Argentina

History

Europeans arrived in the region in 1502. Spain established a permanent colony on the site of Buenos Aires in 1580, and established the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata in 1776. Independence from Spain was declared on 9 July 1816. Centralist and federationist groups were in conflict, until national unity was established and the constitution promulgated in 1853.

Related Topics:
Europe - 1502 - Spain - Buenos Aires - 1580 - Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata - 1776 - 9 July - 1816 - Constitution - 1853

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Foreign investment and immigration from Europe aided the introduction of modern agricultural techniques and integration of Argentina into the world economy in the late 19th century. In the 1880s the "Conquest of the Desert" subdued or exterminated the remaining native tribes of Patagonia.

Related Topics:
Immigration - 19th century - 1880s - Conquest of the Desert - Patagonia

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From 1880 to 1930 Argentina became one of the world's ten wealthiest nations. Conservative forces dominated Argentine politics until 1916, when their traditional rivals, the Radicals, won control of the government. The military forced Hipólito Yrigoyen from power in 1930 and ushered in another decade of Conservative rule.

Related Topics:
1880 - 1930 - 1916 - Radicals - Hipólito Yrigoyen

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Political change led to the ascendance, in 1946, of Juan Perón, who pursued policies aimed at empowering the working class and greatly expanded the number of unionized workers. The Revolución Libertadora of 1955 deposed him.

Related Topics:
1946 - Juan Perón - Revolución Libertadora - 1955

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In the 1950s and 1960s, military and civilian administrations traded power. When military governments failed to revive the economy and suppress escalating terrorism in the late 1960s and early 1970s, the way was open for Perón's return to the presidency in 1973, with his third wife, María Estela Isabel Martínez de Perón, as Vice President. During this period, extremists on the left and right carried out terrorist acts with a frequency that threatened public order.

Related Topics:
1950s - 1960s - Terrorism - 1970s - 1973 - María Estela Isabel Martínez de Perón - Left - Right

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Perón died in 1974. His wife succeeded him in office, but a military coup removed her from office on in 1976, and the armed forces formally exercised power through a junta in charge of the self-appointed National Reorganization Process, until 1983. The armed forces repressed opposition using harsh illegal measures (the "Dirty War"); thousands of dissidents were "disappeared".

Related Topics:
1974 - 1976 - Junta - National Reorganization Process - 1983 - Dirty War - Disappeared

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Economic problems, charges of corruption, public revulsion in the face of human rights abuses and, finally, the country's 1982 defeat in the Falklands War discredited the Argentine military regime.

Related Topics:
Human rights - 1982 - Falklands War

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Democracy was restored in 1983. Raúl Alfonsín's Radical government took steps intending to account for the "disappeared", establishing civilian control of the armed forces and consolidating democratic institutions. Failure to resolve endemic economic problems and an inability to maintain public confidence caused his early departure.

Related Topics:
1983 - Raúl Alfonsín

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President Carlos Menem imposed peso-dollar parity in 1991 to stop hyperinflation, and adopted far-reaching market-based policies, dismantling protectionist barriers and business regulations, and implementing a privatization program. These reforms contributed to significant increases in investment and growth with stable prices through most of the 1990s.

Related Topics:
Carlos Menem - Peso - Dollar - Parity - 1991 - Hyperinflation - Protectionist - Regulations

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The Menem and de la Rúa administrations faced diminished competitiveness of exports, massive imports who damaged national industry and induced unemployment, chronic fiscal and trade deficits, and the contagion of several economic crises. The Asian financial crisis of 1998 precipitated an outflow of capital that mushroomed into a recession, which led to a total freezing of the bank accounts (the corralito), and culminated in a financial panic in November 2001. Next month, amidst bloody riots, President de la Rúa resigned.

Related Topics:
De la Rúa - Asian financial crisis of 1998 - Recession - Bank account - Corralito - November 2001 - Bloody riots

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Several new presidents followed in quick succession. Argentina defaulted on its international debt obligations. The peso's almost 12-year-old link with the dollar was abandoned, which was followed by massive currency depreciation and inflation, in turn triggering a spike in unemployment and poverty. In 2003, Néstor Kirchner became the president, and started implementing new policies based on re-industrialization, import substitution, increased exports, consistent fiscal surplus, and a high exchange rate.

Related Topics:
Default - Currency depreciation - Inflation - 2003 - Néstor Kirchner

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