refined Argentina Information, explanation, recent texts, monographs, and related patents.
Information & explanations, latest texts & monographs on Argentina (including recent related patents.)


Argentina

The Argentine Republic is a Spanish-speaking country in southern South America, in between the Andes in the West and the South Atlantic Ocean in the East. It borders Uruguay, Brazil, Paraguay, Bolivia and Chile. Its name is derived from the Latin term argentum (silver), a precious metal that provided the early impetus to European colonisation. The origin of this name goes back to the first voyages made by the Spanish conquerors to Río de la Plata. The survivors of the shipwrecked expedition mounted by Juan Díaz de Solís found indigenous people in the region who gave them silver objects as presents. The news about the legendary Sierra del Plata - a mountain rich in silver - reached Spain around 1524. Since then, the Portuguese named the river of Solís, Río de la Plata (River of Silver). República Argentina (In Detail) (Full size) National motto: En Unión y Libertad(Spanish, "In Union and Liberty") Official language Spanish Capital Buenos Aires City Largest City Buenos Aires City PresidentNéstor Kirchner Cabinet ChiefAlberto Fernández Area - Total  - % waterRanked 8th 2,766,890 km² ¹1.1% Population  - Total (2002)  - DensityRanked 31st 37,812,817 14/km² Independence  - Initiated  - Formally declared From Spain May 25, 1810 July 9, 1816 Currency Argentine Peso Time zone UTC -3 National anthem Oid, Mortales Internet TLD.AR Calling Code54 (1) Argentina also claims 1,000,000 km² of Antarctica, as well as the Falkland (Malvinas) Islands Table of contents showTocToggle("show","hide") 1 History 2 Politics 3 Provinces 4 Major Cities 5 Geography 6 Economy 7 Demographics 8 Culture 9 Miscellaneous topics 10 External links History Main article: History of Argentina Europeans first arrived in the region in the early 16th century (the first to see and colonize the land was Spanish seaman Pedro de Solís, in 1516). Subsequent Spanish colonisation of the area led to the colony of Buenos Aires in 1580. Independence from Spain was achieved in 1816, after which a conflict between centralists and federalists developed until a new constitution was proclaimed in 1853. Argentina was then marked by periods of internal political conflict between conservatives and liberals and between civilian and military factions. In the beginning of 20th century Argentina was one of the leading welfare states in the world. After World War II, the country saw the rise of the populist Peronist movement, which to a large extent polarised Argentina. Increasingly bloody military juntas alternated with proscribing democratic governments until 1983, following increasing economic problems, corruption, public revulsion and defeat in the Falklands War. Since then, four free elections have underscored Argentina's progress in democratic consolidation, albeit with an unprecedented economic implosion at the end of 2001. Politics Main article: Politics of Argentina The Argentine constitution of 1853, as revised in 1994, mandates a separation of powers into executive, legislative, and judicial branches at the national and provincial level. The president and vice president are directly elected to 4-year terms. Both are limited to two consecutive terms; they are allowed to stand for a third term or more after an interval of at least one term. The president appoints cabinet ministers, and the constitution grants him considerable power as both head of state and head of government, including authority to enact laws by presidential decree under conditions of "urgency and necessity" and the line-item veto. Argentina's parliament is the bicameral National Congress or Congreso Nacional, consisting of a senate (Senado) of 72 seats and a Chamber of Deputies (Cámara de Diputados) of 257 members. Since 2001, senators have been directly elected, with each province, including the Federal Capital, represented by three senators. Senators serve 6-year terms. One-third of the Senate stands for reelection every 2 years. Members of the Chamber of Deputies are directly elected to 4-year terms. Voters elect half the members of the lower house every 2 years. Both houses are elected via a system of proportional representation. Provinces Main article: Provinces of Argentina Argentina consists of 23 provinces (provincias, singular - provincia), and 1 federal district (distrito federal), marked by a *: Major Cities About 88 percent of Argentina's people live in cities and towns. About 3 million live in Buenos Aires, and roughly 11 million people live Greater Buenos Aires, making it one of the largest cities in the world. Many European immigrants to Argentina settled in the cities. These cities offered jobs, education, and other opportunities that enabled newcomers to enter the middle class. Compared to most Latin American countries today, Argentina has a very large middle class. Many of these middle class people