Assignment 1The Nation Report

Argentina

Arash Saysan

Geography 1:

• The total surface area (excluding the Antarctic claim) is 2,766,891 km2 (1,068,303 sq mi), of which 30,200 km2 (11,700 sq mi) (1.1%) is water

• There are four major regions: the fertile central plains of the Pampas, source of Argentina's agricultural wealth; the flat to rolling, oil-rich southern plateau of Patagonia including Tierra del Fuego; the subtropical northern flats of the Gran Chaco, and the rugged Andes mountain range along the western border with Chile.

Geography 2:• The major rivers are the Paraná

(the largest), the Pilcomayo, Paraguay, Bermejo, Colorado, Río Negro, Salado and the Uruguay.

• Regionally important rivers are the Atuel and Mendoza in the homonymous province, the Chubut in Patagonia, the Río Grande in Jujuy and the San Francisco River in Salta.

• The highest point above sea level is in Mendoza province at Cerro Aconcagua (6,962 m (22,841 ft))

• The lowest point is Laguna del Carbón in Santa Cruz province, -105 m (−344 ft) below sea level, the lowest point in South America.

People 1:

• The census of 2001 counted a population of 36,260,130, and the estimate for 2008 was 40,482,000. Argentina ranks third in South America in total population and 30th globally. Argentina's population density is 15 persons per square kilometer of land area, well below the world average of 50 persons. The population is unevenly distributed: the city of Buenos Aires has a population density of over 14,000 inhab./km², while Santa Cruz province has fewer than 1 inhab./km². Benefiting from a moderate birth rate since the 1930s,[34] Argentina is the only nation in Latin America with a net positive migration rate: about 4 net immigrants per 10,000 locals, yearly.

People 2:

• Argentina is considered a country of immigrants.

• Most Argentines are descended from colonial-era settlers and of the 19th and 20th century immigrants from Europe, and 86.4% of Argentina's population self-identify as European descent An estimated 8% of the population is mestizo. A further 4% of Argentines were of Arab or East Asian heritage. In the last national census, based on self-identification, 600,000 Argentines (1.6%) declared to be Amerindians.

• The majority of these European immigrants came from Italy and Spain.

• The first Asian-Argentines were of Japanese descent; Koreans, Vietnamese and Chinese followed. Today, Chinese are the fastest growing community and over 70,000 Chinese-born live in the largest Argentine cities.

Culture 1:

• Argentine culture has significant European influences. Buenos Aires, considered by many its cultural capital, is often said to be the most European city in South America, as a result both of the prevalence of people of European descent and of conscious imitation of European styles in architecture. The other big influence is the gauchos and their traditional country lifestyle of self-reliance. Finally, indigenous American traditions (like yerba mate infusions) have been absorbed into the general cultural milieu.

• Numerous Argentine architects have enriched their own country's cityscapes and, in recent decades, those around the world.

• One of the most influential Argentine figures in fine arts was Xul Solar, whose surrealist work used watercolors as readily as unorthodox painting media; he also "invented" two imaginary languages.

• Combination of Art Nouveau with Italianate styles.

Culture 2:

• Besides many of the pasta, sausage and dessert dishes common to continental Europe, Argentines enjoy a wide variety of indigenous creations, which include empanadas (a stuffed pastry), locro (a mixture of corn, beans, meat, bacon, onion, and gourd), humitas and yerba mate, all originally indigenous Amerindian staples, the latter considered Argentina's national beverage. Other popular items include chorizo (a spicy sausage), facturas (Viennese-style pastry) and Dulce de Leche.

• The official national sport of Argentina is pato, played with a six-handle ball on horseback, but the most popular sport is association football. The national football team has won 25 major international titles including two FIFA World Cups, two Olympic gold medals and fourteen Copa Américas. Over one thousand Argentine players play abroad, the majority of them in European football leagues. There are 331,811 registered football players, with increasing numbers of girls and women, who have organized their own national championships since 1991 and were South American champions in 2006.

History 1:

• The earliest evidence of humans in Argentina is in Patagonia (Piedra Museo, Santa Cruz) and dates from 11,000 BC (Santa María, Huarpes, Diaguitas and Sanavirones, among others). The Inca Empire under King Pachacutec invaded and conquered present-day northwestern Argentina in 1480, integrating it into a region called Collasuyu; the Guaraní developed a culture based on yuca, sweet potato and yerba mate. The central and southern areas (Pampas and Patagonia) were dominated by nomadic cultures, unified in the 17th century by the Mapuches.[citation needed]

• European explorers arrived in 1516. Spain established the Viceroyalty of Peru in 1542 encompassing all its holdings in South America, and established a permanent colony at Buenos Aires in 1580 as part of the dependency of Río de la Plata. In 1776 this dependency was elevated to a viceroyalty which shifted trade from Lima to Buenos Aires.

