Argentina history

The Republic of Argentina is a nation with a long history . Its population is dominated by the descendants of Italian and Spanish immigrants, who give their culture and language an unmistakable flavor. At Curio Sfera -Historia.com , we explain the origin and history of Argentina .

Don’t miss the history of the flags

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• 1Origin of Argentina
• 2Discovery and colonization of Argentina
• 3English invasions and Argentine independence
• 4New Argentine nation and the war against Brazil (1819-28)
• 5Argentine Unitarians and Federals (1829-60)
• 6Argentine Progressives and Conservatives (1861-1916)
• 7Argentine radicals and conservatives (1916-43)
• 8Dictatorship and Peronism (1943-55)
• 9Military interventions in Argentina
• 10Restoring democracy
• 11Chronology of the Argentine crisis
• 12History of the Argentine flag

Origin of Argentina

To know the origin of Argentina and its history, it is first necessary to know what it is like and its geographical location. Argentina is the second largest country in South America and is the fourth most populated.

It extends from the Andes mountain range to the Atlantic Ocean, in South America . To the north it barely exceeds the tropic of Capricorn and to the south 55 ° latitude without counting the Antarctic Territory, which reaches the South Pole.

Its limits are: to the west with Chile, separated by the Andes mountain range. To the north with Brazil, Paraguay and Bolivia.

To the east with Uruguay, Paraguay, Brazil and the Atlantic Ocean. And to the south with Chile. Due to its size, it is the second state in South America and the third in terms of population, behind Brazil and Colombia.

The name of Argentina continues to refer to those hypothetical riches that the new conquered land promised to the Spanish explorers.

This nation attached to the backbone of the Andes, overlooking the Atlantic and nestled in the southernmost lands of the world, shelters within its borders a peculiar society that, perhaps with the exception of Chile and Uruguay, is unparalleled in the South American continent.

It is no longer intended to go to the chimerical silver hidden between its rivers or mountains, but to the resources of a nation that, from the subtropical zone to Antarctica, has enough assets to re-establish itself at one of the poles of the southern hemisphere .

Discovery and colonization of Argentina

Before the arrival of the Spanish, the Argentine aboriginal population consisted of numerous Indian (indigenous) tribes. Independent from each other, and of which only the Guarani, located to the northeast, knew the art of cultivating the land. For more information you can see the history of Spain .

In 1516 Juan Díaz de Solís , looking for a passage to the Pacific Ocean, discovered the Río de la Plata .

The Venetian Sebastián Cabot, entered the Río de la Plata in 1526, crossed Uruguay and Paraná and built the fort of Sancti Spiritus .

In 1536 Pedro de Mendoza , accompanied by his brother Diego and some 1,000 men, founded the city of Santa María del Buen Aire , but had to abandon it due to the hostility of the Querandi Indians.

Pedro de la Gasea , president of the Audiencia of Peru, created the Government of Tucumán (1549) and Francisco de Aguirre, from Chile, founded Santiago del Estero (1553).

New cities were gradually created: Mendoza (1561), San Juan (1562), Tucumán (1565) and Córdoba (1573). Juan de Garay founded Santa Fe (1573) and in 1580 definitively laid the foundations of the current city of Buenos Aires .

During the 17th century, there were several indigenous rebellions in colonial Argentina that were put down. The Jesuits developed a decisive missionary and colonizing work (reductions).

In 1613 the University of Córdoba del Tucumán was founded, and in 1617 the Government of Río de la Plata was created , dependent on the viceroyalty of Peru.

The colonizers divided the indigenous territories (encomiendas) among themselves. In 1767 the expulsion of the Jesuits was carried out, which was a severe blow to the nascent Argentine economy, and in 1776 the Viceroyalty of Río de la Plata was established , whose first viceroy was Don Pedro de Cevallos.

English invasions and Argentine independence

In 1806 British troops, commanded by General Beresford , managed to seize the city of Buenos Aires for a month and a half.

At the end of this time there was a reaction from the local forces, commanded by Santiago de Liniers , who succeeded in surrendering the enemy on August 12, 1806 . The second British invasion occurred in 1807.

On June 28, the invading forces, commanded by General Whitclocke , landed at Barragan Cove. On July 2, the Miserere combat was fought , which culminated in the dispersal of the local forces.

Despite this, when the British tried to take the city on July 5, the heroic defense made of it by its inhabitants, led by Mayor Martín de Alzaga , and the forces entrenched in the streets forced them to capitulate and sign the cessation of hostilities on July 7, after suffering heavy losses.

