhat more
united again.
Among the parties with more extreme orientations,
various communist parties (Partido Comunista Revolucionario, Partido
Obrero, Izquierda Unida and Movimiento Socialista de los Trabajadores)
have a certain importance on the left. In the case of the right, this
only applies to the right-wing conservative-nationalist Partido del
Campo Popular (which emerged from MODIN), which is considered a
collective movement for those nostalgic about the military dictatorship
between 1976 and 1983.
Argentine President Mauricio Macri declared at the beginning of his
term in December 2015 that he wanted to strive for good relations with
all countries. He was clearly counting on reviving relations with Europe
and the USA and bringing Argentina back onto the world stage. This
included the swift resolution of the conflict with US hedge funds in
April 2016, which brought the country back to international financial
markets. Another priority for the Macri government is relations with the
countries of the region, particularly with Brazil. Pursuing the
sovereignty claim raised on the Falkland Islands/Malvinas remains a
constitutional goal of Argentine foreign policy, but should not stand in
the way of cooperation with Great Britain on other issues.
Relations with its neighbors in the region, especially Brazil, Chile and
Uruguay, and issues of regional cooperation – especially in Mercosur and
UNASUR – are among Argentina's classic foreign policy priorities.
Argentina is a member of the Organization of American States (OAS)
and the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC),
founded in December 2011, of which all 33 American states except the USA
and Canada are members.
Argentina has been on the list of major
non-NATO ally since 1998, making it one of the US's closest diplomatic
and strategic partners outside of NATO. However, relations with the USA
suffered considerably under the socialist governments. The Argentine
government has announced a clear revival in relations with the USA, and
the USA has acknowledged Argentina's first economic and foreign policy
steps with initial gestures. Former US President Obama visited Argentina
in March 2016 and bilateral relations clearly gained momentum.
With a view to trade diversification, Argentina has strengthened its
ties with China, India and Russia. China is now Argentina's second most
important trading partner after Brazil.
Relations with Germany
are close and based on numerous cultural, economic and diplomatic ties
between the two countries. There is a German minority in the country.
Argentina belongs to the G20 and is an active member of the United
Nations (troop contributor to the UN mission MINUSTAH in Haiti). It was
a member of the UN Human Rights Council from 2013 to 2015 and a
non-permanent member of the UN Security Council in 2013/2014.
ethnic composition
According to official statistics, more than 90%
of the population descends at least in part from immigrant Europeans,
mostly Italians. The high number of individuals who have at least one
European ancestry have created a myth of white Argentina. Until the
early 1990s, it was assumed that the proportion of mestizos –
descendants of both Europeans and indigenous people – was less than 10%.
According to more recent findings, however, their proportion is much
higher. Recent genetic studies revealed between 53% and 65% European,
31-40% Indian and 4% African heritage. This discrepancy is attributed to
the fact that the mestizos used to suffer from severe discrimination and
therefore declared themselves "white". In Argentina, an estimated
300,000 people are of Roma descent, many of whom have abandoned their
own culture and assimilated due to discrimination and a lack of cultural
support.
Indigenous population
Only a minority of Argentines
are exclusively descendants of the 30 ethnic groups that lived on the
country's territory before the arrival of the Spaniards. On the one
hand, this is because Argentina was only densely populated in the
northwest before the colonial era, and on the other hand, because the
remaining indigenous people were largely exterminated by the Spaniards
and later by the Argentines. The State Institute for Indigenous Affairs
(INAI) estimates the number of indigenous people at around 1 million,
but indigenous organizations such as AIRA (Asociación de Indígenas de la
República Argentina) estimate the number at more than 1.5 million.
In 2001, about 2.8% of all Argentine households had Indigenous
household members, with proportions varying widely from province to
province. In Jujuy province, for example, the share was the largest at
10.5%. The proportion was lowest in the province of Corrientes at 1.0%.
In the capital, Buenos Aires, it was 2.3%.