History 2:

• A wave of foreign investment and immigration from Europe after 1870 led to the development of modern agriculture and to a near-reinvention of Argentine society and the economy and the strengthening of a cohesive state. The rule of law was consolidated in large measure by Dalmacio Vélez Sársfield, whose 1860 Commercial Code and 1869 Civil Code laid the foundation for Argentina's statutory laws. General Julio Argentino Roca's military campaign in the 1870's established Argentine dominance over the southern Pampas and Patagonia, subdued the remaining indigenous peoples and left 1,300 indigenous dead. Some contemporary sources indicate that it was campaign of genocide by the Argentine government.

• In 1946, General Juan Perón was elected president, creating a political movement referred to as "Peronism".

Source:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Argentina

Nation Report Part 2 Arash Saysan

Argentina Culture of

Argentina Culture

•  Variety of cultures and mixed of ethnic groups •  In!uenced by European immigration although there are also some Amerindian and African

in!uences, particularly in the "elds of music and art. •  Mixture of architectural styles imported from Europe. •  Modern styles appear mixed with colonial features, relics from the Spanish-ruled past. •  Museums, cinemas and galleries are abundant in all the large urban centers, as well as traditional

establishments such as literary bars, or bars o#ering live music of a variety of genres. P2

Argentina Culture

Cinema •  Cinema has been active since 1896. •  Achieved international recognition with "lms such as

!e O"cial Story and 9 Queens. •  Argentine theatre traces its origins to Viceroy Juan

José de Vértiz y Salcedo's creation of the colony's "rst comedy theatre (La Ranchería) in 1783.

•  European Immigration in Argentina created a need for a cultural shi$ in theatre addressed by Florencio Sánchez.

Music •  %e best-known element of Argentine culture is the

tango dance. •  Tango is the word refers to both the music and the

lyrics (o$en containing words and phrases in lunfardo, a local slang), which are a form of poetry.

•  Folk music and dance are popular in provincial Argentina and are blends of various native and European styles.

•  Since the 1970s Rock music has been widely appreciated in Argentina.

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Argentina Culture

Painting and Sculpture •  Rich history in painting and sculpture from both before and since the development of modern Argentina in the second

half of the 19th century. •  Shortly a$er independence in 1816, landscape painters from Europe began exploring the spacious Argentine

countryside, much as many did in the United States. •  In the 1830s, Carlos Morel became the "rst in!uential Argentine painter and Prilidiano Pueyrredón's naïve, slice-of-life

portraits made him among the few successful Argentine artists of those early days •  Artistic production in Argentina, however, did not truly come into its own until a$er the 1852 overthrow of the

repressive regime of Juan Manuel de Rosas. •  Monumental sculptors became in very high demand a$er 1900, particularly by municipal governments and wealthy

families, who competed with each other in boasting the most evocative mausolea for their dearly departed. P3

Argentina Culture

Sport •  Many Argentines are involved in sports. •  Fútbol (soccer) is more of a national obsession than a game. Argentina won the World Cup in 1978 and

1986 and the gold medal at the 2004 Summer Olympics and 2008 Summer Olympics for men's soccer, and the exploits of Diego Maradona have kept fans, paparazzi and columnists busy for the past 20 years.

Language •  Argentina's o&cial language is Spanish •  Most Argentines can understand simple spoken Italian and Portuguese, due to their similarity to

Spanish. %ere are about 23 native languages spoken in di#erent parts of the country, including Quechua, Mapuche, Guaraní, Toba and Wichí.

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Source:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Argentina

Nation Report P3 Contemporary Issues in Argentina

Arash Saysan

Economic

•  Argentina has since been enjoying economic growth, though with high in!ation. Néstor Kirchner forfeited the 2007 campaign in favor of his wife Senator Cristina Fernández de Kirchner. Winning by a landslide that October, she became the "rst woman elected President of Argentina and in a disputed result, Fabiana Ríos, a center-le# (ARI) candidate in Tierra del Fuego Province became the "rst woman in Argentine history to be elected governor. President Cristina Kirchner, despite carrying large majorities in Congress, saw controversial plans for higher agricultural export taxes defeated by Vice President Julio Cobos' surprise tie-breaking vote against them on 16 July 2008, following massive agrarian protests and lockouts from March to July. $e global "nancial crisis has since prompted Mrs. Kirchner to step up her husband's policy of state intervention in troubled sectors of the economy. A halt in growth and political missteps helped lead Kirchnerism and its allies to lose their absolute majority in Congress, following the 2009 mid-term elections.

