Argentina Government - 2024

Country name

conventional long form: Argentine Republic

conventional short form: Argentina

local long form: República 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 Río de la Plata (River of Silver); over time the name shortened to simply Argentina or "silvery"

Government type

presidential republic

Capital

name: Buenos Aires

geographic coordinates: 34 36 S, 58 22 W

time difference: UTC-3 (2 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)

etymology: the name translates as "fair winds" in Spanish and derives from the original designation of the settlement that would become the present-day city, "Santa Maria del Buen Aire" (Saint Mary of the Fair Winds)

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 - Antarctica and the South Atlantic Islands), Tucuman

note: the US does not recognize any claims to Antarctica

Independence

9 July 1816 (from Spain)

National holiday

Revolution Day (May Revolution Day), 25 May (1810)

Constitution

history: several previous; latest effective 11 May 1853

amendments: a declaration of proposed amendments requires two-thirds majority vote by both houses of the National Congress followed by approval by an ad hoc, multi-member constitutional convention; amended several times, last significant amendment in 1994

Legal system

civil law system based on West European legal systems; note - in mid-2015, Argentina adopted a new civil code, replacing the old one in force since 1871

International law organization participation

has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; accepts ICCt jurisdiction

Citizenship

citizenship by birth: yes

citizenship by descent only: 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 Javier Gerardo MILEI (since 10 December 2023); Vice President Victoria Eugenia VILLARRUEL (since 10 December 2023); note - the president is both chief of state and head of government

head of government: President Javier Gerardo MILEI (since 10 December 2023); Vice President Victoria Eugenia VILLARRUEL (since 10 December 2023)

cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president

elections/appointments: president and vice president directly elected on the same ballot by qualified majority vote (to win, a candidate must receive at least 45% of votes or 40% of votes and a 10-point lead over the second place candidate; if neither occurs, a second round is held ); the president serves a 4-year term (eligible for a second consecutive term); election last held on 22 October 2023 with a runoff held 19 November 2023 (next to be held in October 2027)

election results:

2023: Javier Gerardo MILEI elected president in second round; percent vote in first round - Sergio Tomás MASSA (FR) 36.7%, Javier Gerardo MILEI (PL) 30%, Patricia BULLRICH 23.8% (JxC/PRO), Juan SCHIARETTI (PJ) 6.8%, Myriam BREGMAN (PTS)2.7%; percent of vote in second round - Javier Gerardo MILEI 55.7%, Sergio Tomás MASSA 44.3%

2019: Alberto Ángel FERNÁNDEZ elected president; percent of vote - Alberto Angel FERNÁNDEZ (TODOS) 48.1%, Mauricio MACRI (PRO) 40.4%, Roberto LAVAGNA (independent) 6.2%, other 5.3%

Legislative branch

description: bicameral National Congress or Congreso Nacional consists of:
Senate or Senado (72 seats; members directly elected from 24 provincial districts by closed-list proportional representation vote; 2 seats per district awarded to the party with the most votes and 1 seat per district to the party with the second highest votes; members serve 6-year terms with one-third of the membership renewed every 2 years)
Chamber of Deputies or Cámara de Diputados (257 seats; members directly elected in multi-seat constituencies by closed-list proportional representation vote; members serve 4-year terms with one-half of the membership renewed every 2 years)

elections:
Senate - last held on 22 October 2023 (next to be held in October 2025)
Chamber of Deputies - last held on 22 October 2023 (next to be held in October 2025)

election results:

Senate - percent of vote by bloc or party - NA; seats by bloc or party - UP 12, LLA 8, JxC 2, other 2; composition as of January 2024 men 39, women 33, percent of women 45.8%

Chamber of Deputies - percent of vote by bloc or party - NA; seats by bloc or party - UP 58, LLA 35, JxC 31, NHP  4, other 2; composition as of January 2024 - men 148, women 109, percent of women 42.4%; note - total National Congress percent of women 43.2%

Judicial branch

highest court(s): Supreme Court or Corte Suprema (consists of the court president, vice president, 2 judges, 1 vacancy)

judge selection and term of office: judges nominated by the president and approved by the Senate; ministers can serve until mandatory retirement at age 75; extensions beyond 75 require renomination by the president and approval by the Senate

subordinate courts: federal level appellate, district, and territorial courts; provincial level supreme, appellate, and first instance courts