work in industry, own small businesses, or have government or professional jobs. They live in tall modern apartment buildings or bungalows that have small yards or gardens. Wealthy Argentines and business executives live in mansions and luxurious apartments in the cities or in fashionable suburbs. Since the 1930's many rural workers have moved to the big cities to seek work, causing a shortage of housing. Many slums have sprouted in the city outskirts and slum dwellers live in shacks. Most of them can only find part-time work. Argentina's urban areas have a European look, reflecting the influence of their European settlers. Many towns and cities are built like Spanish cities around a main square called a plaza. A cathedral and important government buildings face the plaza. Geography Main article: Geography of Argentina Argentina can roughly be divided into three parts: the fertile plains of the Pampas in the northern half of the country, the centre of Argentina's agricultural wealth; the flat to rolling plateau of Patagonia in the southern half down to Tierra del Fuego; and the rugged Andes mountain range along the western border with Chile, with the highest point being the Cerro Aconcagua at 6,960 m. Major rivers include the Paraguay, Bermejo, Colorado, Uruguay and the largest river, the Paraná. The latter two flow together prior to meeting the Atlantic Ocean, forming the estuary of the Rio de la Plata (River of Silver). The Argentine climate is predominantly temperate with extremes ranging from subtropical in the north to arid/sub-Antarctic in far south. Economy Main article: Economy of Argentina Argentina benefits from rich natural resources, a highly literate population, an export-oriented agricultural sector, and a diversified industrial base. However, since the late 1980s the country had piled up huge external debts, inflation had reached 200% per month, and output was plummeting. To combat the economic crisis, the government embarked on a path of trade liberalisation, deregulation, and privatisation. In 1991, it implemented radical monetary reforms which pegged the peso to the US dollar and limited the growth in the monetary base by law to the growth in reserves. Though initially a success, with inflation dropping and a recovering GDP growth, subsequent economic crises in Mexico, Asia, Russia and Brazil contributed to ever worsening conditions from 1999 onward. The government sponsored tax increases and spending cuts to reduce the budget deficit, which had ballooned to 2.5% of GDP in 1999, though both domestic and foreign investors remained skeptical of the government's ability to pay debts and maintain the peso's fixed exchange rate with the US dollar. The economic situation worsened still further in 2001 with the widening of spreads on Argentine bonds, massive withdrawals from the banks, and a further decline in consumer and investor confidence. Government efforts to achieve a "zero deficit", to stabilise the stricken banking system, and to restore economic growth proved inadequate in the face of the mounting economic problems. Newly elected president Eduardo Duhalde met with IMF officials to secure an additional $20 billion loan, but immediate action seemed unlikely. The peso's peg to the dollar was abandoned in January 2002, and the peso was floated from the dollar in February. As of January 2004, the economical situation of the country showed an slight improvement over the past few years, apparently due to the internal growth of 2003. Economical restoration is expected to continue over the next few years with constant internal growth rates. Demographics Main article: Demographics of Argentina Argentines are a fusion of diverse national and ethnic groups, with descendants of Italian and Spanish immigrants predominant. Waves of immigrants from many European countries arrived in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Syrian, Lebanese, and other Middle Eastern immigrants number about 500,000, mainly in urban areas. The only official language is Spanish, though immigrants have to an extent retained their original languages. Argentina's population is overwhelmingly Roman Catholic, which is Argentina's official religion, but it also has the largest Jewish population in Latin America, about 300,000 strong, and is home to one of the largest Islamic mosques in Latin America. Protestant communities are also present. The indigenous population, estimated at 700,000, is concentrated in the provinces of the north, northwest, and south. Culture Main article: Culture of Argentina Miscellaneous topics External links South America Argentina | Bolivia | Brazil | Chile | Colombia | Ecuador | Guyana | Paraguay | Peru | Suriname | Uruguay | Venezuela Dependencies Falkland Islands | French Guiana Southern Common Market (Mercosur) Argentina | Brazil | Paraguay | Uruguay Associate members Bolivia | Chile
This article is adapted from from Wikipedia All Wikipedia article text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License

