Nation Report P3 Contemporary Issues in Argentina

Arash Saysan

Economic

•  Argentina has since been enjoying economic growth, though with high in!ation. Néstor Kirchner forfeited the 2007 campaign in favor of his wife Senator Cristina Fernández de Kirchner. Winning by a landslide that October, she became the "rst woman elected President of Argentina and in a disputed result, Fabiana Ríos, a center-le# (ARI) candidate in Tierra del Fuego Province became the "rst woman in Argentine history to be elected governor. President Cristina Kirchner, despite carrying large majorities in Congress, saw controversial plans for higher agricultural export taxes defeated by Vice President Julio Cobos' surprise tie-breaking vote against them on 16 July 2008, following massive agrarian protests and lockouts from March to July. $e global "nancial crisis has since prompted Mrs. Kirchner to step up her husband's policy of state intervention in troubled sectors of the economy. A halt in growth and political missteps helped lead Kirchnerism and its allies to lose their absolute majority in Congress, following the 2009 mid-term elections.

•  Argentina has abundant natural resources, a well-educated population, an export-oriented agricultural sector and a relatively diversi"ed industrial base.

•  $e Buenos Aires waterfront and three sectors leading the recent economic recovery: construction, foreign trade and tourism

Political Figures

•  Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, president since December 2007 •  Néstor Kirchner (second from right) hosts Raúl Alfonsín (right), the Brazilian President Lula da Silva and

former Brazilian President José Sarney to commemorate 20 years of productive trade talks

Issues•  Argentina claims part of Antarctica as Argentine Antarctica, an area delimited by the 25° West and

74° West meridians and the 60° South parallel. $is claim overlaps the British and Chilean claims, though all territorial claims in Antarctica are currently suspended (although not abandoned) under the Antarctic Treaty System. Argentina also claims the British overseas territories of the Falkland Islands and South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands. In addition a 50 kilometres (31 mi) long border with Chile in the Southern Patagonian Ice Field is awaiting demarcation as required under a 1998 treaty.

•  On 22 April 2009, the Argentine government submi%ed a claim to the United Nations (UN) for 1,700,000 square kilometres (660,000 sq mi) of ocean territory to be recognised as Argentina's continental shelf as governed by the Convention on the Continental Shelf and Convention on the Law of the Sea. Argentina claims to have spent 11 years investigating the ma%er and submi%ed 800 kilograms (1,800 lb) of documents in support of the claim. If the claim is recognised by the UN then Argentina will gain the rights to the commercial exploitation of the sea bed (which includes mining and oil drilling). $e new claim will add to the existing 4,800,000 square kilometres (1,850,000 sq mi) of commercial shelf already managed by Argentina and includes the disputed British overseas territories of the Falklands, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands and parts of Antarctica disputed with Chile and the United Kingdom.

•  Argentina has a dispute with neighboring Uruguay about two pulp mills on the Uruguay side of the shared Uruguay River near the Argentine city of Gualeguaychú. Residents of Gualeguaychú, concerned about pollution from the mills, blockaded bridges across the river in 2006. $e case was brought before the International Court of Justice which ruled in Uruguay's favour in July 2006 and allowed the mills to remain..

Relations •  Early on in the administration of President Carlos Menem (1989–1999), Argentina restored diplomatic relations with the United Kingdom and

developed a strong partnership with the United States. It was at this time that Argentina le# the Non-Aligned Movement and adopted a policy of "automatic alignment" with the United States. In 1990, Menem's Foreign Minister, Guido di Tella, memorably pronounced the U.S.–Argentine alliance to be a "carnal relationship."

•  Within the term of President Néstor Kirchner, from 2003 onwards, Argentina suspended its policy of automatic alignment with the United States and moved closer to other Latin American countries. Argentina no longer supports the UN Commission on Human Rights resolution criticizing the "human rights situation in Cuba" and calling upon the Government of Cuba to "adhere to international human rights norms", but has chosen instead to abstain. In the 2006 United Nations Security Council election, Argentina supported, like all Mercosur countries, the candidacy of Venezuela (a Mercosur member) over Guatemala for a non-permanent seat in the Security Council.

•  $e Mercosur has become a central part of the Argentine foreign policy, with the goal of forming a Latin American trade block. Argentina has chosen to form a block with Brazil when it comes to external negotiations, though the economic asymmetries between South America's two largest countries have produced tension at times.

•  $e United States has a positive bilateral relationship with Argentina based on many common strategic interests, including non-proliferation, counternarcotics, counterterrorism, the "ght against human tra&cking, and issues of regional stability, as well as the strength of commercial ties. Argentina is a participant in the $ree-Plus-One regional mechanism (Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and the U.S.), which focuses on coordination of counter-terrorism policies in the tri-border region.

•  Argentina is a full member of the Mercosur block together with Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay and Venezuela; and "ve associate members: Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru. From 2006 Argentina has emphasised Mercosur, which has some supranational legislative functions, as its "rst international priority; by contrast, during the 1990s, it relied more heavily on its relationship with the United States. Argentina is a founding signatory and permanent consulting member of the Antarctic Treaty System and the Antarctic Treaty Secretariat is based in Buenos Aires.

Source: h%p://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Argentina