Argentina

== History ==
{{Main|History of Argentina}}

=== Pre-Columbian era ===
{{Main|Indigenous peoples in Argentina}}
[[File:Cueva_de_las_Manos_(6811931046).jpg|left|thumb|The [[Cueva de las Manos|Cave of the Hands]] in [[Santa Cruz province, Argentina|Santa Cruz province]]]]

The earliest traces of human life in the area now known as Argentina are dated from the [[Paleolithic]] period, with further traces in the [[Mesolithic]] and [[Neolithic]].{{sfn|Abad de Santillán|1971|p=17}} Until the period of European colonization, Argentina was relatively sparsely populated by a wide number of diverse cultures with different social organizations,{{sfn|Edwards|2008|p=12}} which can be divided into three main groups.{{sfn|Abad de Santillán|1971|pp=18–19}}

The first group are basic hunters and food gatherers without the development of [[pottery]], such as the [[Selk'nam people|Selk'nam]] and [[Yaghan people|Yaghan]] in the extreme south. The second group are advanced hunters and food gatherers which include the [[Puelche people|Puelche]], [[Querandí]] and Serranos in the centre-east; and the [[Tehuelche people|Tehuelche]] in the south—all of them conquered by the [[Mapuche]] spreading from [[Chile]]{{sfn|Edwards|2008|p=13}}—and the [[Kom people (South America)|Kom]] and [[Wichi]] in the north. The last group are farmers with pottery, like the [[Charrúa]], [[Minuane]] and [[Guaraní people|Guaraní]] in the northeast, with [[slash and burn agriculture|slash and burn]] semisedentary existence;{{sfn|Edwards|2008|p=12}} the advanced [[Diaguita]] sedentary [[trade|trading culture]] in the northwest, which was conquered by the [[Inca Empire]] around 1480; the [[Toconoté]] and [[Comechingones|Hênîa and Kâmîare]] in the country's centre, and the [[Huarpe]] in the centre-west, a culture that raised [[llama]] cattle and was strongly influenced by the Incas.{{sfn|Edwards|2008|p=12}}

=== Colonial era ===
{{Main|Colonial Argentina}}
{{See also|Spanish colonization of the Americas}}
[[File:La Reconquista de Buenos Aires.jpg|thumb|alt=Painting showing the surrender during the British invasions of the Río de la Plata.|The surrender of Beresford to [[Santiago de Liniers]] during the [[British invasions of the Río de la Plata]]]]
Europeans first arrived in the region with the 1502 voyage of [[Amerigo Vespucci (explorer)|Amerigo Vespucci]]. The Spanish navigators [[Juan Díaz de Solís]] and [[Sebastian Cabot (explorer)|Sebastian Cabot]] visited the territory that is now Argentina in 1516 and 1526, respectively.{{sfn|Crow|1992|p=128}} In 1536 [[Pedro de Mendoza]] founded the small settlement of [[Buenos Aires]], which was abandoned in 1541.{{sfn|Crow|1992|pp=129–32}}

Further colonization efforts came from [[Paraguay]]—establishing the [[Governorate of the Río de la Plata]]—[[Peru]] and Chile.{{sfn|Abad de Santillán|1971|pp=96–140}} [[Francisco de Aguirre (conquistador)|Francisco de Aguirre]] founded [[Santiago del Estero]] in 1553. [[Londres, Catamarca|Londres]] was founded in 1558; [[Mendoza, Argentina|Mendoza]], in 1561; [[San Juan, Argentina|San Juan]], in 1562; [[San Miguel de Tucumán]], in 1565.{{sfn|Crow|1992|p=353}} [[Juan de Garay]] founded [[Santa Fe, Argentina|Santa Fe]] in 1573 and the same year [[Jerónimo Luis de Cabrera]] set up [[Córdoba, Argentina|Córdoba]].{{sfn|Crow|1992|p=134}} Garay went further south to re-found Buenos Aires in 1580.{{sfn|Crow|1992|p=135}} [[San Luis, Argentina|San Luis]] was established in 1596.{{sfn|Crow|1992|p=353}}

The [[Spanish Empire]] subordinated the economic potential of the Argentine territory to the immediate wealth of the silver and gold mines in [[Bolivia]] and Peru, and as such it became part of the [[Viceroyalty of Peru]] until the creation of the [[Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata]] in 1776 with Buenos Aires as its capital.{{sfn|Crow|1992|p=347}}

Buenos Aires repelled [[British invasions of the Río de la Plata|two ill-fated British invasions]] in 1806 and 1807.{{sfn|Crow|1992|p=421}} The ideas of the [[Age of Enlightenment]] and the example of the first [[Atlantic Revolutions]] generated criticism of the [[absolutist monarchy]] that ruled the country. As in the rest of Spanish America, the overthrow of [[Ferdinand VII of Spain|Ferdinand VII]] during the [[Peninsular War]] created great concern.{{sfn|Abad de Santillán|1971|pp=194ff}}

