Argentina

Argentina (officially called Argentine Republic) is a country in South America. Argentina is the second-largest country in South America and the eighth-largest country in the world.

Spanish is the language most people speak and the official language, but many other languages are spoken. Some of these are German, Guarani, Mapudungun and Quechua and even Welsh in Patagonia.

The capital city of the Argentina is Buenos Aires, one of the largest cities in the world, in eastern Argentina. In order by number of people, the largest cities in Argentina are Buenos Aires, Córdoba, Rosario, Mendoza, La Plata, Tucumán, Mar del Plata, Salta, Santa Fe, and Bahía Blanca.

Argentina is between the Andes mountain range in the west and the southern Atlantic Ocean in the east and south. It is bordered by Paraguay and Bolivia in the north, Brazil and Uruguay in the northeast, and Chile in the west and south. It also claims the Falkland Islands (Spanish: Islas Malvinas) and South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands.

History
The name Argentina comes from the Latin argentum (silver) as the Spanish conquistadors believed the area had silver. In the Americas, Canada, US, Brazil and Argentina are the largest countries (in that order).

The oldest signs of people in Argentina are in the Patagonia (Piedra Museo, Santa Cruz), and are more than 13,000 years old. In 1480 the Inca Empire conquered northwestern Argentina, making it part of the empire. In the northeastern area, the Guaraní developed a culture based on yuca and sweet potato however typical dishes all around Argentina are pasta, red wines (Italian influence) and beef.

Other languages spoken are Italian, English and German. Lunfardo is Argentinean slang and is a mix of Spanish and Italian. Argentineans are said to speak Spanish with an Italian accent.

Argentina declared independent from Spain in 1816, and achieved it in 1818. It grew a lot after immigrants from Europe came to the country. By the 1920s it was the 7th wealthiest country in the world, but it began a decline after this. In the 1940s, following the "infamous decade" where the country's politics were not stable, Juan Peron came to power. Peron was one of the most important people in the country's history and many politicians today call themselves Peronist. Peron was forced out of power in 1955. After spending years in exile he returned to power in the 1970s.

In 1976, the country was falling into chaos, and the military took power. This was not the first time the military had done this. Leading the new government was Jorge Rafael Videla. Videla was one of history's most brutal dictators. Thousands of people disappeared or were killed during his time as president. Videla retired in 1980.

One of his successors was another general turned dictator, Leopoldo Galtieri. By the time Galtieri was in office in 1981 the dictatorship became unpopular. To try to stir up support, Galtieri ordered an invasion of the Falkland Islands, starting a war. Argentina lost the war, and soon the country fell into chaos again. Galtieri was removed from power and eventually democracy was restored. Galtieri and Videla would be charged with "crimes against humanity" because of the mass murder and other crimes that they ordered as president.

Today, Argentina is one of the most important countries in Latin America, though it still has many problems facing it. It has a large economy and is an influential country in the "southern cone" of South America.

Politics
Argentina is a federal republic. The people of Argentina vote for a President to rule them and Senators and Deputies to speak for them and make laws for them. The President is Cristina Fernández de Kirchner since December 2007.

Administrative divisions
Argentina is divided into 23 provinces (provincias; singular: provincia), and 1 city (commonly known as capital federal):

Geography


Argentina is almost 3,700 km long from north to south, and 1,400 km from east to west (maximum values). It can be divided into three parts: the Pampas in the central part of the country, Patagonia in the southern part down to Tierra del Fuego; and the Andes mountain range along the western border with Chile, with the highest point in the province of Mendoza. Cerro Aconcagua, at 6,960 metres (22,834 ft), is the Americas' highest mountain.

The most important rivers include the River Plate, Paraguay, Bermejo, Colorado, Uruguay and the largest river, the Paraná. River Plate was incorrectly translated though, and should have been translated to English as River of (the) Silver. River Plate is also a famous Buenos Aires soccer team.

See List of cities in Argentina for the many places people live in Argentina.

Other information
The majority of the Argentineans are descendants of Europeans mainly from Spain, Italy, Germany, Ireland, France, other Europeans countries and Mestizo representing more than 90% of the total population of the country.

Football or soccer is the most popular sport, although the national sport of the country is Pato. Argentina has a number of highly-ranked Polo players. Field hockey (for women) rugby and golf are also favorites.

Argentina is a Christian country. Most of Argentina's people (80 percent) are Roman Catholic. Argentina also has the largest population of Jewish community after Israel and US. Many Middle Eastern immigrants who were Muslims converted to Catholicism, but there are still Muslims as well.

Medicine is socialized and so is education, making Argentina's literacy rate about 98%. State University is free as well.

Related pages

 * Argentina at the Olympics
 * Argentina national football team
 * List of rivers of Argentina

Government

 * Argentina.gov.ar - Official national portal
 * Gobierno Electrónico - Official government website
 * Presidencia de la Nación - Official presidential website
 * Honorable Senado de la Nación - Official senatorial website
 * Honorable Cámara de Diputados de la Nación - Official lower house website
 * Secretaría de Turismo de la Nación - Official tourism board website