•  Argentina has abundant natural resources, a well-educated population, an export-oriented agricultural sector and a relatively diversi"ed industrial base.

•  $e Buenos Aires waterfront and three sectors leading the recent economic recovery: construction, foreign trade and tourism

Political Figures

•  Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, president since December 2007 •  Néstor Kirchner (second from right) hosts Raúl Alfonsín (right), the Brazilian President Lula da Silva and

former Brazilian President José Sarney to commemorate 20 years of productive trade talks

Issues•  Argentina claims part of Antarctica as Argentine Antarctica, an area delimited by the 25° West and

74° West meridians and the 60° South parallel. $is claim overlaps the British and Chilean claims, though all territorial claims in Antarctica are currently suspended (although not abandoned) under the Antarctic Treaty System. Argentina also claims the British overseas territories of the Falkland Islands and South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands. In addition a 50 kilometres (31 mi) long border with Chile in the Southern Patagonian Ice Field is awaiting demarcation as required under a 1998 treaty.

•  On 22 April 2009, the Argentine government submi%ed a claim to the United Nations (UN) for 1,700,000 square kilometres (660,000 sq mi) of ocean territory to be recognised as Argentina's continental shelf as governed by the Convention on the Continental Shelf and Convention on the Law of the Sea. Argentina claims to have spent 11 years investigating the ma%er and submi%ed 800 kilograms (1,800 lb) of documents in support of the claim. If the claim is recognised by the UN then Argentina will gain the rights to the commercial exploitation of the sea bed (which includes mining and oil drilling). $e new claim will add to the existing 4,800,000 square kilometres (1,850,000 sq mi) of commercial shelf already managed by Argentina and includes the disputed British overseas territories of the Falklands, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands and parts of Antarctica disputed with Chile and the United Kingdom.

•  Argentina has a dispute with neighboring Uruguay about two pulp mills on the Uruguay side of the shared Uruguay River near the Argentine city of Gualeguaychú. Residents of Gualeguaychú, concerned about pollution from the mills, blockaded bridges across the river in 2006. $e case was brought before the International Court of Justice which ruled in Uruguay's favour in July 2006 and allowed the mills to remain..

Relations •  Early on in the administration of President Carlos Menem (1989–1999), Argentina restored diplomatic relations with the United Kingdom and

developed a strong partnership with the United States. It was at this time that Argentina le# the Non-Aligned Movement and adopted a policy of "automatic alignment" with the United States. In 1990, Menem's Foreign Minister, Guido di Tella, memorably pronounced the U.S.–Argentine alliance to be a "carnal relationship."

•  Within the term of President Néstor Kirchner, from 2003 onwards, Argentina suspended its policy of automatic alignment with the United States and moved closer to other Latin American countries. Argentina no longer supports the UN Commission on Human Rights resolution criticizing the "human rights situation in Cuba" and calling upon the Government of Cuba to "adhere to international human rights norms", but has chosen instead to abstain. In the 2006 United Nations Security Council election, Argentina supported, like all Mercosur countries, the candidacy of Venezuela (a Mercosur member) over Guatemala for a non-permanent seat in the Security Council.

•  $e Mercosur has become a central part of the Argentine foreign policy, with the goal of forming a Latin American trade block. Argentina has chosen to form a block with Brazil when it comes to external negotiations, though the economic asymmetries between South America's two largest countries have produced tension at times.

•  $e United States has a positive bilateral relationship with Argentina based on many common strategic interests, including non-proliferation, counternarcotics, counterterrorism, the "ght against human tra&cking, and issues of regional stability, as well as the strength of commercial ties. Argentina is a participant in the $ree-Plus-One regional mechanism (Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and the U.S.), which focuses on coordination of counter-terrorism policies in the tri-border region.

•  Argentina is a full member of the Mercosur block together with Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay and Venezuela; and "ve associate members: Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru. From 2006 Argentina has emphasised Mercosur, which has some supranational legislative functions, as its "rst international priority; by contrast, during the 1990s, it relied more heavily on its relationship with the United States. Argentina is a founding signatory and permanent consulting member of the Antarctic Treaty System and the Antarctic Treaty Secretariat is based in Buenos Aires.

Source: h%p://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Argentina