The largest groups are
the Kollas in Jujuy and Salta, the Mapuche (Araucanians) in Neuquén and
Río Negro, the Wichí and Toba in the Chaco and Formosa, and the Guaraní
in the northern provinces. Only a minority of the indigenous people live
in their ancestral settlement areas, many have moved to the big cities,
where they often live under poor conditions as poorly paid workers.
There are neighborhoods in Rosario and Resistencia that are only
inhabited by Toba Indians, the same applies to Kollas in San Salvador de
Jujuy and San Miguel de Tucumán. Since the 1980s, there have been
movements within these tribes aimed at preserving and spreading
traditional culture, for example via radio stations and in schools.
The number of foreigners in the 2010 census was 1,805,957 (4.6% of
the population), with the largest groups being Paraguayans (550,713),
Bolivians (345,272), Chileans (191,147), Peruvians (157,514) and
Italians (147,499). ). The province of Santa Cruz (12%), the city of
Buenos Aires and Tierra del Fuego (both 11%) have the highest proportion
of foreign-born. In 2017, 4.9% of the population were migrants.
Historically, the largest wave of immigration was recorded between 1857
and the mid-20th century, almost exclusively from Europe. Between 1857
and 1920, people mainly came from Italy (around 2.3 million immigrants)
and Spain (1.6 million immigrants). The number of immigrants from
Germany is estimated at 70,000 for the period 1857-1920. In the middle
of the 20th century, migration to Argentina continued to level off,
apart from a brief resurgence around the time of World War II. After a
phase of negative migration balances between 1975 and 2001, the balance
sheet has been slightly positive again since the Argentine crisis.
Today, it is primarily citizens of the neighboring countries of Bolivia,
Paraguay and Uruguay as well as the South American countries of Peru and
Venezuela who immigrate to Argentina. During the Pinochet dictatorship,
immigration also took place from Chile, but this reversed after 2001 due
to redemocratization and the meanwhile higher standard of living in the
neighboring country. Overall, about 68% of immigrants come from American
states. About 2% of all immigrants come from Asia (mainly Koreans).
Since the 1990s there has been an increasing number of immigrants
from Europe, who mainly move here because of the untouched nature. In
contrast to the other immigrants, they usually already have a secure
existence or are pensioners, so they are trying to improve their quality
of life by moving. Other groups of foreigners (particularly Italians and
Spaniards) are still living immigrants of the main wave (until 1950).
Europeans represent about 28% of foreigners.
Since the Argentina
crisis between 1998 and 2002, waves of emigration have increased.
Argentines left for Europe and North America, and to a lesser extent
Brazil and Chile. However, this wave of emigration has largely subsided
due to the relatively rapid recovery of Argentina's economy.
The sole official language in Argentina is Spanish. There are also a
number of more or less widespread minority languages spoken by the
indigenous population. The most common are Quechua (in two local
variants) and Guaraní, and Mapudungun is also spoken in some areas. In
the province of Chaco, the languages of the Wichí, the Toba (people) and
the Mocoví have official status; in the province of Corrientes this
applies to the Guaraní. The highest number of speakers of autochthonous
languages is among the indigenous people in the Chaco, of whom more than
half still understand their ancestral language. For other groups such as
the Kolla and Mapuche, this figure is far lower.
Argentine
Spanish differs in pronunciation, grammar and vocabulary from the
variants used in Spain and also from other Latin American countries. The
double consonant ll is pronounced like German sch or French j, as is the
letter y between vowels and a consonantal y at the beginning of a word;
this phenomenon is called Yeísmo. The letter z is always pronounced like
an unvoiced s, the same applies to the c before e and i, this is called
seseo. Furthermore, the voseo prevails in Argentina, i. H. instead of
the personal pronoun tú for the 2nd person singular, vos is used. The
verbs are conjugated differently (in the present tense always final
stressed and with different imperative forms). Furthermore, the 2nd
person plural vosotros is also replaced in informal speech by the 3rd
person plural ustedes, which is just the polite form in European
Spanish. In addition, there are a number of lexical discrepancies.