The British defeated, the Buenos Aires people demanded an open town hall, which was held on August 14, 1807; the Viceroy Sobremonte was ousted by his cowardly action against the enemy and his replacement was chosen as viceroy Liniers .

The causes that led the Argentine people to revolt against Spain were many and complex; Among them are the desire to break the commercial monopoly inherent to the colonial regime, the confusion of powers caused by the occupation of the metropolis by French troops, the hatred of the Creoles against the officials coming from Spain and the influence of French philosophers. Freemasonry and the American Revolution.

The tension between Creoles and Spaniards culminated on May 25, 1810, with the demand of the people of Buenos Aires that the viceroy be removed. And, a governing Board made up of Creoles will be created, similar to those then existing in Spain.

When the revolution triumphed, the First National Government Board took office , composed as follows; Saavedra. Moreno, Paso, Alberti, Azcuénaga, Belgrano, Castelli, Matheu and Larrea.

Spanish and royalists opposed the revolution by the annuas, but were defeated by Artigas, Belgrano and San Martín in 1812 and 1813. Finally, the Congress meeting in Tucumán in 1816 proclaimed the independence of Argentina .

New Argentine nation and the war against Brazil (1819-28)

The men who carried out the May Revolution believed that their main task was to bring the revolution to the non-liberated regions and crush Spanish rule in America, while giving the country a Constitution.

At the beginning of 1817 San Martín crossed the Andes and defeated the Spanish royalists in Chacabuco (February 12, 1817) and in Maipú (April 6, 1818). Victory with which he sealed the freedom of Chile forever.

In April 1819 the Congress of Tucumán, which was now holding its sessions in Buenos Aires, sanctioned a Constitution inspired by aristocratic and centralist principles.

But this Constitution was rejected by the provinces, and after the battle of Cepeda (February 1, 1820) Buenos Aires became an independent province.

Already in the first steps of the new nation, the differences between provincials and porteños, federals and unitarians became apparent.

In 1825 the relations of Buenos Aires with the provinces had improved, which made it possible to think of a Constituent Congress that would give a definitive Constitution to the country .

Congress met in Buenos Aires under pressure from merchants and bourgeois citizens; The result was a unitary and undemocratic Constitution (1826), similar to that of 1819. With this, the discord between the Unitarians and the Federals increased.

On the other hand, since its independence, Brazil tried to annex part of the territory of northeastern Argentina and this was the reason that in 1825 a war broke out between both countries.

The conflict lasted three years and ended with a peace treaty that recognized the independence of the Eastern province.

Argentine Unitarians and Federals (1829-60)

Disagreements between provincials and porteños and the interests of Buenos Aires merchants were about to lead the country to civil war.

The governor of Buenos Aires, Juan Manuel Rosas , a federalist, managed to seize power after defeating General Paz , head of the Unitarians.

The Rosas Government lasted twenty years in two phases (1829-32 and 1835-52), during which it was noted for its cruelty and tyranny, although it managed to impose order in the country and affirm the federal regime in it.

The energetic dictatorship of Rosas gave rise to repeated insurrections; finally, the governor of Entre Ríos, Urquiza, linked to Uruguay, Brazil.

Paraguay and the province of Corrientes rose up against the dictator in 1851 and defeated him in Caseros (1852). The Congress meeting in Santa Fe issued in 1853 a democratic and federalist Constitution. Urquiza was elected president (1853-60), and with him the national organization began.

However, his government was soon threatened by Buenos Aires, which in defense of its interests separated from the Confederation and declared war on the rest of the nation.

After the military defeat of the Buenos Aires troops in Cepeda (1859), Buenos Aires rejoined the Confederation.

Argentine Progressives and Conservatives (1861-1916)

A new conflict confronted Buenos Aires with the Confederation.

The Miter , chief of the Buenos Aires army, owner of the after power was the battle of Pavón (1861), in which Confederate armies were defeated.

Despite its affiliation, the Miter Government (1862-68) turned out to be a faithful follower of the federalist policy that General Urquiza had initiated; In this sense, his main concern was the defense of the national Constitution of 1853.

The presidents who succeeded each other from 1862 to 1880, Miter, Sarmiento (1868-74) and Avellaneda (1874-80), managed to definitively solve the problem of the organization of the country.

During this time the war with Paraguay (1865-70) took place, in which the Argentine-Brazilian-Uruguayan alliance was victorious.

In the years that followed the Avellaneda government, the conservative oligarchy continued in power. The two presidencies of Roca (1880-86 and 1898-1904) were characterized by the development of public works and, above all, by the advanced legislation they gave to the country.

