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The Nations of South America | Cool Links
Argentina is South America’s second largest nation. Argent is the Spanish word for silver, but the nation is misnamed because Argentina has very little gold or silver. Despite its lack of mineral resources, Argentina has become a major industrial nation. Argentina has been one of the world’s principle trading nations since the 1950s.
Argentina is a “melting pot” nation. More people have immigrated to Argentina from Europe than any other Latin American nation. Argentina includes more than a half million Jews among its thirty-four million people. Many Jewish people decided Argentina was a good place to escape the terror of Europe during World War II.
Juan Peron was a dictator who ruled Argentina in the 1940s and 1950s and again briefly before his death in 1973. Peron was a nationalist; he worked to make Argentina stronger. Peron was an army officer who came to power in Argentina after a military junta in 1943. The caudillo in power named him Minister of Labor and Peron became
popular with the descamisados (“shirtless ones”), or the poor people of Argentina. A rival military faction had Peron imprisoned in 1945, but the descamisados, led by Peron’s wife Eva (nicknamed Evita or Little Eve), forced his removal from prison with massive demonstrations. In 1946, Argentina elected Juan Peron president.
Peron was a dictator, but was popular with the Argentinean people. Under Peron's direction, Argentina became a major exporter of wheat and beef. Evita died of cancer in 1952 and took to her grave most of Peron’s support with the descamisados. The Argentine economy deteriorated and the Roman Catholic church excommunicated him in 1955. A military junta overthrew Peron the same year. Peron moved to Spain but returned to his homeland briefly before his death of a heart attack in 1974.
Peron’s third wife, Isabela, succeeded him in office.
A military junta removed Isabela Peron from office in 1974 and controlled Argentina for the next decade. The junta began what is now known as the “Dirty War” against those who opposed them. As many as 30,000 Argentineans “disappeared” and were never heard from again.
The authoritarian government collapsed after a war to recapture the Falkland Islands. Great Britain had controlled the Falklands for more than a century and Argentina’s claim on the territory was tenuous. Britain defeated Argentina after only a few days and the junta was humiliated. Today Argentina is a democracy. Raúl Alfonsin and Carlos Menem were elected leaders who followed the military junta in power.
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Dowling, Mike., "The Electronic Passport to Argentina," available from http://www.mrdowling.com/712-argentina.html; Internet; updated Wednesday, May 1, 2002 ©2009, Mike Dowling. All rights reserved.