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The National Flag Memorial in Rosario

Pre-Independence
Before the arrival of the Spanish, nomadic tribes including the Yamana, and the Guaraní inhabited northern portions of present day Argentine territory. Other nomadic tribes sparsely inhabited the Patagonia (Patagones) region, and the central Pampas grasslands (Araucanos, Pehuenches, Querandies and others). Searching for gold and silver, the Spanish arrived in 1536 and tension between natives and new arrivals  ended with the evacuation of present day Buenos Aires,  driving the Spanish back to modern day Asunción in Paraguay.  The Spanish did not resettle Buenos Aires until 1580 when the city was definitely established.

Extending until 1810, this was a period of prosperity for the colonial towns of the northwest and slow but steady western expansion of the agricultural frontier in the central pampas region. In 1776 Buenos Aires became the capital of the newly established Viceroyalty of the River Plate.

Independence
The Spanish were the political overlords, but their restrictions on trade were the root cause of widespread contraband and restlessness among the growing merchant classes. The successful expulsion of two attempted British invasions in 1805 and 1807, with no assistance from Spain or leadership on the part of the Spanish Viceroy led to a revolt headed by the increasingly assertive merchant classes in 1810 and eventually concluded with the Declaration of Independence in 1816. There followed almost 40 years of bloody internal strife, reflecting the rift formed between the Unitarists of the capital and the Federalists (those outside the capital).

Modern history of Argentina
The new Unitarist government that came to power as of 1853 opened the country to foreign investment, trade and immigration, and immigrants (mostly of European extraction) poured into the country to fill roles in agriculture, commerce and craft.  Argentina was on the road to becoming one of the wealthiest nations in the world.

The wealth was concentrated in the hands of upper and an extended urban middle class. Nevertheless mass migration from rural to urban areas after 1930 contributed to strains in the social fabric.  Juan Domingo Peron came to power in 1946, introducing policies that would ease pressure on the working classes.  He was popular and re-elected for a second term in office, but abuse of power, widespread corruption and lack of respect for political and personal rights led to a coup in 1955.  The country fell into a politically turbulent period that did not end until 1976 when the military again took over. A dark period of officially sanctioned political persecution of left wing dissent followed.

The British had occupied and held the Malvinas Islands in 1833, and a clumsy attempt 1981 to regain them as a means to divert attention from economic issues and general discontent ended in the re-occupation of the Islands by the British after 74 days and the collapse of the military government.  President Raul Alfonsin was elected in 1983and his mandate was characterized by economic instability and Hyperinflation. Since then inflation has been dramatically curtailed, and orthodox economic policies have prevailed. An Ill fated attempt to peg the Argentine currency to the US dollar led to a deep financial crisis and social unrest in 2001, but the following years saw a sharp rise of economic prosperity and mostly positive economic indicators.

The Palacio Municipal in Buenos Aires

Argentina is a federal republic divided into the executive, legislative and judicial branches. The executive branch has the President and Vice President at the helm each of whom serves a 4 year term in office. The legislative branch is divided into the Senate (consisting of three elected representatives from each province as well as the city of Buenos Aires for a total of 72 seats) and the Chamber of Deputies (composed of 256 directly elected representatives). The Supreme Court and lower courts make up the judicial branch.

Political Divisions
Argentina is divided into 23 provinces with the city of Buenos Aires as an autonomous province unto itself. Each province has its own Constitution within the framework of the National Constitution, with a governor at the helm.

Political Parties
The major political parties are: Justicialist Party (PJ), Radical Civic Union (UCR), Republican Proposal (PRO), Front for Victory (FPV) , Support for an Egalitarian Republic (ARI). The Peronist Justicialist Party with President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner at the helm won the last Presidential election in 2007.

In the June 2009 midterm legislative elections for the Senate and the Chamber of Deputies, the ruling party managed to make up 30.8% of the house, but lost absolute majority in both houses to the UCR (28.9%) and PRO (17.7%)