However, Roca centralized power and ruled dictatorially under a false guise of legality and democracy. In 1890 there was a popular revolution, led by Miter and Leandro Alem, which failed.

This situation lasted until 1906. The presidencies of Figueroa Alcorta (1906-10) and Roque Sáenz Peña (1910-14) mark the beginning of the end of the oligarchy and the return to political freedom, an objective promoted and demanded by the Unión Cívica Radical.

Argentine radicals and conservatives (1916-43)

The Unión Cívica Radical, led by Alem and Hipólito Yrigoyen, conspired against the regime and demanded clean elections, which were held in 1916 and in which radicalism triumphed.

The two presidencies of Yrigoyen (1916-22 and 1928-30) and that of Alvear (1922-28), despite having affirmed the democratic principle, did not modify the socio-economic structure or eradicate administrative corruption.

The economic crisis of 1929 provoked a series of coups, until in 1930 a conservative military movement, led by General Uriburu , overthrew the constitutional government.

Soon the Uriburu government (1930-32) was caught up in the economic crisis and forced to confront declared opposition from unions and universities, which were rebelling against the government’s undemocratic orientation.

Under Presidents Justo (1932-38) and Castillo (1940-43), political corruption, electoral fraud, and heightened conservatism continued, all of which finally led to the June 4, 1943 revolution against the Castillo government.

Dictatorship and Peronism (1943-55)

In June 1943, a military conspiracy led by General Rawson ended the Castillo government. After Rawson resigned, General Ramírez (1943-44) held the presidency .

With General Farrell as Vice President; during his military and dictatorial government, he dissolved Congress , denied the return of political parties, and ruled by decree-law.

During the presidency of his successor, General Farrell (1944-46), Argentina, under pressure from the USA, declared war on Germany and Japan (March 1945).

After a series of seditious movements of a military nature and the resignation of the government, the 1946 elections gave power to Colonel Juan Domingo Perón .

Supported by the popular masses, he instituted a one -party regime , carried out a series of social reforms and managed to give the country a certain prosperity. In 1949 the Constitution was reformed giving it a “justicialist” accent.

Soon after, Peronism entered a crisis. Perón was reelected in 1951, but the death of his wife, economic difficulties, and combined opposition from the Church, a vast military sector, and the US forced him to resign (September 19, 1955).

Military interventions in Argentina

Perón was overthrown, and after a provisional government, General Pedro Eugenio Aramburu was appointed president . During his government (1955-58) the CGT came under government control and the Peronist party was dissolved.

On May 1, 1956, the Constitution of 1949 was abolished and a return to that of 1853 was decreed. At the same time, Aramburu set the objective of his program to end the dictatorial regime, organize elections and restore democracy.

Fulfilling what was promised, the government called elections on February 23, 1958, in which Arturo Frondizi , head of the Unión Cívica Radical Intransigente party , was elected president for the period 1958-64 , who announced in 1961 that the return to the legality of the Peronist party.

The disagreement of senior elements of the army regarding diplomatic relations with Castro’s Cuba forced the president to modify the ministerial cabinet and break off those relations.

Finally, in the deputy elections held on March 18, 1962, the Peronist candidates triumphed in 10 provinces, which led to a new intervention by the military leaders, who dismissed President Frondizi and put José M. Guido in his place with character. provisional.

In the elections of July 7, 1963, Arturo Illía , of the Radical Civic Union of the People, was elected president , but he was overthrown on June 28, 1966 by a military coup.

A Board chaired by General Juan Carlos Onganía dissolved Congress, banned political parties, and abolished university autonomy.

On June 8, 1970 Onganía was dismissed by the three commanders-in-chief of the Armed Forces, who appointed General Roberto Marcelo Levingston as president .

In March 1971, the aforementioned commanders dismissed Levingston and power passed to the head of the Army, A. Lanusse, who reestablished the political parties and promised elections for 1973.

The opening tone and the desire for a return to constitutional legality crystallized in the call for elections for March 1973 and made it possible for Perón to return to Argentina for a brief stay in November 1972.

In the aforementioned elections, the Peronists won under the banner of the Justicialist Liberation Front (Frejuli) and based on the candidacy of Héctor J. Cámpora (president) and V. Solano Lima (vice president), who assumed their positions on the 25th. May 1973.

The definitive return of Perón to the country (June 1973) and the resignation of Cámpora the following month precipitated the institutional process, which culminated in the elections of September 23, 1973.