While the majority of the descendants of Italian immigrants in
Argentina have given up the language of their ancestors, some of the
descendants of German-speaking and English-speaking immigrants still
speak the language of their ancestors. There are districts in Greater
Buenos Aires where you still hear a lot of German. In the province of
Córdoba there is a relatively large colony of survivors of the WWII
warship Admiral Graf Spee who settled in Villa General Belgrano, where
some German is still spoken today.
Argentina has not had a state religion since May 20, 1955, which was
previously the Roman Catholic denomination. However, Catholicism enjoys
a privileged status under the Constitution. According to the Report on
International Religious Freedom 2017, 71% of the population is Roman
Catholic.
There are officially over 2,500 registered cults and
religions, including Protestantism (9%), Jehovah's Witnesses (approx.
1.2%), and others (approx. 1.2%), for example the Pachamama cult in
north-west Argentina, the created by merging Christian rites with
indigenous religions. The archbishop of Buenos Aires, Jorge Mario
Bergoglio SJ, was elected pope by conclave on March 13, 2013, making him
the first pope from Latin America. Bergoglio chose the name Francis.
Around 400,000 to 500,000 Muslims (1%) live in Argentina. With around
205,000 to 300,000 members (0.6%), the Jewish community is the largest
in Latin America. Around 11%-13% of the population stated in surveys
that they did not belong to any religion.
Life expectancy in the period from 2010 to 2015 was 76.0 years (women
79.8, men: 72.2).
The Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Censos
continuously documents important indicators for assessing the social
situation in Argentina.
The country's social situation is
characterized by severe inequality in several respects. On the one hand,
as in all of Latin America, there is a large wealth gap between the
upper and lower classes.
But the differences between the regions
of Argentina are also large. For example, the poverty rate, which is
calculated using a basket of goods, was around 15% in the capital Buenos
Aires in 2008, just over half the national average (23%), while it is
41% in the north-east region ( as of 2007). An average person needed
about AR$317 per month in March 2008 to stay below the poverty line. In
most households, it is therefore necessary for several family members to
contribute to the income. This is also shown by the official statistics:
The average monthly per capita income is around AR$ 1156 and thus only
slightly above the poverty rate for families, while the average monthly
household income is AR$ 2090 (see below).
The northern provinces,
especially the province of Tucumán and the north-east (Chaco, Formosa,
Santiago del Estero) were hit hardest by poverty and malnutrition until
the turn of the millennium. This situation was exacerbated by the
relatively high population growth in this region. In contrast, the
central provinces (Buenos Aires, Santa Fe, Córdoba, San Luis and
Mendoza) and the extreme south (Santa Cruz and Tierra del Fuego) were
considered relatively rich.
In addition to the border regions
(e.g. Jujuy and Formosa), it is the rich central provinces that have to
struggle the most with urban poverty and with it the formation of slums.
Immigration from the poorer neighboring countries of Peru, Bolivia and
Paraguay, as well as internal migration from remote areas of the
interior, despite a slowdown in the 1990s, was a problem in the big
cities, which kept the number of slum dwellers growing despite social
housing programs. For example, in Rosario in 2004, slum dwellers made up
more than 15% of the total population. In addition, growth for the slums
also came from the so-called new poor, especially in the economically
critical years of 1989/1990, 1995 and between 1998 and 2002.
In
the Argentina crisis, especially in 2001 and 2002, many indicators of
the social situation deteriorated in a very short time. The poverty rate
calculated according to a shopping cart rose to over 50%. From 2003
onwards, the values slowly normalized again, but until 2006 the poverty
rate remained well above the values of the 1990s at over 20% despite a
decline. In the most affected Región Noreste Argentino (northeast
region), almost half the population remained poor.
After the
economy initially recovered, it slipped back into recession in 2012. In
2016, a third of Argentines were living below the poverty line and newly
elected conservative President Macri was forced to implement an
austerity program. As a result, the number of people below the poverty
line rose from 29% to 41% (December 2019).
For the poverty and
misery rate, the incomes on which the rate is based vary by region, so
only an approximate average is given. In the case of the inflation rate,
the value is only calculated in the Greater Buenos Aires area. However,
the INDEC data for the price index has been repeatedly questioned; the
IMF therefore reprimanded the country in 2013.
