Argentina

J

Transportation

The government of Argentina owned and operated the entire Argentine railroad system from 1948 until 1992, when it privatized most of the rail system. By 1994 the government had privatized most of the state-owned freight rail network and transferred several of the intercity passenger services to provincial control. The system has a total length of 35,753 km (22,216 mi). Only one functioning line crosses the Andes, providing a connection with northern Chile; railroad links also connect Argentina with Bolivia, Paraguay, Uruguay, and Brazil, although direct services are not possible because of differences in operating gauges. As a result of privatization, passenger service in many areas of the country is no longer available.

Aerolíneas Argentinas, once the national airline and now part of Spain’s Iberia Airlines, is Argentina’s largest air carrier. It operates flights within Argentina and to international destinations. There are also several smaller, domestic airlines. Argentina has about 11,000 km (about 6,800 mi) of waterways along navigable rivers, especially those in the Paraná region. The most important waterway development project in the region is the Hidrovía system, which links waterways in the Pantanal lowlands of Brazil with the Paraguay, Paraná, and Uruguay river systems.

The combined length of all roads and highways is 215,471 km (133,887 mi). A variety of private companies operate toll roads throughout Argentina, with freeways located primarily in and around the Buenos Aires metropolitan region. In 1998 there were 140 passenger cars for every 1,000 people in Argentina.

A network of private buses, subways, and suburban railroads serves the Buenos Aires metropolitan area. Both the subway and railroad systems have been privatized, and improvements in service frequency and quality have led increasing numbers of passengers to use public transportation. No other city in Argentina has a suburban rail or subway system.

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K

Communications

The government maintains a system of postal services throughout the country. In the early 1990s the number of telephone lines in service grew significantly when the government privatized the telecommunications sector. By 2005 there were 227 telephone mainlines in use for every 1,000 persons. There were 681 radios and 292 television sets in use per 1,000 people in 1998. Since 1990, use of the Internet has grown rapidly, as has cellular phone usage.

Argentina has more than 30 daily newspapers; the principal ones are published in Buenos Aires and circulate throughout the country. La Prensa and La Nación are famed internationally for their independent views and objectivity. Other leading Buenos Aires papers are Clarín, Crónica, Página 12, and La Razón. Argentina’s only English-language newspaper is the Buenos Aires Herald. The provincial capitals and other secondary centers all have daily papers with strong local followings. A number of magazines containing both news and features are published in Buenos Aires and circulate throughout the country.

VI

Government

According to the constitution of 1853, Argentina is a federal republic headed by a president. Legislative powers are vested in a National Congress consisting of a Senate and a Chamber of Deputies. All citizens 18 years of age or older are entitled to vote. The 1853 constitution has been revised on several occasions.

Since 1930 Argentina’s democratic institutions have been rescinded or suspended during different periods of authoritarian rule. In 1949 the constitution of 1853 was replaced by one devised by the government of Juan Perón. Under the Peronist constitution the president’s powers were enlarged, the provincial governors were made agents of the president, and the legislature and judiciary were reduced to impotence. After Perón was overthrown in 1955, the 1853 constitution was reinstituted. However, as before Perón, several subsequent leaders suspended or disregarded provisions of the constitution that interfered with their goals. The military junta that took power in 1976 also incorporated a number of extraordinary laws into the constitution.

In 1983, when democratic political life was restored in Argentina, the 1853 constitution was once again reinstituted in essentially its original form. A constituent assembly, agreed to by the main political parties in the congress, was held in 1994 for the purpose of introducing a number of reforms to the original 1853 charter.

A

Executive

Prior to the 1994 constitutional reforms, the president and vice-president were chosen for a six-year term—with no possibility of immediate reelection—by an electoral college whose members were elected by popular vote. The president and vice president are now elected directly by popular vote for a four-year term with the option of seeking immediate reelection for one period only. The 1994 reforms also placed limitations on certain presidential prerogatives concerning decrees, and strengthened the roles of the legislature and judiciary in relation to the president.

The president appoints a cabinet of ministers to head executive departments. The president enacts the laws and may participate in drawing up legislation. The president also serves as the commander in chief of the armed forces.

B

Legislature

The National Congress consists of a lower chamber (the 257-member Chamber of Deputies) and an upper chamber (the 72-member Senate). Deputies are elected by the people to four-year terms through a system of proportional representation. Each province has three senators with one-third of the senators elected every two years to six-year terms. Two of these senators are directly elected and the third represents the province’s largest minority party. Three senators represent the city of Buenos Aires.

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