GOVERNMENT
Argentina's constitution of 1853, as revised in 1994, mandates a separation of powers into executive, legislative, and judicial branches at the national and provincial level. Each province also has its own constitution, roughly mirroring the structure of the national constitution. The president and vice president are directly elected to four-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, including authority to enact laws by presidential decree under conditions of "urgency and necessity" and the line-item veto.
Since 2001, senators have been directly elected, with each province and the Federal Capital represented by three senators. Senators serve six-year terms. One-third of the Senate stands for reelection every two years. Members of the Chamber of Deputies are directly elected to four-year terms. Voters elect half the members of the lower house every two years. Both houses are elected via a system of proportional representation. Female representation in Congress--at nearly one-third of total seats--ranks among the world's highest, with representation comparable to European Union (EU) countries such as Austria and Germany.
The constitution establishes the judiciary as an independent government entity. The president appoints members of the Supreme Court with the consent of the Senate. The president on the recommendation of a magistrates' council appoints other federal judges. The Supreme Court has the power to declare legislative acts unconstitutional.
Political
Parties
The two largest traditional political parties are the Justicialist Party (PJ--also called Peronist), founded in 1945 by Juan Domingo Peron, and the Union Civica Radical (UCR), or Radical Civic Union, founded in 1891. Traditionally, the UCR has had more urban middle-class support and the PJ more labor support, but both parties have become more broadly based. Although both parties are currently undergoing a process of dramatic change and restructuring, they have maintained their nationwide structures. New emerging political forces, like the Civic Coalition (CC) and the National Proposal (PRO) parties, are concentrated in the urban centers and are working to build national party structures.
The PJ does not currently have a recognized national committee or leader, and is under the temporary control of a trustee, due to internal differences. A Peronist by origin, former President Kirchner is nominally the head of the Victory Front (Frente para la Victoria, or FpV), but has indicated that he intends to rebuild and lead the Peronist party. The FpV is a coalition that includes Peronists and non-Peronists aligned with President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner and Nestor Kirchner.
The UCR's serious fragmentation and poor electoral performance since 2003 has
seriously eroded its role as the main opposition party, and many analysts warn
that the party is on the verge of extinction. While the national UCR leadership
opposes the Fernández de Kirchner government, its governors, several mayors, and many other representatives have aligned themselves with the Kirchners. In October 2007, several Radical deputies ran under the FpV ballot, and the Vice Presidential candidate with Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, Julio Cobos, was a "Radical-K," as pro-Kirchner Radicals are called. Although the "Radical-K" representatives formed a separate bloc in the Lower House, they are still supportive of the FpV's policies. In the last presidential elections, the UCR did not run its own candidate and aligned itself with a former Peronist Economic Minister, Roberto Lavagna, who came in third with less than 17% of the national vote. Although seriously weakened, the UCR continues to retain some strength in a few provinces and several municipalities. The UCR is the only opposition political party with a nationwide structure.
The Civic Coalition (CC) is a political alliance led by the traditionally
left-leaning Affirmation for an Egalitarian Republic (Afirmación por una República Igualitaria, or ARI) party, in conjunction with the Socialist party and the Union for All (Unión Por Todos) party. The CC came in second in the October 2007 presidential elections, positioning itself as the second largest political force. The CC's leader, Elisa Carrió, was a fierce critic of then-President Nestor Kirchner and continues to oppose Fernandez de Kirchner's policies. The Civic Coalition's electoral base is concentrated in large, urban centers, and has governors in the province of Santa Fe and the southern province of Tierra del Fuego.
The center-right Republican Proposal (Propuesta Republicana, or PRO) party represents another emerging political force with a larger representation in the Lower House than in the past. PRO is mostly based in the city of Buenos Aires, where its leader, Mauricio Macri, won the mayoral elections in June 2007 in a run-off with 60% of the vote, defeating then-Education Minister Daniel Filmus, who ran on the FpV ticket supported by then-President Kirchner.
Historically, organized labor--largely tied to the Peronist Party--and the armed forces also have played significant roles in national life. However, the Argentine military's public standing suffered as a result of its perpetration of human rights abuses, economic mismanagement, and defeat by the United Kingdom during the period of military rule (1976-83). The Argentine military today is a downsized, volunteer force fully subordinate to civilian authority.
Principal
Government Officials
President--Cristina Fernández de Kirchner
Minister of Foreign Affairs--Jorge Taiana
Ambassador-designate to the United States--Hector Timerman
Ambassador to the Organization of American States--Rodolfo Gil
Ambassador to the United Nations--Jorge Arguello
Argentina
maintains an embassy in the United States at 1600 New Hampshire
Ave. NW, Washington DC 20009; tel (202) 238-6400; fax (202) 332-3171.
Type: Republic.
Constitution: 1853; revised 1994.
Independence: 1816.
Branches: Executive--president, vice president, cabinet. Legislative--bicameral Congress (72-member Senate, 257-member Chamber of Deputies). Judicial--Supreme Court, federal and provincial trial courts.
Administrative subdivisions: 23 provinces and one autonomous district (Federal Capital).
Political parties: Justicialist (Peronist), Radical Civic Union (UCR), numerous smaller national and provincial parties.
Suffrage: Universal adult.
