Argentina is a large country located in South America with a population of around 44 million people. The majority of the population is ethnically European, mostly of Spanish or Italian descent. Christianity is the predominant religion, with over 90% of citizens identifying as Catholics while the remaining 10% are Protestants or other religious groups. The official language is Spanish, but Italian and German are also commonly spoken. Most Argentinians live in urban areas and work in industry or services rather than agriculture. Poverty levels have been steadily decreasing since 2010, with the unemployment rate currently at 9%. Check hyperrestaurant to learn more about Argentina in 2009.
Social conditions
Socially and culturally, the country is characterized by great differences between the metropolitan area and the rest of the country. Thus, poorer parts of especially the northern provinces exhibit developing countries-like features in infant mortality and health standards. Over 2.5 million people are estimated to be infected by Chaga’s disease, which can lead to serious heart disease. Malaria can occur in the northern parts of the country. High nativity has been considered developmental in sparsely populated Argentina, but family planning has been tolerated. Visit AbbreviationFinder to see the definitions of ARG and acronym for Argentina.
Immigration to Argentina was more extensive around the turn of the century than to Australia and the United States. Argentina also accepted unskilled labor. The political agitation among the immigrants gave rise to strong contradictions when it met the traditional values of the established oligarchy. The vulnerable existence that often awaited the new residents is reflected in the texts of the tango. Check to see Argentina population.
The workers were seriously incorporated into political life through Peronism. At the same time, this gave rise to an ideological incompatibility between different social groups, which has only recently been mitigated. The Peronist welfare reforms in the late 1940s and the expansion of the industry that took place in the early 1950s led to a significant move in to the cities.
Argentina has a well-developed, though not general, system for health care and pensions, which comprises about 5 million residents. It is managed by trade unions and has at times been subject to corruption. In 1993, the pension system was reformed and now consists of both private and government funds, where foreign banking interests are involved. The retirement age is 65 years for men and 60 years for women.
The relatively large middle class, about 30-40% of the population, is, like the traditional elite, European oriented. The middle class has been hit hard by the economic crisis, and some emigration has taken place among qualified professional groups.
The Catholic Church has had a conservative but relatively limited influence on the development of society. Despite opposition from the church, in 1986 Parliament passed a law on divorce.
In January 2005, the government offered a deal to the country’s creditors for the $ 100 billion. US $ that could not be paid off in 2001. The government offered to pay 25% of the amount – or nothing. Accepting this offer by creditors would have a major impact on other heavily indebted third world countries.
The same month, former officer Adolfo Scilingo was brought to court in Spain, accused of throwing political opponents off planes during the dictatorship of the 70’s. In April, Scilingo was sentenced to a total of 640 years in prison. In 1997, he had voluntarily surrendered to the Spanish authorities to testify in a lawsuit led by Spanish judge Baltasar Garzón. Scilingo later withdrew his statements, but the court continued to give them weight as they were confirmed by independent witnesses and by witnesses from human rights organizations. Acc. the human rights organizations opened the door wide open to prosecution of people who commit human rights abuses.
The October parliamentary election was particularly beneficial to Kirchner, and enabled him to run for a second presidential term in 2007 if he so desired. His group Frente para la Victoria (FPV, the Front for Victory) achieved very good results. Kirchner’s wife headed the group in Buenos Aires and won big over her counterpart Hilda González – “Chiche” Duhalde – who was the wife of President Eduardo Duhald.
In October, Kirchner surprisingly removed Lavagna from the Treasury post and replaced him with Felisa Miceli, who until then had been director of Banco Nación. It was the first time in the country’s history that this important record went to a woman. José Pampuro was replaced by Nilda Garré as Minister of Defense; Rafael Bielsa with Jorge Taiana at the post of Foreign Minister; and at the post of Minister of Social Affairs, the wife of President Alicia Kirchner was replaced by Juan Carlos Nadalich.
US President George W. Bush visited Argentina in November to attend the US Summit. It triggered extensive demonstrations against the extremely unpopular president.
After four years of government surpluses, the country paid its debt to the IMF at $ 9.81 billion. US $ with reserves from the National Bank. The government declared that it was doing away with its dependence on the international financial institution.
In July 2007, the president’s wife, Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, officially declared that she was running for the October presidential election. for some sectors it was an indication that President Néstor Kirchner was ill. She won the election in October with 45.29% of the vote – 22% more than her closest opponent. She was deployed to the post in December and became the country’s 2nd female president after Isabel Peron, who sat on the post in the mid-1970’s. She began her political career in the Peronist Party in the 1970’s and in 1989 was elected to the Santa Cruz State Parliament.
The United States immediately initiated a destabilization of the Kirchner government. Rumors were spread that Venezuela had channeled secret funds into her campaign. The rumors were rejected by the president, who responded again by restricting the US ambassador to being able to meet only with foreign ministry officials, but not with representatives closer to the government. In the population, her support rose to 57.8%. After a few months, the superpower stopped its destabilization and sought closer relationships again.
At the beginning of 2008, the world was characterized by rapidly rising food prices. In Argentina, the Kirchner government responded by increasing the export tax on soy from 35% to 44%, partly to limit food exports and partly to secure the state’s share of rising prices on the world market. The move was followed by fierce protests from the Argentine peasants.
In April, on the occasion of the 26th anniversary of the war on Las Malvinas, the president declared the islands to be Argentine.
After the first year of the presidential post where her popularity was high, it has since fallen and the Peronists lost support in the midterm elections in 2009. This weakened her domestic politics, but she was, on the other hand, extremely active foreign policy.