In them, Perón was elected to the presidency and his wife, María Estela Martínez de Perón , to the vice-presidency. After Perón’s death (July 1974), his widow tried to continue his political line, but the situation quickly deteriorated and led to a new military coup, which put General Jorge Vidcla at the head of the State (March 24, 1976).

Political repression increased, and the economic crisis continued. Videla left the post in 1980 to retired General Roberto Viola, replaced in turn by General Leopoldo F. Galtieri.

He ordered the invasion of the Falklands, but defeat at the hands of the British caused the fall of Galtieri and reinforced the opposition.

Reestablishment of democracy

After the October 1983 elections, Raúl Alfonsín , from the Unión Cívica Radical, assumed the presidency.

During his tenure, he reached an agreement with Chile on southern limits and prosecution for those involved in the military dictatorship (life sentences for Videla and Admiral Massera and 17 years in prison for Viola).

The failure of his economic policy, however, led to the triumph of the Peronist Carlos Saúl Menem in 1989: he pardoned the generals condemned for the dirty war and introduced a rigorous austerity plan: he also reduced the presidential mandate from 6 to 4 years with the possibility of re-election.

In the May 1995 elections, the Justicialista Party reached an absolute majority in Congress.

Despite the good economic situation, the partial legislative elections (1997) gave the victory to the Alliance, a center-left conglomerate, and after the presidential elections of 1999, the candidate of the Opposition Alliance.

Femando de la Rúa put an end to ten years of Peronist hegemony: this formation also obtained a relative majority in the Chamber of Deputies, although the Justicialista Party maintained control of the Senate.

In October 2000, a corruption scandal caused ministerial changes: to face the economic crisis, De la Rúa approved the intervention of the International Monetary Fund (IMF). In October of that same year, the Justicialista Party obtained control of the two Chambers.

The IMF refused to provide more funds and De la Rúa restricted the use of cash, which unleashed a social explosion and led to the resignation of the Minister of Economy and De la Rúa himself.

After the appointment of a president who remained in office for only one week, on January 1, 2002, a government of national salvation was appointed led by Senator Eduardo Duhalde from the Justicialista Party.

The two houses of Congress approved an economic emergency law that ended the peso-dollar parity, the IMF agreed to delay the payment of the debt and the banking restrictions were lifted.

Chronology of the Argentine crisis

Year 1999

December 10 : Fernando de la Rúa, candidate of the Opposition Alliance, assumes the presidency. Carlos Álvarez, from Frepaso, is appointed Vice President and José Luis Machines Minister of Economy.

Year 2000

• May: Unemployment reaches its highest level in three years: 15.4%.
• October 5: De la Rúa restructures his cabinet.
• October 6: Carlos Alvarez resigns as vice president in response to a corruption scandal (bribes to legislators to vote on a labor reform). International markets cut credit to Argentina.
• December 18: the country receives financial aid, led by the IMF, of 40,000 million dollars, to avoid bankruptcy.