Argentina's military has played a dominant role throughout the
country's history. Especially in the period between 1955 (coup against
Juan Perón) and 1973 (Perón's return and second presidency) and in the
period between 1974 (Perón's death) and 1983 (defeat in the Falklands
War and redemocratization), Argentina was directly or indirectly shaped
by the military. (See also: History of Argentina)
Under the
presidencies of Raúl Alfonsíns (1983-1989) and Carlos Menems (1989-1999)
attempts were made to weaken the influence of the military and in 1994
conscription was abolished. In 1999 defense spending was only 62% of
1983 spending; over the same period, government spending has generally
increased to 152% of 1983 spending.[65] In 2003, the amnesty laws for
crimes committed by the military dictatorship (1976–1983) were
abolished.
In 2004, the Argentinean armed forces, Fuerzas Armadas
de la República Argentina, had a total of around 102,300 personnel
(soldiers and administration) (army: 50,900 persons (41,400 soldiers),
navy: 26,600 persons (17,200 soldiers), air force: 23,600 persons
(13,200 soldiers), Ministry of Defense and General Staff: 1,200 people).
Argentina spent almost 0.9% of its economic output or 5.7 billion US
dollars on its armed forces in 2017.
Argentina is a rapidly developing agro-industrial state. Since the
early 1990s, the country has been actively pursuing a policy of
privatization and an even wider attraction of foreign capital. Joining
MERCOSUR (South American Common Market) significantly expanded the
domestic market of Argentina. Argentina is characterized by the
predominance of the manufacturing industry, and it is dominated by heavy
industry; however, the traditional sectors of the light industry and
especially the food industry still occupy an important place and are of
export importance.
However, due to ill-considered reforms, the
economic crisis in 2001 led to a significant increase in social tensions
and a default (the amount of public debt at that time was $132 billion,
making it the largest default in history).
The location of
industry is characterized by a high territorial concentration: a
significant part of the industrial enterprises of heavy industry is
concentrated in the lower reaches of the Parana, in the industrial belt
between Buenos Aires and Rosario; more than half of industrial output is
produced in Greater Buenos Aires.
In terms of oil production, the
country ranks fourth (after Venezuela, Ecuador and Brazil) in Latin
America. Production fully meets the needs of the country (state-owned
companies Enarsa, YPF; private Bridas, Pluspetrol), and the state does
not import oil.
Argentina is among the top ten countries in terms
of uranium reserves. The country is known for its scientific
developments in the field of nuclear energy and the uranium industry
(INVAP, Nucleoeléctrica Argentina).
The country's ferrous
metallurgy is the oldest on the continent, but it is developing rather
slowly, with a large underutilization of capacities due to a lack of raw
materials. Most raw materials have to be imported.
Of the
non-ferrous metallurgy industries, the following are developed: the
production of lead, zinc, copper, and aluminum based on domestic and
imported raw materials.
Mechanical engineering occupies a leading
position in terms of the cost of production in heavy industry. The most
developed are transport engineering (Ford, Chrysler, Toyota, Peugeot,
etc. have their own plants in Argentina), agricultural engineering,
production of equipment for the food industry, and electrical
engineering (IBM, Siemens plants). In transport engineering, the
automotive industry (Buenos Aires, Cordoba) is in the lead, shipbuilding
and ship repair (Buenos Aires, Ensenada), aircraft manufacturing (FAdeA,
Aero Boero, Laviasa) and the production of helicopters (Cicaré,
AeroDreams) (Cordoba, Buenos Aires) are developed.
Among the
export industries, a special place is occupied by meat packing, a
traditional and country-specific industry. Argentina is one of the most
significant producers of meat, mainly beef, and its exporters. Of other
branches of the food industry, the production of vegetable oils, in
recent years - soybean, as well as flour-grinding, oil-pressing
industries and wine-making have been of export importance. Fruit and
vegetable, canning, sugar industries, and beverage production are
oriented to the domestic market.
