Yearbook 1999
Argentina. As expected, Opposition Alliance candidate Fernando de la Rúa won the October 24 presidential election by a clear margin over the ruling Peronist Party’s candidate Eduardo Duhalde (48% vs. 38%). It is the first time in Argentina’s history that the country gets a coalition government, and because Rúa’s valallians did not get their own majority in Congress, an unstable period is predicted. Despite the peronists retaining their dominance in the Senate and winning most of the governor elections held during the year (including Buenos Aires), the election was a major setback for them. From 1989, the Peronists were the largest party in the House of Representatives and in 1995-97 had their own majority. Carlos Menem, who for a long time tried to get himself re-elected a second time, bitterly stated that he would have been a better candidate than Duhalde had he been allowed to stand.
The new government’s economic position was not bright. The defeat of the Peronist Party was the election of the electorate over Menem’s rule, during which unemployment rose to over 14% and the number of poor people increased, especially in Greater Buenos Aires. Visit Countryaah official website to get information about the capital city of Argentina. The budget deficit is estimated at $ 10 billion in 2000, for which negotiations with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) are being conducted. Most analysts believe that Argentina’s economic growth will be one of the lowest in the world in the next few years. Trade relations with Brazil have also deteriorated. A general economic slowdown in both countries has resulted in a declining volume in bilateral trade, and safeguards for the own industries have been introduced. Especially Brazil’s devaluation on January 13 created problems for Argentina, whose trade is 27% with Brazil.
- Also see Abbreviationfinder.org to see the acronym of ARG which stands for Argentina and other definitions of this 3-letter abbreviation.
In January, General Reynaldo Bignone, the last president of the military dictatorship, was arrested on child rape and abducted by children who became orphans during the so-called dirty war (1976–83). The crimes are not covered by the amnesty laws of the 1980s.
In November, Spanish investigating judge Baltasar Garzon, who is leading the legal process against Chile’s dictator Pinochet, requested that 12 members of the former military junta in Argentina be arrested. Garzon requested the former Junta members, and another eighty suspects, be extradited to Spain for trial on genocide, torture and terrorism. Argentina’s both outgoing and incoming president declared that they refuse to extradite former members of the military junta for trials abroad.
Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires, Argentina’s capital and largest city; 2.9 million (2010), approximately 12 million (2001) throughout the metropolitan area. The town is on the south side of the wide mouth of the La Plata River. It is Argentina’s political center and economically and culturally dominant; for other Latin Americans, Argentinians are often synonymous with porteños, people from Buenos Aires. The climate is subtropical. On hot summer days 40 °C is not unusual. The annual rainfall of approximately 1000 mm is more or less evenly distributed over the months.
The big waves of immigration from Italy, Spain and Eastern Europe have made their mark on Buenos Aires. Along with the interest of the old land-owning class in everything European, this has made the city the most Europeanized of Latin America’s major cities.
The Plaza del Mayo near the river is the city’s historic center. From here and into the country spreads a monotonous, window-shaped street network whose buildings are predominantly from the 1900’s. Government offices, trade, finance and amusement are especially located in NV for the center; this social pattern is repeated further from the center in the park-rich affluent neighborhoods along La Plata and in, for example, the location of higher education institutions also towards NV. The city’s extensive residential and industrial districts are also located in all directions from the center of the flat terrain; however, the major industrial and working suburbs of Avellaneda and Quilmes lie towards the SE. Buenos Aires is a city with many cafes, small restaurants and taverns.
Car traffic is close, but slides faster than many other places, favored by the long, wide main streets. The city has Latin America’s oldest subway, El Subte, and a network of near misses to the densely populated suburbs. For long-distance traffic, the large port is crucial and has often had to be deepened. It and the large industries, not least the meat industry, dominate the city’s economy together with banks and trading companies. After a deep economic crisis from the 1970’s to the early 1990’s, the city (and the country) seemed to be economically moving forward under the impression of favorable economic conditions and a new economic policy.
Still, chaotic political and economic conditions prevailed in the summer of 2001-02, and the city witnessed major protests and several general strikes against the unpopular governments. Argentina’s crisis has hit the city hard; unemployment is high and obvious social distress has become part of the cityscape. State administration also plays a significant role in city life. However, the privatization policy of the late 1980’s has reduced the very large government sector.
Buenos Aires has a large middle class that, along with industrial workers, dominated the city until the 1970’s. Since then, the rapid growth of slum towns in the area, villa miseria, has changed the population structure. There is immigration from the country, but also considerable illegal immigration from especially Paraguay; living 1/2 -1 million. Paraguayans illegally and semi-legally in and around Buenos Aires. These shirtless, as former President Juan Perón called the poor, are making their mark on the city.
However, Argentina’s upper class still lives in Buenos Aires. In the hot, humid summer, however, many leave their villas in favor of Miami, Brazil or the Punta del Este seaside resort of Uruguay. The middle class can go to local seaside resorts such as Mar del Plata to the south or to cottage areas in the mosquito-plagued but charming river delta at Tigre NV for the city. Buenos Aires is also the city of tango. Found among the gauchos who drove the cattle to the city’s slaughterhouses, and mixed with the Spanish-Cuban habanera, the tango continues to be part of an erotic and often socially critical popular culture.
History
Buenos Aires was founded in 1536 by the Spaniard Pedro de Mendoza (c. 1487-1537), but abandoned after Native American attacks and founded in 1580 by Juan de Garay (1528-83). In 1776 it became the capital of the Viceroy of Rio de la Plata.
After Argentina’s War of Independence 1810-20, a bloody power struggle ensued between the provinces and Buenos Aires, which at the end of the civil war in 1862 ended with the absolute supremacy of the city, both economically and politically. Since then, Buenos Aires has been the hub of Argentina’s railways and the road network and shipping port for agricultural exports.
Politically, there have been conflicts between the popularly elected city council members for a long period of time and the mayor appointed by the president. Ethnically and culturally, the city’s population is characterized by the massive immigration of Europeans between 1880 and 1930.
The contradiction between a cosmopolitan and prosperous population in the northern neighborhoods and a nationalist, populist-oriented, disadvantaged population in the southern and western neighborhoods has for generations witnessed the deep class divisions and cultural divisions that intersect Buenos Aires.