Year 2001

• February 19: the Turkish financial crisis infects the markets, and affects Argentina.
• March 2: Economy Minister Machinea resigns.
• March 4: De la Rúa appoints Ricardo López Murphy as Minister of the Economy. The peso / dollar parity is maintained. The Buenos Aires stock market recovers.
• March 16: the government supports a severe economic adjustment proposed by López Murphy, with a cut in public spending of 1,962 million dollars in 2001. And, of 2,485 million in 2002, to combat a large fiscal deficit. A strong political reaction against it begins; three ministers present their resignation.
• March 20: Economy Minister López Murphy resigns: Domingo Cavallo, former Economy Minister of President Carlos Menem and author of the parity program between the peso and the dollar, is appointed to replace him.
• March 21: Cavallo presents his economic recovery plan, which includes a tax on financial transactions.
• March 23: Argentina’s “country risk” exceeds the 1,000 basis point barrier.
• March 29: the government gets Congress to grant Cavallo extraordinary powers to recover the economy.
• April 2: Argentina announces that it exceeded by 1 billion dollars the fiscal deficit for the first quarter, established at 2.1 billion
• April 27: the IMF believes that Argentina should not modify its changed system and recovers the growth estimate for 2001 to 1.0-1.5%
• July 30: Cavallo proposes “zero deficit.” The Senate, dominated by the Justicialista (Peronist) Party, passes a law that stipulates that the State will not spend more than it collects. Salaries and public pensions of more than 500 pesos are cut by 13%.
• August 21: the IMF extends its credit line with Argentina by 8,000 million dollars.
• October 10: Argentina becomes the country with the highest risk in the world (1,916 points).
• October 14: parliamentary elections for the total renewal of the Senate and partial renewal of the Chamber of Deputies. The Justicialista Party takes control of the Senate and the Chamber of Deputies, abstention reaches a record figure of 26.4%.
• November 1: the public debt restructuring begins The operation begins with an exchange of domestic bonds that will later be extended to international securities.
• November 2: markets turn their backs on the country. The Argentine “country risk” exceeds 2,500 basis points.
• November 7: the provinces governed by parties related to the government agree with the latter a cut in the federal funds that it sends them each month for distribution of taxes, a necessary element to comply with the “zero deficit” plan.
• November 8: The governors of the Justicialista Party refuse to sign the fiscal adjustment pact. De la Rúa and Cavallo travel to the United States, where they meet with George W. Bush and investors.
• November 14: the justicialist governors of the influential provinces of Buenos Aires, Córdoba and Santa Fe, finally sign a fiscal pact.
• November 18: Cavallo returns to Buenos Aires without the support of the IMF for the restructuring of the public debt.
• November 26: the Central Bank puts a cap on interest rates paid on bank deposits to stop the rise in interest.
• November 30: the “country risk” reaches 3,490 basis points amid a strong loss of deposits and rumors of an imminent dollarization or confiscation of the same.
• December 1: the government announces a 90-day plan to stop the decline in deposits that includes a weekly withdrawal limit of $ 250, allows “dollarization” of deposits in pesos, restricts foreign currency shipments abroad, closes loans in pesos and fixes that financial operations are carried out only with the rates that apply to transactions in dollars.
• December 5: the IMF announces that it will not release an agreed disbursement of 1,264 million dollars The decision leaves the country on the verge of suspension of payments.
• December 6: the government announces that it will force pension funds to transform their bank deposits into public securities to finance state expenses.
• December 13: Unemployment reaches its peak in the country with 2.53 million people. 18.3% of the workforce. A general strike paralyzes the country.
• December 14: Argentina manages to pay the due dates of its public debt on schedule and avoids suspension of payments.
• December 16: groups of citizens loot supermarkets.
• December 17: The government sends the 2002 budget bill to Congress, which includes a 19% spending cut.
• December 18: a new wave of citizen protests begins. The IMF calls Cavallo’s plan unsustainable.
• December 19: in the midst of a wave of looting of businesses across the country, the government decrees a state of siege; Despite this, serious riots and street protests (“caceroladas”) do take place, largely in response to a speech by De la Rúa hours earlier. The Chamber of Deputies partially repeals the special powers of the Minister of Economy.
• December 20: as a consequence of the conflictive social situation and the killing of a series of spontaneous protests against the government. Cavallo presents his resignation along with the rest of the
• December 21: de la Rúa resigns.
• December 23: Adolfo Rodríguez Saá, governor of San, assumes the provisional presidency The moratorium on foreign debt and the creation of one million jobs are announced.
• December 28: citizen protests against A. Rodríguez Saá.
• December 30: A. Rodríguez Saá resigns as he does not have the support of the Peronists.

Year 2002

• January 1: the Legislative Assembly names Eduardo Duhalde president , candidate for the presidency of the Justicialista Party in the 1999 elections.
• January 3: Argentina formally enters into suspension of payments of the external debt.
• January 6: Congress approves the end of the peso / dollar parity but does not lift the banking restrictions ( corralito ).
• February 1: the Supreme Court of Justice issues a decision considering the withholding of bank funds (corralito) illegal. The decision puts the Duhalde government in check.
• February 3: the government announces a new economic package, with the “pesification” of debts 1 to 1, the return of bank deposits in pesos converted to 1.40 under a long schedule, and other measures.

History of the Argentine flag

On May 25, 1810, in the country of La Pampa, Patagonia and Tierra del Fuego (Argentina), blue and white cockades hung on the lapels of pro-independence revolutionaries, opposed to the Spanish colonial regime.

The king was dismissed by the First Government Junta. This cockade was decreed a national emblem two years later.

Days later, General Manuel Belgrano created the national flag adopting the colors of Argentine emancipation.

If you wonder the meaning of the colors of the Argentine flag , you should know that the two blue bands symbolize the sky . On the other hand, white symbolizes the snow of this country whose border with Chile follows the Andes mountain range for more than 5,000 km.

In 1816 independence was declared. And in 1818 the 32-armed sun appeared on the Argentine flag . It is the ” Sun of May “, which refers to May 25, 1810 , the first day of the revolt for emancipation.

The flag adorned by the solar star, used in the first instance as a naval or state flag, has been used as a civil flag since 1985.