A distinctive feature of
Argentina's agriculture compared to other Latin American countries is
the fact that it not only fully provides itself with food, but also
exports it (while only 2% of workers are employed in agriculture). In
terms of per capita food consumption, the country outperforms other
countries in the region (1st place). Agricultural and livestock products
provide over 50% of export earnings. In terms of the number of cattle,
Argentina ranks sixth in the world, in terms of meat production per
capita - fifth, and in terms of its consumption - first. Meat is the
national food of the Argentines.
In crop production, the main
place is traditionally occupied by grain, oilseeds and tobacco crops of
export value. In terms of wheat and tobacco harvesting, Argentina is one
of the leading countries in the world. According to the World Bank in
2012, the country ranked sixth in the world in terms of wheat exports
(8.4 million tons). In addition, Argentina is the most important
exporter of eggs, milk, barley and tobacco.
The average wage in
Argentina as of September 2018 is 31,898 pesos ($835.44). Effective
October 1, 2019, the minimum wage is 16,875 pesos (US$282.09) and
14,512.5 pesos (net, after 14% income tax of US$242.60).
Until 2020, there were 9 defaults in Argentina, of which three occurred in the 21st century: in 2001, 2014 and 2020. After the 2001 default, Argentina was able to negotiate a restructuring of 93% of the funds. So on July 30, 2014, the maturity date of debt obligations to a part of creditors expired. The amount of non-payment on debts amounted to 1.3 billion dollars. The Argentine authorities refused to confirm the 2014 default. Argentine President Cristina Kirchner denied defaulting, while Economy Minister Axel Kisilof said a "media campaign was unleashed against Argentina to sow the doubt, panic and fear that the word 'default' evokes." In the default of 2020, the situation was different. Argentine Economy Minister Martin Guzmán has proposed that creditors defer payment of interest and principal ($69 billion) for three years, and then pay 94.6% of the principal and 48% of additional accrued interest. Investors did not agree to this and the Argentine government did not pay $ 500 million on its government bonds.
The transport infrastructure of Argentina is relatively developed.
The length of roads is 230,000 km (excluding private rural roads), of
which 72,000 km are paved and 1,575 km are expressways, many of which
are privatized toll roads. In recent years, the length of multi-lane
express roads has doubled. Now they connect several large cities with
each other. More such roads are under construction. However, they are
still not enough to organize the normal movement of 9.5 million cars
registered in the country as of 2009 (240 per 1,000 people).
The
total length of the railway network is 31.4 thousand km. The province of
Tierra del Fuego is home to the world's southernmost railway (Train at
World's End). After several decades of declining traffic and
insufficient maintenance of infrastructure, in 1992 the Ferrocarriles
Argentinos railway company was privatized, most intercity passenger
routes were closed, and thousands of kilometers of roads (not included
in the above total length) are now unused. Suburban rail services in the
Buenos Aires area are still in high demand, though in part because of
the ease of transfer to the subway. On a number of lines, intercity
transportation is currently being resumed.
Opened in 1913, the
Buenos Aires Metro was the first metro system in Latin America and the
southern hemisphere. Today it is no longer the largest in South America,
but its 87.3 km of lines carry more than 1.2 million passengers a day.
Argentina has about 11,000 km of inland waterways, which carry more
goods than rail. This includes an extensive network of canals, although
Argentina also has a fair amount of natural waterways, the most
significant of which are the Rio de la Plata, Parana, Uruguay, Rio Negro
and Paraguay.
Aerolíneas Argentinas is the country's main
airline, providing both domestic and international flights. Austral
Lineas Aereas is a subsidiary of Aerolíneas Argentinas with a route
network covering almost the entire territory of the country. LADE is an
Air Force operated airline serving a wide network of domestic routes.
The most popular sport is football. Along with Brazil and France, the
men's national team is the only one to have won the most important
international trio: the World Cup, the Confederations Cup and the
Olympic gold medal.
The first popular sports idol was Jorge
Newbery (1875–1914), who distinguished himself as a fencer, boxer and
aviator. The mass spread of sports occurred in the first three decades
of the 20th century, based on the popular passion for three types of
activities: football, boxing and motorsport.