Political parties and leaders

Avanza Libertad or AL [José Luis ESPERT]
Civic Coalition ARI or CC-ARI [Elisa CARRIÓ, Maximiliano FERRARO]
Consenso Federal (Federal Consensus) or CF [Roberto LAVAGNA, Juan Manuel URTUBEY]
Frente Cívico por Santiago (Civic Front for Santiago) [Gerardo ZAMORA]
Frente de Izquierda y de los Trabajadores – Unidad (Workers' Left Front) or FIT-U [Nicolás DEL CAÑO, Miriam BREGMAN] (coalition of leftist parties in lower house; includes PTS, PO, and MST)
Frente de la Concordia Misionero (Front for the Renewal of Social Concord) or FRCS [Carlos Eduardo ROVIRA]
Frente Renovador (Renewal Front) or FR [Sergio MASSA, Pablo MIROLO]
Generación por un Encuentro Nacional (Generation for a National Encounter) or GEN [Margarita STOLBIZER]
Hacemos por Córdoba (We do for Cordoba) or HC [Juan SCHIARETTI]
Hacemos por Nuestro Pais (We Do For Our Country) or NHP [Juan SCHIARETTI]
Juntos por el Cambio (Together for Change) or JxC [Patricia BULLRICH, Horacio Rodríguez LARRETA, Mauricio MACRI] (includes CC-ARI, PRO, and UCR); note - primary opposition coalition since 2019
Juntos Somos Río Negro (Together We Are Rio Negro) or JSRN [Alberto WERETILNECK]   
Partido Justicialista (Justicialist Party) or PJ [Alberto Angel FERNÁNDEZ]
La Cámpora [Maximo KIRCHNER]
La Libertad Avanza (The Liberty Advances) or LLA [Javier MILEI]
Movimiento Popular Neuquino (Neuquén People's Movement) or MPN [Omar GUTIÉRREZ]
Movimiento Socialista de los Trabajadores (Workers' Socialist Movement) or MST [Vilma RIPOLL, Alejandro BODART]
Partido de los Trabajadores Socialistas (Socialist Workers' Party) or PTS [Nicolás DEL CAÑO]
Partido Libertario (Libertarian Party) or PL [Javier MILEI]; note - party is also a founding member of the coalition La Libertad Avanza, which is also led by MILEI
Partido Obrero (Workers' Party) or PO [Gabriel SOLANO]
Partido Socialista or PS [Mónica Haydée FEIN]
Propuesta Republicana (Republican Proposal) or PRO [Mauricio MACRI]
Unidad Federal (coalition of provencial parties in the lower house; includes FRCS and JSRN)
Unión Cívica Radical (Radical Civic Union) or UCR [Gerardo Rubén MORALES]
Unión por la Patria (Union for the Homeland) or UP (formerly Frente de Todos (Everyone's Front) or FdT) [Alberto FERNÁNDEZ, Cristina FERNÁNDEZ DE KIRCHNER] (includes FR, La Cámpora, and PJ); note - ruling coalition since 2019; includes several national and provincial Peronist political parties
Vamos con Vos (Let's Go with You) or VcV [Florencio RANDAZZO]

International organization participation

AfDB (nonregional member), Australia Group, BCIE, BIS, CAN (associate), CD, CABEI, 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, PROSUR, SICA (observer), UN, UNASUR, UNCTAD, UNDOF, UNESCO, UNFICYP, UNHCR, UNHRC, UNIDO, Union Latina (observer), UNOOSA, UNTSO, UNWTO, UPU, Wassenaar Arrangement, WCO, WFTU (NGOs), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC

Diplomatic representation in the US

chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant); Chargé d'Affaires Adrián Roberto NADOR (since 7 December 2023)

chancery: 1600 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20009

telephone: [1] (202) 238-6400

FAX: [1] (202) 332-3171

email address and website:
eeeuu@mrecic.gov.ar

https://eeeuu.cancilleria.gob.ar/en

consulate(s) general: Atlanta, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, Washington, DC

Diplomatic representation from the US

chief of mission: Ambassador Marc Robert STANLEY (since 24 January 2022)

embassy:
Avenida Colombia 4300, (C1425GMN) Buenos Aires

mailing address: 3130 Buenos Aires Place, Washington DC  20521-3130

telephone: [54] (11) 5777-4533

FAX: [54] (11) 5777-4240

email address and website:
buenosaires-acs@state.gov

https://ar.usembassy.gov/

Flag description

three equal horizontal bands of sky blue (top), white, and sky blue; centered in the white band is a radiant yellow sun with a human face (delineated in brown) 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: sky 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

National heritage

total World Heritage Sites: 12 (7 cultural, 5 natural)

selected World Heritage Site locales: Los Glaciares National Park (n); Jesuit Missions of the Guaranis (c); (n); Cueva de las Manos (c); Valdés Península (n); Ischigualasto/Talampaya National Parks (n); Jesuit Block and Estancias of Córdoba (c); Quebrada de Humahuaca (c); Qhapaq Ñan/Andean Road System (c)