=== Independence and civil wars ===
{{Main|Argentine War of Independence|Argentine Civil Wars}}
[[File:Smartin.JPG|thumb|left|upright|Portrait of General [[José de San Martin]], "the [[Libertadores|Liberator]] of Argentina, Chile and [[Peru]]"<ref>John Lynch, ''San Martin: Argentine Soldier, American Hero'' (2009)</ref>|alt=Painting of San Martín holding the Argentine flag]]
Beginning a process from which Argentina was to emerge as successor state to the Viceroyalty,{{sfnm|1a1=Levene|1y=1948|1p=11|1ps=: "[After the Viceroyalty became] a new period that commenced with the revolution of 1810, whose plan consisted in declaring the independence of a nation, thus turning the legal bond of vassalage into one of citizenship as a component of sovereignty and, in addition, organizing the democratic republic."|2a1=Sánchez Viamonte|2y=1948|2pp=196–97|2ps=: "The Argentine nation was a unity in colonial times, during the Viceroyalty, and remained so after the revolution of May 1810. [...] The provinces never acted as independent sovereign states, but as entities created within the nation and as integral parts of it, incidentally affected by internal conflicts."|3a1=Vanossi|3y=1964|3p=11|3ps=: "[The Argentine nationality is a] unique national entity, successor to the Viceroyalty, which, after undergoing a long period of anarchy and disorganization, adopted a decentralized form in 1853–1860 under the Constitution."}} the 1810 [[May Revolution]] replaced the viceroy [[Baltasar Hidalgo de Cisneros]] with the [[Primera Junta|First Junta]], a new government in [[Buenos Aires]] made up from locals.{{sfn|Abad de Santillán|1971|pp=194ff}} In the first clashes of the Independence War the Junta crushed a royalist [[Liniers Counter-revolution|counter-revolution in Córdoba]],{{sfn|Rock|1987|p=81}} but failed to overcome those of the [[Banda Oriental]], [[First Upper Peru campaign|Upper Peru]] and [[Paraguay campaign|Paraguay]], which later became independent states.{{sfn|Rock|1987|pp=82–83}} The French-Argentine [[Hippolyte Bouchard]] then brought his fleet to wage war against Spain overseas and attacked [[Spanish California]], [[Spanish Peru]] and [[Spanish Philippines]]. He secured the allegiance of escaped Filipinos in San Blas who defected from the Spanish to join the Argentine navy, due to common Argentine and Philippine grievances against Spanish colonization.<ref>Delgado de Cantú, Gloria M. (2006). Historia de México. México, D. F.: Pearson Educación.</ref><ref>Mercene, Manila men, p. 52.</ref> Jose de San Martin's brother, [[Juan Fermín de San Martín]], was already in the Philippines and drumming up revolutionary fervor prior to this.<ref name=ins>[http://www.sanmartiniano.gov.ar/documentos/documento004.php ''Sus padres y hermanos – Por José A. Torre Revell (1893–1964)'']{{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150630220442/http://www.sanmartiniano.gov.ar/documentos/documento004.php|date=30 June 2015}} Instituto Nacional Sanmartiniano</ref> At a later date, the Argentine sign of Inca origin, the [[Sun of May]] was adopted as a symbol by the Filipinos in the [[Republic of Biak-na-Bato|Philippine Revolution]] against Spain. He also secured the diplomatic recognition of Argentina from King [[Kamehameha I]] of the [[Kingdom of Hawaii]]. Historian Pacho O'Donnell affirms that Hawaii was the first state that recognized Argentina's independence.{{sfn|O'Donnell|1998}}He was finally arrested in 1819 by Chilean patriots.

Revolutionaries split into two antagonist groups: the [[Unitarian Party|Centralists]] and the [[Federales (Argentina)|Federalists]]—a move that would define Argentina's first decades of independence.{{sfn|Lewis|2003|pp=39–40}} The [[Assembly of the Year XIII]] appointed [[Gervasio Antonio de Posadas]] as Argentina's first [[Supreme Director of the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata|Supreme Director]].{{sfn|Lewis|2003|pp=39–40}}

On 9 July 1816, the [[Congress of Tucumán]] formalized the [[Argentine Declaration of Independence|Declaration of Independence]],{{sfnm|1a1=Rock|1y=1987|1p=92|2a1=Lewis|2y=2003|2p=41}} which is now celebrated as Independence Day, a national holiday.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.argentina.gob.ar/interior/feriados |title=Feriados nacionales 2018 |trans-title=National Holidays 2018 |publisher=Argentina Ministry of the Interior |language=es |access-date=8 July 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180709011015/https://www.argentina.gob.ar/interior/feriados |archive-date=9 July 2018 |url-status = live}}</ref> One year later General [[Martín Miguel de Güemes]] stopped royalists on the north, and General [[José de San Martín]] He joined [[Bernardo O'Higgins]] and they led a combined army [[Crossing of the Andes|across the Andes]] and secured the independence of Chile; then it was sent by O'Higgins orders to the Spanish stronghold of [[Lima]] and proclaimed the [[independence of Peru]].{{sfn|Galasso|2011|loc=vol. I|pp=349–53}}{{efn-ua|San Martín's military campaigns, together with those of [[Simón Bolívar]] in [[Gran Colombia]] are collectively known as the [[Spanish American wars of independence]].{{sfn|Galasso|2011|loc=vol. I|pp=185–252}}}} In 1819 Buenos Aires enacted a [[Argentine Constitution of 1819|centralist constitution]] that was soon [[repeal|abrogated]] by federalists.{{sfn|Lewis|2003|p=41}}