The 1978 FIFA World
Cup took place during the military dictatorship that had imposed a
terrorist state two years earlier. The 1978 World Cup was entrusted to
Argentina, which had been fighting for this right since 1930.
From October 6 to October 18, 2018, the III Summer Youth Olympic Games
were held in Buenos Aires. About 4,000 athletes aged 15 to 18 from over
200 countries took part in the competition. They competed for 241 sets
of awards in 36 sports programs.
The Argentine Football
Association (AFA) was founded on February 21, 1893. It is the eighth
oldest football federation in the world.
Argentine football
stars: Diego Maradona, Lionel Messi.
Argentina hosted the FIBA
World Cup in 1950 and 1990.
January 15 - Carnival in Argentina.
February 14 - Valentine's Day
(Valentine's Day).
March 24 is the National Day of Remembrance for
Truth and Law (Dia Nacional de la Memoria por la Verdad y la Justicia).
Day of sad memories of the last dictatorship in the country in 1976.
April 2 - Day of Veterans and the Fallen in the War with the British for
the Malvinas (Falkland) Islands. Since 2001, April 2 has been celebrated
in Argentina as the Day of Veterans and the Fallen in the War.
end of
March - April
Catholic Good Friday (Good Friday). The date of the
holiday is unique for each year.
Catholic Easter. The date of the
holiday is unique for each year.
May 1 - Labor Day (Labor Day).
The third Saturday in May is Father's Day. Congratulations to all men
who have children. Lunch or dinner with family. Children give gifts.
May 25 - Anniversary of the first revolution (1810) and the election of
the first independent Government of Argentina.
June 20 is Flag Day in
Argentina. Flag Day (Dia de la Bandera) is celebrated in Argentina on
the day of the death of the flag designer - Manuel Belgrano (06/3/1770 -
06/20/1820) and is an official holiday.
July 9 - Independence Day of
Argentina. On July 9, 1816, the Declaration of Independence of the
United Provinces of the Silver River (Argentina) was adopted. This date
is considered the date of birth of the Republic of Argentina, and the
country celebrates an official holiday - Independence Day.
August 17
- Memorial Day of General San Martin in Argentina. On August 17,
Argentina celebrates a national holiday - the anniversary of the memory
of the hero of the struggle for the independence of Argentina from the
Spanish colonialists (1810-1826), General José de San Martin.
September 11 is Teacher's Day in Argentina. It is a very important event
for the entire nation. In fact, the whole country celebrates Teacher's
Day as a national holiday.
The second Monday in October is Race Day
in Argentina (Día de la Raza), a holiday in honor of the indigenous
peoples who inhabited Argentina.
The third Sunday in October is
Mother's Day. Celebrated in the family circle. They congratulate all
women who have children (mothers, aunts, grandmothers,
great-grandmothers ... etc.), give gifts, a mandatory dinner with the
family.
December 8 - Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin
Mary. One of the great feasts of the Mother of God celebrated by the
Roman Catholic Church.
December 24/25 - Christmas (Gregorian
calendar). There is no big difference between Christmas and New Year in
Argentina: these two holidays are celebrated in almost the same way. As
a rule, Christmas in Argentina is a family holiday, with obligatory
gifts.
December 31 / January 1 - New Year. In Argentina, it is not a
big holiday, it is celebrated at home, in the circle of relatives and
friends. This is a very domestic holiday, as, indeed, many other
holidays.
The literacy rate in Argentina is 97%. Three out of every eight
adults over the age of 20 have a high school education or higher.
School attendance is compulsory for all children from 5 to 17 years
of age. The school system in Argentina consists of primary education of
6 or 7 years and secondary education of 5 to 6 years.
