Every country has history, and each one has a unique history. One of these countries is Argentina, a country with one of the largest economies in Latin America. How did Argentina reach this point? How does Argentina affect the rest of Latin America, and how does it affect the rest of the world? The modern Argentina is something significant. The modern Argentina has raised major figures in the world as well as a very high literacy rate, showing that Argentina has changed over the years.
The largest changes in Argentina during modern history started with the Spaniards conquering Argentina in the 16th century. According to Encyclopedia.com, before the Spaniards arrived, around twenty groups of people lived in Argentina with about three-hundred thousand people in total. The Spaniards arrived in 1516. A viceroyalty-based government was created in 1776, and Buenos Aires was the administrative center. Not long after, in 1810, the viceroyalty government was removed, and a junta took over(a political party forced itself into power). According to Encyclopedia.com, Argentina achieved its independence on July 9, 1816 when provincial delegates signed a declaration of independence (Argentina).
After independence, there was a power struggle between provinces until Juan Manuel de Rosas took control of the Buenos Aires Province. However, in 1852, he was defeated by Justo José de Urquiza, who was also elected president in 1854. Shortly after Juan was defeated, in 1853, the Constitution was changed again. From here on, Argentina grew positively: regional peace was achieved, and according to Encyclopedia.com, “Buenos Aires alone grew from 90,000 people in 1851 to 1.3 million by 1910” (Argentina).
Despite Argentina’s growth, there were still issues between different social classes. Lower paid workers that tried to protest were silenced, and in 1919, an attack by the army was launched. According to “The Semana Trágica of 1919 and the Jews in Argentina,” workers were attacked, and other ethnic/religious groups were attacked as they were believed to be provocative for the movement. Among the people that were attacked were Jews and immigrants such as Russians (Mirelman 64). The Great Depression led to a rapid drop in the economy, allowing for a military coup in 1930. Argentina was then ruled by an oligarchy for 13 years which helped the country recover while also creating more division and harm to the political field. After these 13 years, another military coup happened, putting Juan Domingo Perón in charge of the country in 1943. He used his power to structure the government, allowing him to be president in 1946. Perón, along with his wife, advocated for helping the needy. According to Encyclopedia.com, rather than partnering with the East of the West, Perón wanted to make Argentina “a protector of weaker Latin American nations against US and British ‘imperialists.’” However, after his reelection in 1951, Perón started to go against these values and committed acts like attacking churches, leading to another military coup in 1955 (Argentina).
After the exile of Perón, there was a cycle of governments/leaders in Argentina with a military junta happening in June, 1970. Perón returned to Argentina in June 1973. He rose to presidency but died shortly after in 1974. This, again, started another cycle of governments with two more juntas in March, 1976 and July, 1982 until the present day. In the modern era, the two most prominent parties are the Peronist party and the Radical Civic Union, and the current president is from the Frente de Todos party, a party with some roots in the Peronist party (Argentina) Juan Domingo Perón is still known to this day, whether it be infamously or in a positive aspect.
The current adopted constitution of Argentina was made in 1853, and the government is called the Argentine Republic which is a republic. The government is split into three branches: the executive branch, the judicial branch, and the legislative branch. According to WorldAtlas, The President and vice-President run together and once elected, the President controls the executive branch himself/herself. The legislative branch is made up of the Senate and the chamber of deputies that are elected by their respective districts/provinces in order to represent them. As stated in the article by WorldAtlas, the functions of the Senate include “changing the federal revenue policies, ratifying international treaties, confirming or impeaching the President or the nominees to the cabinet. It can also disapprove or approve changes regarding the constitutional laws. The chamber of deputies performs functions such as drafting troops and levying taxes.” The judiciary branch consists of the Supreme court and federal judges that were appointed by presidents. As stated in the WorldAtlas article, the Supreme Court consists of “the President of the court, the Vice President, and five Judges.” The judiciary branch deals with the most serious matters such as those that relate with the laws in the constitution. In addition to this, all of the twenty-three provinces of Argentina have their own government based on the federal government (Sawe).
Argentina’s healthcare system is among the better of this world, ranking at 75th in the world. According to InternationalInsurance, the healthcare is managed by each city in Argentina, so the experience one has with healthcare can vary in different cities. The health insurance system in Argentina has three different sectors that people can choose from: the private sector, the social security sector, and the public sector. The private sector consists of insurance companies that anyone can sign up for and are not related to the government. The social security sector consists of 300 government-run health insurance services that provide varying levels of coverage for different prices. All companies in the private sector and social security sector must have the minimal coverage of “preventative, diagnostic, medical, dental, and maternity care” (Health Insurance in Argentina). The public sector is a service that pays a lot for the health of the people. Almost everything, ranging from hospital visits to prosthetics are either free or highly subsidized. Prescriptions are a bit more costly, but they are also subsidized. Around 50% of the population uses the public sector as their insurance; unfortunately, this causes long wait times for things such as surgery. All in all.the state of health insurance is Argentina is largely dependent on where in Argentina one is and what health sector they are in/which social security service (Health Insurance in Argentina).
With Argentina’s expansive history have come many important figures. For example, Lionel Messi was born in and grew up in Argentina. His name is now well known, and some even refer to him as the best living soccer player in the world. According to Biography.com, Messi was born in Rosario, Argentina in 1987 and was recruited to one of FC Barcelona’s youth academies when he was only at the age of 13. He agreed to attend the academy, and his family moved to Spain for this after FC Barcelona offered to pay for his medical treatment (for his Growth Hormone Deficiency). When he was 16, Messi made an official appearance for the team and broke the record for the youngest player to score a goal for the team. Lionel Messi continued to play and won many titles for the team as well as for himself. In 2009, Lionel Messi won a Ballon d’Or, meaning that he was viewed as the best player in the last 12 months. Messi still holds this level of praise and is still seen as one of the most influential players in all of soccer (Lionel Messi Biography).
As for Argentina’s education system, Argentina allows extremely young children to start learning. According to Angloinfo, children are allowed to start learning at the young age of 45 days. However, school is only mandatory once the child reaches the age of 5 years. Education until a child is 6 years old is called preschool and prepares children for entering the main education system. Once a child is 6 years old, they enter primary school for 6-7 years and take part in a predetermined curriculum: “A core curriculum is set by the Education Council. It incorporates languages, mathematics, natural sciences, social sciences, technology, art, physical education, and ethics and citizenship” (The School System). After this, secondary education starts in which students are taught on another predetermined curriculum until they are 14 years of age. When the children are 15 years old, further education is no longer required, but if they choose to continue, they will be able to choose specific fields to specialize in until they are 17. These ages can differ within states. After secondary education, if a student is willing, they can attend private universities or state-run universities. (The School System) To conclude, the educational system of Argentina seems to function fine as according to Countrymeters, the youth literacy rate of Argentina is 98.08%, and the adult literacy rate is 99.3%, which is high relative to surrounding countries (Argentina Population).
As stated above, Argentina has changed a lot since not too long ago. From going to being completely taken over by the Spaniards to multiple military juntas, Argentina has experienced many different laws and administrations. Argentina has given birth to people that will be marked in history, and Argentina, itself, has become a remarkable country.