Some of the most important figures of Argentine independence made a proposal known as the [[Inca plan]] of 1816, which proposed that [[United Provinces of the Río de la Plata]] (Present Argentina) should be a monarchy, led by a descendant of the [[Sapa Inca|Inca]]. Juan Bautista Túpac Amaru (half-brother of [[Túpac Amaru II]]) was proposed as monarch.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.perfil.com/noticias/elobservador/juan-bautista-tupac-amaru-el-rey-que-argentina-pudo-tener-0067.phtml |title=Juan Bautista Túpac Amaru: el rey que Argentina pudo tener |date=13 July 2016 |access-date=25 June 2021 |archive-date=23 September 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230923182044/https://www.perfil.com/noticias/elobservador/juan-bautista-tupac-amaru-el-rey-que-argentina-pudo-tener-0067.phtml |url-status=live }}</ref> Some examples of those who supported this proposal were [[Manuel Belgrano]], [[José de San Martín]] and [[Martín Miguel de Güemes]]. The [[Congress of Tucumán]] finally decided to reject the Inca plan, creating instead a republican, centralist state.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ellitoral.com/index.php/diarios/2012/07/06/opinion/OPIN-04.html |title=El 'plan del Inca' de Belgrano |date=15 November 2013 |access-date=25 June 2021 |archive-date=23 September 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230923182044/https://www.ellitoral.com/index.php/diarios/2012/07/06/opinion/OPIN-04.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://edant.clarin.com/diario/2005/06/04/sociedad/s-05001.htm |title=Plan del Inca |date=15 November 2013 |access-date=25 June 2021 |archive-date=3 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303173055/http://edant.clarin.com/diario/2005/06/04/sociedad/s-05001.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>

The 1820 [[Battle of Cepeda (1820)|Battle of Cepeda]], fought between the Centralists and the Federalists, resulted in the ''end of the Supreme Director rule''. In 1826 Buenos Aires enacted another [[Argentine Constitution of 1826|centralist constitution]], with [[Bernardino Rivadavia]] being appointed as the first president of the country. However, the interior provinces soon rose against him, forced his resignation and discarded the constitution.{{sfn|Lewis|2003|p=43}} Centralists and Federalists resumed the civil war; the latter prevailed and formed the [[Argentine Confederation]] in 1831, led by [[Juan Manuel de Rosas]].{{sfn|Lewis|2003|p=45}} During his regime he faced a [[French blockade to the Río de la Plata|French blockade]] (1838–1840), the [[War of the Confederation]] (1836–1839), and an [[Anglo-French blockade of the Río de la Plata|Anglo-French blockade]] (1845–1850), but remained undefeated and prevented further loss of national territory.{{sfn|Lewis|2003|pp=46–47}} His trade restriction policies, however, angered the interior provinces and in 1852 [[Justo José de Urquiza]], another powerful [[caudillo]], [[Battle of Caseros|beat him out of power]]. As the new president of the Confederation, Urquiza enacted the [[liberalism|liberal]] and federal 1853 Constitution. [[State of Buenos Aires|Buenos Aires seceded]] but was forced back into the Confederation after being defeated in the 1859 [[Battle of Cepeda (1859)|Battle of Cepeda]].{{sfn|Lewis|2003|pp=48–50}}

=== Rise of the modern nation ===
{{Main|List of Presidents of Argentina|Generation of '80|Infamous Decade}}
{{See also|Argentine–Chilean naval arms race|South American dreadnought race}}
[[File:25 de mayo por F. Fortuny.jpg|thumb|People gathered in front of the [[Buenos Aires Cabildo]] during the [[May Revolution]]|alt=]]
[[File:Italian immigrants buenos aires.jpg|thumb|Immigrants [[Italian Argentines|from Italy]] arriving in Buenos Aires, during the [[great European immigration wave to Argentina]]]]
Overpowering Urquiza in the 1861 [[Battle of Pavón]], [[Bartolomé Mitre]] secured Buenos Aires' predominance and was elected as the first president of the reunified country. He was followed by [[Domingo Faustino Sarmiento]] and [[Nicolás Avellaneda]]; these three presidencies set up the basis of the modern Argentine State.{{sfn|Galasso|2011|loc=vol. I|pp=363–541}}

Starting with [[Julio Argentino Roca]] in 1880, ten consecutive federal governments emphasized [[economic liberalism|liberal economic policies]]. The [[Immigration in Argentina|massive wave of European immigration]] they promoted—second only to the United States'—led to a near-reinvention of Argentine society and economy that by 1908 had placed the country as the seventh wealthiest{{sfn|Bolt|Van Zanden|2013}} developed nation{{sfn|Díaz Alejandro|1970|p=1}} in the world. Driven by this [[immigration]] wave and decreasing mortality, the Argentine population grew fivefold and the economy 15-fold:{{sfn|Lewis|1990|pp=18–30}} from 1870 to 1910, Argentina's [[wheat]] exports went from {{convert|100000|to|2500000|MT|ST|abbr=on}} per year, while frozen beef exports increased from {{convert|25000|to|365000|MT|ST|abbr=on}} per year,{{sfn|Mosk|1990|pp=88–89}} placing Argentina as one of the world's top five exporters.{{sfn|Cruz|1990|p=10}} Its railway mileage rose from {{convert|503|to|31104|km|abbr=on}}.{{sfn|Díaz Alejandro|1970|pp=2–3}} Fostered by a new [[Argentine Law 1420|public, compulsory, free and secular education]] system, [[literacy]] quickly increased from 22% to 65%, a level higher than most [[Latin America]]n nations would reach even fifty years later.{{sfn|Cruz|1990|p=10}} Furthermore, real [[GDP]] grew so fast that despite the huge immigration influx, [[per capita income]] between 1862 and 1920 went from 67% of developed country levels to 100%:{{sfn|Díaz Alejandro|1970|pp=2–3}} In 1865, Argentina was already one of the top 25 nations by per capita income. By 1908, it had surpassed Denmark, Canada and the Netherlands to reach 7th place—behind Switzerland, New Zealand, Australia, the United States, the United Kingdom and Belgium. Argentina's per capita income was 70% higher than Italy's, 90% higher than Spain's, 180% higher than Japan's and 400% higher than [[Brazil]]'s.{{sfn|Bolt|Van Zanden|2013}} Despite these unique achievements, the country was slow to meet its original goals of industrialization:{{sfn|Galasso|2011|loc=vol. I|pp=567–625}} after the steep development of capital-intensive local industries in the 1920s, a significant part of the manufacturing sector remained labour-intensive in the 1930s.{{sfn|Lewis|1990|pp=37–38}}