Imagining Argentina by Lawrence Thornton

Lonely Planet Argentina Uruguay and Paraguay (Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay, 4th Ed) by Sandra Bao

Evita: The Real Life of Eva Peron by Nicholas Fraser

Labyrinths: Selected Stories and Other Writings by Jorge Luis Borges

Argentina (Culture Shock!) by Fiona Adams

Frommer's Argentina and Chile, Second Edition by Shane Christensen

A Lexicon of Terror: Argentina and the Legacies of Torture (Oxford World's Classics) by Marguerite Feitlowitz

The Rough Guide to Argentina by Rough Guides

In Patagonia by Bruce Chatwin

The Argentina Reader: History, Culture, Politics by Gabriela Nouzeilles

Aconcagua: A Climbing Guide, Second Edition by R. J. Secor

Blow-Up : And Other Stories by Julio Cortazar

Fodor's Argentina, 2nd Edition : The Guide for All Budgets, Completely Updated, with Color Photos and Many Maps by Fodor's

Latin & Caribbean Grocery Stores Demystified : A food lover's guide to the best ingredients in the traditional foods by Linda Bladholm

Listen to Me, Satan!: Exercising Authority over the Devil in Jesus' Name by Carlos Annacondia


Recent Argentina related patents

From USPTO:
6710066: Photochemotherapeutic method using 5-aminolevulinic acid and other precursors of endogenous porphyrins
6709669: Fast-dispersing dosage forms containing fish gelatin
6704651: Method and apparatus for locating mobile receivers using a wide area reference network for propagating ephemeris
6703972: Apparatus for locating mobile receivers using a wide area reference network for propagating ephemeris
6699977: Low methoxyl pectins, processes thereof, and stabilized aqueous systems comprising the same
6691713: Apparatus and method for pest diagnosis from hair and fur
6686383: Prophylactic or therapeutic drug for renal diseases
6685824: Process for removing mercury from liquid hydrocarbons using a sulfur-containing organic compound
6682695: Methods for sterilizing biological materials by multiple rates
6680070: Particulate blends and compacted products formed therefrom, and the preparation thereof
6673937: Syntheses and methods of use of new antimitotic agents
6670058: Thermocatalytic process for CO2-free production of hydrogen and carbon from hydrocarbons
6667295: DNA vaccine against feline immunodeficiency virus
6664447: Tomato gene.Sw-5 conferring resistance to Tospoviruses
6652857: Methods for producing avian verotoxin antitoxin
6649177: Formulations including hydrolyzed jojoba protein
6646186: Hybrid soybeans and methods of production
6644670: Sealing gaskets for water closets
6644319: Method for coronary artery bypass
6641828: Methods for microbiological control in aqueous systems
6640124: Imaging apparatus and methods for near simultaneous observation of directly scattered light and multiply scattered light
6639610: Method and apparatus for assigning URLs to graphical objects in a web page
6638959: Microbiological control in aqueous systems
D481448: Illuminating potty trainer with toilet seat-activated on/off switch
6632462: Black tea manufacture
6630445: Recombinant alpha-fetoprotein for treating cancers
6623529: Multilingual electronic document translation, management, and delivery system
6620833: Substituted benzimidazoles, production and use thereof as agents for combating parasitic protozoas
6619393: Method for locating oil wells
6618678: Method of joint analysis and interpretation of the subsurface from multiple seismic derived layer property data sets
6615381: Digital data transmitting/receiving method, base station unit used for transmitting/receiving digital data, and mobile object terminal unit used for transmitting/receiving digital data
6613742: Chemokine-derived synthetic peptides
6613357: Osmotic device containing pseudoephedrine and an H1 antagonist
6609330: Method and apparatus for controlling fire ants
6609067: Real-time method for maintaining formation stability and monitoring fluid-formation interaction
6605603: Uses of 1-amino-3-(N,N-dimethylamino)-propylidene-1,1-bisphosphonic acid
6605302: Drug delivery device containing oseltamivir and an H1 antagonist
6605170: Synthetic decorative grass simulating spanish moss and method for making same
6599532: Osmotic device containing alprazolam and an antipsychotic agent
6599284: Osmotic device having a preformed passageway that increases in size
6595499: Evaporating unit for an air acclimatizer
6589922: Skin cleanser comprising a steareth, poloxamer, and a glyceryl monoester
6587789: Method and apparatus for locating mobile receivers using a wide area reference network for propagating ephemeris
6586438: Antidiabetic formulation and method
PP13934: Nierembergia plant named `Sunnicobu`
6579992: Method for producing chiral dihydrotagetone, and its conversion to chiral 5-isobutyl-3-methyl-4,5-dihydro-2(3H)-furanone
6572890: Osmotic device containing venlafaxine and an anti-psychotic agent
6569881: Substituted benzimidazole, the production thereof and the use thereof as means against parasitic protozoa
6569456: Osmotic device containing diltiazem and an ACE inhibitor or diuretic

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