• LANGUAGE

• GOVERNMENT AND CONSTITUTION

THE NAME ARGENTINA

comes from the latin argentum which means silver. The origin of the name goes back to the voyages made by the first Spanish conquistadores (conquerors) to the Río de la Plata (Silver River). The shipwrecked survivors of the expedition mounted by Juan Díaz de Solís discovered indians in the region who presented them with silver objects. The news about the legendary Sierra del Plata, a mountain rich in silver, reached Spain around 1524. From this date the Portuguese named the river Solís, the Silver River. Two years later the Spanish used the same name. Since 1860 the official name of the country has been the República Argentina (Republic of Argentina).

SOME GEOGRAPHY

The fundamental characteristic of Argentina is the enormous contrast between the immense eastern plains and the imposing mountain range of the Andes to the west. This is the frontier with Chile and has the highest peak in the West the Aconcagua, 6.959 metres high.

In its passage from Jujuy to Tierra del Fuego the range presents marvellous contrasts, the plateaus of the northwest, the lake region, the forests and the glaciers of the Patagonian Andes.

To the north, Chaco is a forested area which follows the rivers Bermejo, Salado and Pilcomayo.

Between the Paraná and Uruguay, the Mesopotamia of Argentina (the provinces of Entre Ríos, Corrientes and Misiones) is formed by low hills where pools and marshlands show the ancient courses of these great rivers. Occasionally there are fissures which provide such spectacular phenomena as the Falls of Iguazú.

La Pampa, in the centre of Argentina, is the largest and best known area of plains. It has a large amount of agriculture and livestock and includes the provinces of Buenos Aires, La Pampa, the south of Santa Fe and the east of Córdoba. Its landscape is broken to the south by the small mountains of Tandil and La Ventana and to the west by the Córdoba mountain ranges.

Towards the south, from the Andes to the sea, are the sterile and stony plateaus of Patagonia, swept by the wind during most of the year. The Atlantic coast, lined with high cliffs, forms massive indentations like the Valdés Peninsula, with its spectacular and unique colonies of marine animals.

POPULATION

The current population of Argentina is estimated to be some 38 million of which almost half live in the Federal Capital and the province of Buenos Aires. These figures give us a population density of 10.1 inhabitants per square kilometre. 95% of Argentineans are white and principally descendants of Italians and Spaniards. With the massive European immigration the white and indian half castes became slowly diluted until today these people only amount to 4.5% of the population. The pure indigenous population, the Mapuches, Collas, Tobas, Matacos and Chiriguanos, amount to 0.5% of the population.

NATIONAL EMBLEMS

The flag has three stripes: the middle one white with the rising sun and the two outside ones of sky blue. The national flower is the ceiba and the national stone the manganese spar or "the stone of the inca".

CURRENCY

The official Argentine currency is the Peso. There are bills (notes) of 2, 5, 10, 20, 50, and 100 pesos and coins of 1 peso and 1, 5, 10, 25, and 50 centavos.

LANGUAGE

Spanish is the official language of the Argentine Republic. In Buenos Aires forms of lunfardo are used which is a city slang. In some areas guaraní, quéchua, aymará and the native tongues of the indigenous minority are spoken.

RELIGION

There is complete religious freedom in Argentina although the official one is Roman Catholic. There are also other religions such as Protestant, Jewish, Moslem, Greek Orthodox, Russian Orthodox, etc.

GOVERNMENT AND CONSTITUTION

The country is a representative federal and democratic republic with Buenos Aires as the Federal Capital and 23 provinces. There are three authorities: the executive, the legislative and the judicial. The first is exercised by the President of the Nation, elected for a term of four years. He has ample powers, including the power of approving or vetoing decisions by Congress. The National Congress has two chambers. The Chamber of Deputies has 254 directly elected members. The Senate has 72 members elected by provincial jurisdictions, three per province and three for the Federal Capital. The provinces are autonomous and elect their own officials, the Governor being the ultimate authority.

The current Constitution dates from 1853. Nevertheless, it has undergone changes on various occasions, the last time was in August 1994, which allowed the reelection of the President of the Nation for one more term.

HISTORIC DATES

TWO HISTORIC DATES

• 25 de Mayo de 1810.The First Government independent of the Kingdom of Spain was constituted.
• 9 de Julio de 1816. Proclamation of Independence by the United Provinces of the Silver River. Birth of the Republic of Argentina.