[[File:La conquista del desierto.jpg|thumb|left|''[[Conquest of the Desert]]'', by [[Juan Manuel Blanes]] ''(fragment showing [[Julio Argentino Roca]], at the front, a major figure of the [[Generation of '80]])''<ref>Douglas A. Richmond, "Julio Argentino Roca" in ''Encyclopedia of Latin American History and Culture'', vol. 4 p. 583. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons 1996.</ref>]]

Between 1878 and 1884, the so-called [[Conquest of the Desert]] occurred, with the purpose of tripling the Argentine territory by means of the constant confrontations between natives and Criollos in the border,<ref>{{cite book|last=Barros|first=Álvaro|title=Fronteras y territorios federales de las pampas del Sud|publisher=tipos á vapor|year=1872|pages=155–57|language=es}}</ref> and the appropriation of the indigenous territories. The first conquest consisted of a series of military incursions into the Pampa and Patagonian territories dominated by the indigenous peoples,<ref>{{cite book|last=Ras|first=Norberto|title=La guerra por las vacas|publisher=Galerna |location=Buenos Aires |year=2006 |isbn=978-987-05-0539-6|language=es}}</ref> distributing them among the members of the ''Sociedad Rural Argentina'', financiers of the expeditions.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.pagina12.com.ar/diario/contratapa/13-44426-2004-12-04.html|title=Pulgas y garrapatas|last=Bayer|first=Osvaldo|agency=Página/12|date=4 December 2004|access-date=4 December 2013|language=es|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131203074349/http://www.pagina12.com.ar/diario/contratapa/13-44426-2004-12-04.html|archive-date=3 December 2013|url-status = live}}</ref> The conquest of Chaco lasted up to the end of the century,<ref>{{Cite book|last=Maeder |first=Ernesto J. A. |publisher=Editorial Plus Ultra |title=Historia del Chaco |year=1997 |isbn=978-950-21-1256-5 |page=105|chapter=VIII|language=es}}</ref> since its full ownership of the national economic system only took place when the mere extraction of wood and [[tannin]] was replaced by the production of [[cotton]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Iñigo Carrera |first=Nicolás |title=La colonización del Chaco |publisher=Centro Editor de América Latina |year=1983 |pages=16–23|isbn=978-950-25-0123-9|language=es}}</ref> The Argentine government considered [[Indigenous peoples in Argentina|indigenous people]] as inferior beings, without the same rights as Criollos and Europeans.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://coleccion.educ.ar/coleccion/CD9/contenidos/recursos/pueblos-originarios/breve-historia/index.html|title=Breve historia de los pueblos aborígenes en Argentina|publisher=Ministerio de Educación de Argentina|access-date=20 February 2018|language=es|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180221021535/http://coleccion.educ.ar/coleccion/CD9/contenidos/recursos/pueblos-originarios/breve-historia/index.html|archive-date=21 February 2018|url-status = dead}}</ref>

In 1912, President [[Roque Sáenz Peña]] enacted [[Saenz Peña Law|universal and secret male suffrage]], which allowed [[Hipólito Yrigoyen]], leader of the [[Radical Civic Union]] (or UCR), to win [[Argentine general election, 1916|the 1916 election]]. He enacted social and economic reforms and extended assistance to small farms and businesses. Argentina stayed neutral during [[World War I]]. The second administration of Yrigoyen faced an economic crisis, precipitated by the [[Great Depression]].{{sfn|Galasso|2011|loc=vol. II|pp=7–178}}
[[File:Golpe de Estado en Argentina en 1930.jpg|thumb|Crowds outside the [[Argentine National Congress]] during the [[1930 Argentine coup d'état]] which marked the start of the [[Infamous Decade]]]]

In 1930, Yrigoyen [[1930 Argentine coup d'état|was ousted from power]] by the military led by [[José Félix Uriburu]]. Although Argentina remained among the fifteen richest countries until mid-century,{{sfn|Bolt|Van Zanden|2013}} this [[coup d'état]] marks the start of the steady economic and social decline that pushed the country back into underdevelopment.<ref name=developed>{{cite news|url=http://www.economist.com/node/2704457|title=Becoming a serious country|newspaper=The Economist|place=London|date=3 June 2004|quote=Argentina is thus not a "developing country". Uniquely, it achieved development and then lost it again.|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140320033128/http://www.economist.com/node/2704457|archive-date=20 March 2014|url-status = live}}</ref>

Uriburu ruled for two years; then [[Agustín Pedro Justo]] was elected in a [[Argentine general election, 1931|fraudulent election]], and signed a controversial [[Roca-Runciman Treaty|treaty with the United Kingdom]]. Argentina [[Argentina in World War II|stayed neutral during World War II]], a decision that had full British support but was rejected by the United States after the [[attack on Pearl Harbor]]. In 1943 [[Revolution of '43|a military coup d'état]] led by [[Arturo Rawson|General Arturo Rawson]] toppled the democratically elected government of [[Ramón Castillo]]. Under pressure from the United States, later Argentina declared war on the Axis Powers (on 27 March 1945, roughly a month before the [[end of World War II in Europe]]).

