Argentina

The Argentine Republic, or Argentina as it is more widely known, is a South American country, second largest in size to Brazil. The country stretches from the Andes Mountain range to the Atlantic Ocean in the East and South.

Geography:

Argentina is bordered in the North by Paraguay and Bolivia , by Brazil and Uruguay in the North-East, and by Chile in the West and South. The country is divided into twenty-three provinces which are further divided into 376 departments (depatamentos). Some of the major cities in Argentina include Buenos Aires , the capital, Rosario and Santa Fe .

The country has roughly four regions:

•  the fertile plains of the Pampas located in the center of Argentina which is the main source of the country's wealth.

•  the oil rich plateau of Patagonia in the South.

•  the subtropical flats in the North at the Gran Chaco , and,

•  the rugged mountain range of the Andes along the border shared with Chile in the West.

The climate is predominantly temperate and extreme temperatures range from subtropical in the North to sub-polar in the far South.

Northern Argentina is characterized by very hot and humid summers and mild, dry winters. Central Argentina enjoys hot summers with thunderstorms and cool winters and Southern regions have warm summers and cold winters with heavy snowfall and extremely long periods of daylight from November to February, often reaching up to 19 hours of daylight.

Government:

Argentina runs under a federal presidential representative democratic Republic. This means that the President of Argentina is the head of both the State and the Government, supported by a multi party infrastructure.

The Argentine Constitution (1853) mandates that powers be separated into three different branches: executive, judicial and legislative. This occurs at both the national and provincial levels.

The President, and his or her cabinet, has executive powers. The President and Vice-President are elected directly for four year terms. Cabinet members are appointed by the President.

Legislative power is held by a bicameral (two houses) National Congress which consists of a Senate and a Chamber of Deputies. Senators serve six year terms with one third standing for re-election every two years. Members of the Chamber of Deputies are directly elected to a four year term via proportional representation – a third of all candidates presented must be women.

Transportation:

Argentina boasts 460, 000 kilometers of highways and roads. Multilane highways now connect several main cities and more are under construction. Railway services, after most shut down in the 1990s, are currently being reactivated.

The country also has around 3, 000 kilometers of waterways.

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© Written by E.J.Clarke.