Education
in Argentina is free at all levels, with the exception of the main part
of post-graduate education. Although the literacy rate had been close to
absolute since 1947, in the first half of the 20th century, most
Argentine youth did not have access to an education higher than the
compulsory seven years of primary schooling. With the introduction of
free education at the secondary and university levels (in the 1970s),
the demand for it often began to exceed budgetary capacity. Accordingly,
public educational institutions often lack funds and reduce the quality
of education. This has had a beneficial effect on the rise of private
education, although it has resulted in disparities between those who can
afford it and the rest of society, as private schools often do not have
scholarship programs. Approximately one in four schoolchildren and one
in six students attend private educational institutions.
About
11.4 million people were involved in formal education in 2006, including
1.5 million students from 85 universities in the country, 38
universities are public. The most significant universities are:
University of Buenos Aires, National University of Cordoba, National
University of La Plata, National University of Rosario, National
Technological University. Public universities faced significant funding
cuts in the 1980s and 1990s, resulting in a decline in the quality of
education.
Health care is provided through a combination of employer and union
funded plans (Obras Sociales), public insurance, public hospitals and
clinics, and voluntary health insurance.
The first government
action to improve public health can be considered the introduction by
the Spanish Viceroy Juan José de Vertis of the Medical Tribunal to
supervise medical practitioners in 1780. After independence, medical
schools were founded at the University of Buenos Aires (1822) and the
National University of Córdoba (1877). The training of doctors and
nurses in these and other schools made possible the rapid development of
medical cooperatives, which, during the presidency of Juan Perón, grew
into the state-subsidized organizations Obras Sociales. Today their
number exceeds 300 (of which 200 belong to trade unions), they provide
medical care for more than half of the country's population. The
government's INSSJP (or PAMI) covers almost all 5 million retirees.
Health care costs reach almost 10% of the country's GDP and grow in
line with the growing proportion of Argentines over 65 (7% in 1970).
Public and private spending has historically been roughly evenly
distributed: public funds are mostly distributed through Obras Sociales
and cover hospitalizations in private and public clinics; private funds
are equally divided between the cost of voluntary health insurance and
overhead costs.
The country has over 150,000 hospital beds,
121,000 doctors and 37,000 dentists (per capita rates comparable to
developed countries). Relatively free access to medical care is
historically expressed in the structure and trends of mortality rates
comparable with developed countries: from 1953 to 2005, the proportion
of deaths caused by cardiovascular diseases increased from 20% to 23%,
tumors - from 14% to 20%, diseases of the respiratory system - from 7%
to 14%, diseases of the digestive system (non-infectious) - from 7% to
11%, strokes - remained at the level of 7%, injuries - 6%, infectious
diseases - 4%. The rest is mostly due to dementia. The proportion of
infant deaths fell from 19% in 1953 to 3% in 2005.
Infant
mortality has fallen from 70 per 1,000 newborns in 1948 to 12.5 in 2008.
Life expectancy at birth has risen from 60 to 76 years. Although these
indicators look favorably against the background of the world averages,
they are still somewhat below the level of developed countries. In 2006,
Argentina ranked 4th in Latin America for this indicator.
Argentina has given the world many renowned doctors, scientists and
inventors, including three Nobel Prize winners. Argentines are
responsible for some breakthroughs in medicine. Their research has led
to significant advances in the treatment of injuries, heart disease, and
some forms of cancer. Domingo Liotta successfully implanted the world's
first artificial heart in a human in 1969. René Favaloro developed the
technique and performed the world's first coronary bypass. Francisco de
Pedro invented a more reliable artificial heart pacemaker.
Bernardo Usay, the first Latin American Nobel Prize winner in science,
explored the role of the pituitary gland in regulating glucose levels in
animals. Cesar Milstein did extensive research on antibodies. Louis
Leloir discovered the body's process of storing energy by converting
glucose into glycogen, as well as compounds that are fundamental in the
metabolism of carbohydrates. Dr. Luis Agote developed the first safe
method of blood transfusion. Enrique Finochetto invented a number of
surgical instruments, such as the surgical scissors that bear his name
("Finochetto's scissors") and the surgical rib splitter.
Argentina is developing its own nuclear program, trying to avoid
complete dependence on foreign technology. In 1957, a research reactor
was built, and in 1974, the first commercial reactor in Latin America.