During the Rawson dictatorship a relatively unknown military colonel named [[Juan Perón]] was named head of the Labour Department. Perón quickly managed to climb the political ladder, being named Minister of Defence by 1944. Being perceived as a political threat by rivals in the military and the conservative camp, he was forced to resign in 1945, and was arrested days later. He was finally released under mounting pressure from both his base and several allied unions.{{sfn|Galasso|2011|loc=vol. II|pp=181–302}} He would later become president after a landslide victory over the [[Radical Civic Union|UCR]] in the [[1946 Argentine general election|1946 general election]] as the [[Labour Party (Argentina)|Laborioust]] candidate.<ref>Alexander, Robert Jackson. ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=pCc4QThKRSMC A History of Organized Labor in Argentina]''. Westport, Conn. : Praeger, 2003.</ref>

=== Peronist years ===
{{Main|Peronism}}
[[File:Juan_y_Eva_Oficial.jpg|thumb|alt=Juan Domingo Perón and his wife Eva Perón, 1947.|[[Juan Perón]] and his wife [[Eva Perón]], 1947]]

The [[Labour Party (Argentina)|Labour Party]] (later renamed [[Justicialist Party]]), the most powerful and influential party in Argentine history, came into power with the rise of Juan Perón to the presidency in 1946. He [[nationalization|nationalized]] strategic industries and services, improved wages and working conditions, paid the full [[external debt]] and claimed he achieved nearly [[full employment]]. He pushed Congress to enact [[women's suffrage]] in 1947,{{sfn|Barnes|1978|p=3}} and developed a system of social assistance for the most vulnerable sectors of society.{{sfn|Barnes|1978|pp=113ff}} The economy began to decline in 1950 due in part to government expenditures and the [[protectionism|protectionist]] economic policies.<ref name=Reutuers2014>{{cite web|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-argentina-debt-chronology/chronology-argentinas-turbulent-history-of-economic-crises-idUSKBN0FZ23N20140730|title=Chronology: Argentina's turbulent history of economic crises|publisher=[[Reuters]]|date=30 July 2014|access-date=19 December 2022|archive-date=19 December 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221219062714/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-argentina-debt-chronology/chronology-argentinas-turbulent-history-of-economic-crises-idUSKBN0FZ23N20140730|url-status=live}}</ref>

He also engaged in a campaign of political suppression. Anyone who was perceived to be a political dissident or potential rival was subject to threats, physical violence and harassment. The Argentine [[intelligentsia]], the middle-class, university students, and professors were seen as particularly troublesome. Perón fired over 2,000 university professors and faculty members from all major public education institutions.<ref name=auth>{{cite book |last=Rock |first=David |title=Authoritarian Argentina |publisher=University of California Press |year=1993}}</ref>

Perón tried to bring most trade and labour unions under his thumb, regularly resorting to violence when needed. For instance, the meat-packers union leader, [[Cipriano Reyes]], organised strikes in protest against the government after elected labour movement officials were forcefully replaced by Peronist puppets from the [[Justicialist Party|Peronist Party]]. Reyes was soon arrested on charges of terrorism, though the allegations were never substantiated. Reyes, who was never formally charged, was tortured in prison for five years and only released after the regime's downfall in 1955.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.clarin.com/diario/2001/08/02/p-02401.htm |title=Clarín |website=Clarin.com |date=2 August 2001 |access-date=2 December 2020 |archive-date=27 June 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090627040037/http://www.clarin.com/diario/2001/08/02/p-02401.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Perón [[Argentine general election, 1951|managed to get re-elected in 1951]]. His wife [[Eva Perón]], who played a critical role in the party, died of cancer in 1952. As the economy continued to tank, Perón started losing popular support, and came to be seen as a threat to the national process. The Navy took advantage of Perón's withering political power, and [[bombing of Plaza de Mayo|bombed the Plaza de Mayo]] in 1955. Perón survived the attack, but a few months later, during the [[Revolución Libertadora|Liberating Revolution]] coup, he was deposed and went into [[exile]] in Spain.{{sfn|Galasso|2011|loc=vol. II|pp=303–51}}

=== Revolución Libertadora ===
{{Main|Revolución Libertadora}}
[[File:Plaza-Mayo-bombardeo-1955.JPG|220px|thumb|Civilian casualties after the [[Bombing of Plaza de Mayo|air attack and massacre on Plaza de Mayo]], June 1955]]

