Argentina: Government#
| Country name | conventional long form: Argentine Republic conventional short form: Argentina local long form: Republica Argentina local short form: Argentina etymology: originally the area was referred to as Tierra Argentina, i.e., "Land beside the Silvery River" or "silvery land," which referred to the massive estuary in the east of the country, the Rio de la Plata (River of Silver); over time the name shortened to simply Argentina or "silvery" |
|---|---|
| Government type | presidential republic |
| Capital | Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires
geographic coordinates: 34 36 S, 58 22 W time difference: UTC-3 (2 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time) |
| Administrative divisions | 23 provinces (provincias, singular - provincia) and 1 autonomous city*; Buenos Aires, Catamarca, Chaco, Chubut, Ciudad Autonoma de Buenos Aires*, Cordoba, Corrientes, Entre Rios, Formosa, Jujuy, La Pampa, La Rioja, Mendoza, Misiones, Neuquen, Rio Negro, Salta, San Juan, San Luis, Santa Cruz, Santa Fe, Santiago del Estero, Tierra del Fuego - Antartida e Islas del Atlantico Sur (Tierra del Fuego), Tucuman note: the US does not recognize any claims to Antarctica |
| Independence | 9 July 1816 (from Spain) |
| National holiday | Revolution Day, 25 May (1810) |
| Constitution | several previous; latest effective 11 May 1853; amended many times, last in 1994 (2016) |
| Legal system | civil law system based on West European legal systems; note - in 2014, Congress passed government-backed reform to the civil code that will go into effect in 2016 |
| International law organization participation | has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; accepts ICCt jurisdiction |
| Citizenship | citizenship by birth: yes citizenship by descent: yes dual citizenship recognized: yes residency requirement for naturalization: 2 years |
| Suffrage | 18-70 years of age; universal and compulsory; 16-17 years of age - optional for national elections |
| Executive branch | chief of state: President Mauricio MACRI (since 10 December 2015); Vice President Gabriela MICHETTI (since 10 December 2015); note - the president is both chief of state and head of government head of government: President Mauricio MACRI (since 10 December 2015); Vice President Gabriela MICHETTI (since 10 December 2015) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president elections/appointments: president and vice president directly elected on the same ballot by qualified majority popular vote for a 4-year term (eligible for a second consecutive term); election last held in 2 rounds on 25 October and 22 November 2015 (next to be held in October 2019) election results: Mauricio MACRI elected president; percent of vote: first-round results - Daniel SCIOLI (PJ) 37.1%, Mauricio MACRI (PRO) 34.2%, Sergio MASSA (FR/PJ) 21.4%, other 7.3%; second-round results - Mauricio MACRI (PRO) 51.4%, Daniel SCIOLI (PJ) 48.6% |
| Legislative branch | description: bicameral National Congress or Congreso Nacional consists of the Senate (72 seats; members directly elected in multi-seat constituencies by simple majority vote to serve 6-year terms with one-third of the membership elected every 2 years) and the Chamber of Deputies (257 seats; members directly elected in multi-seat constituencies by proportional representation vote; members serve 4-year terms with one-half of the membership renewed every 2 years) elections: Senate - last held on 25 October 2015 (next to be held October 2017); Chamber of Deputies - last held on 25 October 2015 (next to be held October 2017) election results: Senate - percent of vote by bloc or party - NA; seats by bloc or party - Cambiemos 12, FpV 8, PF 2, Progresistas 2; Chamber of Deputies - percent of vote by bloc or party - NA; seats by bloc or party - FpV 84, Cambiemos 21, FR and allies 8, Progresistas 9, Federal Peronism 3, PP 3, other 2; note - as of 1 February 2016, the total seats per party of bloc in the legislature is as follows: Senate - FpV 117, UCR/CC 50, Pro 41, PJ 36, PS/GEN 9, other 4; Chamber of Deputies - FpV 42, UCR/CC 11, PJ 10, Pro 4, PS/GEN 2, other 3 |
| Judicial branch | highest court(s): Supreme Court or Corte Suprema (consists of the court president, vice-president, and 5 judges) judge selection and term of office: judges nominated by the president and approved by the Senate; judges can serve until mandatory retirement at age 75 subordinate courts: federal level appellate, district, and territorial courts; provincial level supreme, appellate, and first instance courts |
| Political parties and leaders | Cambiemos (a coalition composed of CC, PRO, and UCR) (Mauricio MACRI) Civic Coalition or CC (a coalition loosely affiliated with Elisa CARRIO) Dissident Peronists (PJ Disidente) or Federal Peronism (a right-wing faction of the Justicialist Party opposed to the Kirchners) (Ramon PUERTA) Front for Victory or FpV (left-wing faction of PJ) (Cristina FERNANDEZ DE KIRCHNER) Peronist (or Justicialist) Party or PJ (Eduardo FELLNER) Popular Path or PP Progresistas (Margarita STOLBIZER) Radical Civic Union or UCR (Ernesto SANZ) Republican Proposal or PRO (Mauricio MACRI) Socialist Party or PS (Hermes BINNER) Renewal Front (Frente Renovador) or FR (Sergio MASSA) numerous provincial parties |
| Political pressure groups and leaders | Argentine Association of Pharmaceutical Labs or CILFA Argentine Industrial Union (manufacturers' association) Argentine Rural Confederation or CRA (small to medium landowners' association) Argentine Rural Society (large landowners' association) Blue and White CGT (dissident CGT labor confederation) Central of Argentine Workers or CTA (a union for employed and unemployed workers) General Confederation of Labor or CGT (Peronist-leaning umbrella labor organization) Roman Catholic Churchother: business organizations; Peronist-dominated labor movement; Piquetero groups (popular protest organizations that can be either pro or anti-government); students |
| International organization participation | AfDB (nonregional member), Australia Group, BCIE, BIS, CAN (associate), CD, CELAC, FAO, FATF, G-15, G-20, G-24, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC (national committees), ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC (NGOs), LAES, LAIA, Mercosur, MIGA, MINURSO, MINUSTAH, NAM (observer), NSG, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, Paris Club (associate), PCA, SICA (observer), UN, UN Security Council (temporary), UNASUR, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNFICYP, UNHCR, UNIDO, Union Latina (observer), UNTSO, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU (NGOs), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC |
| Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Martin LOUSTEAU (since 28 January 2016) chancery: 1600 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20009 telephone: (1) (202) 238-6400 FAX: (1) (202) 332-3171 consulate(s) general: Atlanta, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, Washington, DC |
| Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Noah Bryson MAMET (since 16 January 2015) embassy: Avenida Colombia 4300, C1425GMN Buenos Aires mailing address: international mail: use embassy street address; APO address: US Embassy Buenos Aires, Unit 4334, APO AA 34034 telephone: (54) (11) 5777-4533 FAX: (54) (11) 5777-4240 |
| Flag description | three equal horizontal bands of light blue (top), white, and light blue; centered in the white band is a radiant yellow sun with a human face known as the Sun of May; the colors represent the clear skies and snow of the Andes; the sun symbol commemorates the appearance of the sun through cloudy skies on 25 May 1810 during the first mass demonstration in favor of independence; the sun features are those of Inti, the Inca god of the sun |
| National symbol(s) | Sun of May (a sun-with-face symbol); national colors: light blue, white |
| National anthem | name: "Himno Nacional Argentino" (Argentine National Anthem) lyrics/music: Vicente LOPEZ y PLANES/Jose Blas PARERA note: adopted 1813; Vicente LOPEZ was inspired to write the anthem after watching a play about the 1810 May Revolution against Spain |