Nuclear facilities using Argentine technologies (INVAP) were built in
Peru, Algeria, Australia, and Egypt. In 1983, the country was recognized
as having the capability to produce weapons-grade uranium, a critical
step in the production of nuclear weapons. However, from that moment on,
Argentina pledged to use nuclear energy exclusively for peaceful
purposes. As a member of the IAEA Board of Governors, Argentina supports
the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons and supports global nuclear
security.
Croatian immigrant Juan Vucetich is considered the
founder of modern fingerprinting. Inventor Raul Pateras Pescara, who
specialized in the engine, auto and aircraft industries, in particular
in the creation of new models of helicopters. Laszlo Biro, an
Argentinean of Hungarian origin, was the first to mass-produce the
modern ballpoint pen. Eduardo Taurozzi invented the pendulum internal
combustion engine. Juan Maldacena is one of the leaders in the
development of string theory. The Argentines launched a number of
artificial Earth satellites into orbit, including LUSAT-1 (1990),
Víctor-1 (1996), PEHUENSAT-1 (2007), as well as satellites of the SAC
series of the Argentine space agency CONAE. The Pierre Auger Observatory
near the city of Malargue in the province of Mendoza is the most
advanced cosmic ray observatory. Argentina became the first country in
Latin America to fly a jet aircraft (FMA I.Ae. 27 Pulqui). The asteroid
(469) Argentina, discovered in 1901, is named after Argentina.
Printed publications
The print media industry is highly developed
and independent of the state. More than 200 newspapers are published.
The main national newspapers are published in Buenos Aires. The centrist
Clarín is the most popular publication in Latin America and the second
largest in the Spanish-speaking world. Other national newspapers: La
Nación (center-right, published since 1870), Página/12 (leftist), Ámbito
Financiero (business conservative), Olé (sports), Crónica (populist).
Two newspapers in foreign languages are published with relatively
large circulation: Argentinisches Tageblatt in German and Buenos Aires
Herald in English (published since 1876). The main regional publications
include: La Voz del Interior (Cordoba), Rio Negro (General Roca), Los
Andes (Mendoza), La Capital (Rosario), El Tribuno (Salta), La Gaceta
(Tucuman). Among the magazines, Noticias is published with the largest
circulation. Argentinean publishers, including Atlántida, Eudeba, Emecé
and many others, are considered, along with Spanish and Mexican
publishers, in the Spanish-speaking world. El Ateneo is the largest
chain of bookstores in Latin America.
Radio and television
Argentina is a pioneer in radio broadcasting. At 21:00 on August 27,
1920, Sociedad Radio Argentina announced: "We are now transmitting to
your homes a live broadcast of Richard Wagner's opera Parsifal from the
Coliseo Theater in Buenos Aires." Only about 20 houses in the city had
receivers for listening. The world's first radio station remained the
only one in the country until 1922, when Radio Cultura began
broadcasting. By 1925, there were already 12 radio stations in Buenos
Aires and 10 in other cities. The 1930s saw the golden age of radio in
Argentina, with broadcasts of variety shows, news, soap operas, and
sporting events.
There are currently 260 AM radio stations and
1150 FM radio stations in Argentina. Music and youth programs dominate
the FM format. News, debates and sports programs form the backbone of AM
broadcasting. Amateur radio communication is widespread in the country.
The television industry in Argentina is vast and diverse. The
channels are widely broadcast in Latin America and received worldwide.
Many local programs are broadcast by television in other countries.
Foreign producers also buy the rights to adapt programs to their
markets. There are five nationwide television channels in Argentina. All
provincial capitals and major cities have at least one local station.
The availability of cable and satellite TV channels in Argentina is
similar to North America. Many cable networks serve the entire
Spanish-speaking world from Argentina: Utilísima Satelital, TyC Sports,
Fox Sports en Español (shared with the US and Mexico), MTV Argentina,
Cosmopolitan TV, and the news network Todo Noticias.
Since
October 2014, the Russian TV channel RT has been broadcasting in Spanish
in the country.