The new head of State, [[Pedro Eugenio Aramburu]], [[proscription|proscribed]] Peronism and banned the party from any future elections. [[Arturo Frondizi]] from the [[Radical Civic Union|UCR]] won the [[Argentine general election, 1958|1958 general election]].{{sfn|Galasso|2011|loc=vol. II|pp=353–379}} He encouraged investment to achieve energetic and industrial self-sufficiency, reversed a chronic [[trade deficit]] and lifted the ban on Peronism; yet his efforts to stay on good terms with both the Peronists and the military earned him the rejection of both and a new coup forced him out.{{sfn|Robben|2011|p=34}} Amidst the political turmoil, Senate leader [[José María Guido]] reacted swiftly and applied anti-[[power vacuum]] legislation, ascending to the presidency himself; elections were repealed and Peronism was prohibited once again. [[Arturo Illia]] was [[Argentine general election, 1963|elected in 1963]] and led an increase in prosperity across the board; however he was overthrown in 1966 by another military [[coup d'état]] led by General [[Juan Carlos Onganía]] in the self-proclaimed [[Argentine Revolution]], creating a new military government that sought to rule indefinitely.{{sfn|Galasso|2011|loc=vol. II|pp=381–422}}

=== Perón's return and death===
[[File:Asunción_de_Juan_Domingo_Perón_e_Isabel_Perón,_1973.png|thumb|left|upright|[[Juan Perón]] and his wife [[Isabel Perón]], 1973]]

Following several years of military rule, [[Alejandro Agustín Lanusse]] was appointed president by the [[military junta]] in 1971. Under increasing political pressure for the return of democracy, Lanusse called for elections in 1973. Perón was banned from running but the Peronist party was allowed to participate. The presidential elections were won by Perón's surrogate candidate, [[Hector Cámpora]], a left-wing Peronist, who took office on 25 May 1973. A month later, in June, Perón returned from Spain. One of Cámpora's first presidential actions was to grant amnesty to members of organizations that had carried out political assassinations and terrorist attacks, and to those who had been tried and sentenced to prison by judges. Cámpora's months-long tenure in government was beset by political and social unrest. Over 600 social conflicts, [[Strike action|strikes]], and [[Workers' self-management|factory occupations]] took place within a single month.<ref>{{cite book |first=Hugo |last=Moreno |title=Le désastre argentin. Péronisme, politique et violence sociale (1930–2001) |publisher=Editions Syllepses |location=Paris |year=2005 |page=109 |language=fr}}</ref> Even though far-left terrorist organisations had suspended their armed struggle, their joining with the [[participatory democracy]] process was interpreted as a direct threat by the Peronist right-wing faction.<ref>Manuel Justo Gaggero, [http://www.pagina12.com.ar/diario/elpais/1-80601-2007-02-19.html "El general en su laberinto"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171201132134/https://www.pagina12.com.ar/diario/elpais/1-80601-2007-02-19.html |date=1 December 2017 }}, ''[[Pagina/12]]'', 19 February 2007</ref>

Amid a state of political, social, and economic upheaval, Cámpora and Vice President Vicente Solano Lima resigned in July 1973, calling for new elections, but this time with Perón as the Justicialist Party nominee. Perón won the election with his wife [[Isabel Perón]] as vice president. Perón's third term was marked by escalating conflict between left and right-wing factions within the Peronist party, as well as the return of armed terror guerrilla groups like the Guevarist [[People's Revolutionary Army (Argentina)|ERP]], leftist Peronist [[Montoneros]], and the state-backed far-right [[Argentine Anticommunist Alliance|Triple A]]. After a series of heart attacks and signs of pneumonia in 1974, Perón's health deteriorated quickly. He suffered a final heart attack on Monday, 1 July 1974, and died at 13:15. He was 78 years old. After his death, [[Isabel Perón]], his wife and vice president, succeeded him in office. During her presidency, a military junta, along with the Peronists' far-right fascist faction, once again became the [[de facto]] [[head of state]]. Isabel Perón served as President of Argentina from 1974 until 1976, when she was ousted by the military. Her short presidency was marked by the collapse of Argentine political and social systems, leading to a constitutional crisis that paved the way for a decade of instability, left-wing terrorist guerrilla attacks, and state-sponsored terrorism.<ref name=Reutuers2014/><ref>{{cite web|last=de Onis|first=Juan|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1977/01/02/archives/argentinas-terror-army-is-ahead.html|title=Argentina's Terror: Army Is Ahead|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=2 January 1977|access-date=19 December 2022|archive-date=19 December 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221219063400/https://www.nytimes.com/1977/01/02/archives/argentinas-terror-army-is-ahead.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Bernstein|first=Adam|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/the_americas/jorge-rafael-videla-argentine-junta-leader-dies-at-87/2013/05/17/f22ae8d0-2f5c-11e2-a30e-5ca76eeec857_story.html|title=Jorge Rafael Videla, Argentine junta leader, dies at 87|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|date=17 May 2013|access-date=19 December 2022|archive-date=10 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210410204418/https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/the_americas/jorge-rafael-videla-argentine-junta-leader-dies-at-87/2013/05/17/f22ae8d0-2f5c-11e2-a30e-5ca76eeec857_story.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

=== National Reorganization Process ===
{{Main|National Reorganization Process|Dirty War}}
[[File:Junta Militar argentina 1976.png|thumb|The "[[National Reorganization Process|first military junta]]" – Admiral [[Emilio Eduardo Massera|Emilio Massera]], Lieutenant General [[Jorge Rafael Videla|Jorge Videla]] and Brigadier General [[Orlando Ramón Agosti|Orlando Agosti]] (from left to right) – observing the [[Argentine Declaration of Independence|Independence Day]] military parade on [[Avenida del Libertador (Buenos Aires)|Avenida del Libertador]], 9 July 1978]]

The "Dirty War" ({{lang-es|Guerra Sucia|links=no}}) was part of [[Operation Condor]], which included the participation of other right-wing dictatorships in the [[Southern Cone]]. The Dirty War involved [[state terrorism]] in Argentina and elsewhere in the Southern Cone against political dissidents, with military and security forces employing urban and rural violence against left-wing guerrillas, political dissidents, and anyone believed to be associated with socialism or somehow contrary to the [[Neoliberalism|neoliberal]] economic policies of the regime.<ref>''Political Violence and Trauma in Argentina'', Antonius C. G. M. Robben, p. 145, University of Pennsylvania Press, 2007</ref><ref>''Revolutionizing Motherhood: The Mothers of the Plaza De Mayo'', Marguerite Guzmán Bouvard, p. 22, Rowman & Littlefield, 1994</ref><ref>[https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=GgAkAAAAIBAJ&sjid=JmcEAAAAIBAJ&pg=6482,2531128 "Argentina's Guerrillas Still Intent On Socialism"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191026112012/https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=GgAkAAAAIBAJ&sjid=JmcEAAAAIBAJ&pg=6482,2531128 |date=26 October 2019 }}, ''Sarasota Herald-Tribune'', 7 March 1976</ref> Victims of the violence in Argentina alone included an estimated 15,000 to 30,000 left-wing activists and militants, including trade unionists, students, journalists, [[Marxist]]s, [[Peronism|Peronist]] [[guerrilla]]s,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://aliciapatterson.org/stories/argentinas-dirty-war|title=Argentina's Dirty War|access-date=9 November 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170129015852/http://aliciapatterson.org/stories/argentinas-dirty-war|archive-date=29 January 2017|url-status = dead}}</ref> and alleged sympathizers. Most of the victims were casualties of [[state terrorism]]. The opposing guerrillas' victims numbered nearly 500–540 military and police officials<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.desaparecidos.org/arg/doc/cifras/mili.html|title=Militares Muertos Durante la Guerra Sucia|access-date=5 December 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170827125022/http://www.desaparecidos.org/arg/doc/cifras/mili.html|archive-date=27 August 2017|url-status = live}}</ref> and up to 230 civilians.<ref>Gambini, Hugo (2008). Historia del peronismo. La violencia (1956–1983). Buenos Aires: Javier Vergara Editor. pp. 198/208.</ref> Argentina received technical support and military aid from the United States government during the [[Presidency of Lyndon B. Johnson|Johnson]], [[Presidency of Richard Nixon|Nixon]], [[Presidency of Gerald Ford|Ford]], [[Presidency of Jimmy Carter|Carter]], and [[Presidency of Ronald Reagan|Reagan]] administrations.

The exact chronology of the [[political repression|repression]] is still debated, yet the roots of the long political war may have started in 1969 when trade unionists were targeted for assassination by Peronist and Marxist paramilitaries. Individual cases of [[state-sponsored terrorism]] against Peronism and the left can be traced back even further to the [[Bombing of Plaza de Mayo]] in 1955. The [[Trelew massacre]] of 1972, the actions of the [[Argentine Anticommunist Alliance]] commencing in 1973, and [[Isabel Perón]]'s "annihilation decrees" against left-wing guerrillas during ''[[Operativo Independencia]]'' (Operation Independence) in 1975, are also possible events signaling the beginning of the Dirty War.{{efn-ua|Citations discussing this include:<ref name=Reutuers2014/><ref name=Buncombe2022>{{cite web|last=Buncombe|first=Andrew|url=https://sports.yahoo.com/florida-businessman-79-face-trial-210300460.html?guccounter=1|title=Florida businessman, 79, to face trial over notorious 1972 massacre in Argentina|work=[[The Independent]]|via=[[Yahoo! Sports]]|date=11 February 2022|access-date=19 December 2022|archive-date=19 December 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221219065302/https://sports.yahoo.com/florida-businessman-79-face-trial-210300460.html?guccounter=1|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=McDonnell|first=Patrick J.|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2007-jan-13-fg-isabel13-story.html|title=Arrest of Isabel Peron signals willingness to reexamine era|work=[[Los Angeles Times]]|date=13 January 2007|access-date=19 December 2022|archive-date=19 December 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221219065302/https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2007-jan-13-fg-isabel13-story.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Burke|first=Hilary|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/idUSN10477880|title=Argentina probes pre-Dirty War rights crimes|publisher=[[Reuters]]|date=21 January 2007|access-date=19 December 2022|archive-date=19 December 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221219065302/https://www.reuters.com/article/idUSN10477880|url-status=live}}</ref>}}

Onganía shut down Congress, banned all political parties, and dismantled student and worker unions. In 1969, popular discontent led to two massive protests: the ''[[Cordobazo]]'' and the ''[[Rosariazo]]''. The terrorist guerrilla organization [[Montoneros]] kidnapped and executed Aramburu.{{sfn|Robben|2011|p=127}} The newly chosen head of government, [[Alejandro Agustín Lanusse]], seeking to ease the growing political pressure, allowed [[Héctor José Cámpora]] to become the Peronist candidate instead of Perón. Cámpora won the [[Argentine general election, March 1973|March 1973 election]], issued [[amnesty|pardons]] for condemned guerrilla members, and then secured Perón's return from his exile in Spain.{{sfn|Galasso|2011|loc=vol. II|pp=423–65}}
[[File:Soldadosargentinos3.jpg|thumb|left|upright|Argentine soldiers during the [[Falklands War]], 1982]]

On the day Perón returned to Argentina, the clash between Peronist internal factions—[[right-wing]] union leaders and [[left-wing]] youth from the Montoneros—resulted in the [[Ezeiza Massacre]]. Overwhelmed by political violence, Cámpora resigned and Perón won the following [[Argentine general election, September 1973|September 1973 election]] with his third wife [[Isabel Perón|Isabel]] as vice-president. He [[expulsion of Montoneros from Plaza de Mayo|expelled Montoneros from the party]]{{sfn|Robben|2011|pp=76–77}} and they became once again a clandestine organization. [[José López Rega]] organized the [[Argentine Anticommunist Alliance]] (AAA) to fight against them and the [[People's Revolutionary Army (Argentina)|People's Revolutionary Army]] (ERP).{{sfn|Anderson|Sloan|2009|p=40–41}}{{sfn|Wilson|2016|p=167}}

Perón died in July 1974 and was succeeded by his wife, who signed a secret decree empowering the military and the police to "annihilate" the left-wing subversion,{{sfn|Robben|2011|p=145}} [[Operation Independence|stopping ERP's attempt]] to start a rural insurgence in Tucumán province.{{sfn|Robben|2011|p=148}} [[March 1976 coup|Isabel Perón was ousted]] one year later by a junta of the combined armed forces, led by army general [[Jorge Rafael Videla]]. They initiated the [[National Reorganization Process]], often shortened to ''Proceso''.{{sfn|Galasso|2011|loc=vol. II|pp=467–504}}

The ''Proceso'' shut down Congress, removed the judges on the Supreme Court, banned political parties and unions, and resorted to employing the [[forced disappearance]] of suspected guerrilla members including individuals suspected of being associated with the left-wing. By the end of 1976, the Montoneros had lost nearly 2,000 members and by 1977, the ERP was completely subdued. Nevertheless, the severely weakened Montoneros launched a counterattack in 1979, which was quickly put down, effectively ending the guerrilla threat and securing the junta's position in power.{{citation needed|date=July 2022}}

In 1977, Argentina set up a military base on the uninhabited British [[South Sandwich Islands]] in the South Atlantic Ocean. In March 1982, an Argentine force took control of the British territory of [[South Georgia]] and, on 2 April, Argentina invaded the [[Operation Rosario|Falkland Islands]]. The United Kingdom quickly dispatched a task force to regain possession. After a short, bloody conflict, Argentina surrendered on 14 June and its forces were sent home. Street riots in Buenos Aires followed the humiliating defeat and the military leadership stood down.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Meislin |first1=Richard J. |title=THOUSANDS IN BUENOS AIRES ASSAIL JUNTA FOR SURRENDERING TO BRITAIN |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1982/06/16/world/thousands-in-buenos-aires-assail-junta-for-surrendering-to-britain.html |access-date=17 November 2021 |work=The New York Times |date=16 June 1982 |archive-date=14 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231014050234/https://www.nytimes.com/1982/06/16/world/thousands-in-buenos-aires-assail-junta-for-surrendering-to-britain.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=CBS News releases video of the Falklands War riots |url=https://www.foxnews.com/transcript/cbs-news-releases-video-of-the-falklands-war-riots |work=Fox News |access-date=7 November 2018 |date=24 February 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181107224852/https://www.foxnews.com/transcript/cbs-news-releases-video-of-the-falklands-war-riots |archive-date=7 November 2018 |url-status = live}}</ref> [[Reynaldo Bignone]] replaced Galtieri and began to organize the transition to democratic governance.{{sfn|Galasso|2011|loc=vol. II|pp=505–32}}

=== Return to democracy ===
{{Main|Presidency of Raúl Alfonsín|Argentine economic crisis (1999–2002)}}
[[File:De la Rúa con Menem.jpg|thumb|[[Carlos Menem]] with the new president, [[Fernando de la Rúa]], on 10 December 1999]]

[[Raúl Alfonsín]] won the [[Argentine general election, 1983|1983 elections]] campaigning for the prosecution of those responsible for [[human rights]] violations during the ''Proceso'': the [[Trial of the Juntas]] and other martial courts sentenced all the coup's leaders but, under military pressure, he also enacted the [[Full Stop Law|Full Stop]] and [[Law of Due Obedience|Due Obedience]] laws,<ref>{{cite Argentine law|l=23492|date=29 December 1986|bo=26058}}</ref><ref>{{cite Argentine law|l=23521|date=9 June 1987|bo=26155}}</ref> which halted prosecutions further down the [[chain of command]]. The worsening economic crisis and [[hyperinflation]] reduced his popular support and the Peronist [[Carlos Menem]] won the [[Argentine general election, 1989|1989 election]]. Soon after, [[1989 riots in Argentina|riots forced Alfonsín to an early resignation]].{{sfn|Galasso|2011|loc=vol. II|pp=533–49}}

Menem embraced and enacted [[neo-liberalism|neoliberal]] policies:{{sfn|Epstein|Pion-Berlin|2006|p=6}} a [[Argentine Currency Board|fixed exchange rate]], business [[deregulation]], [[privatization]]s, and the dismantling of [[protectionism|protectionist]] barriers normalized the economy in the short term. He pardoned the officers who had been sentenced during Alfonsín's government. The [[1994 amendment of the Argentine Constitution|1994 Constitutional Amendment]] allowed Menem to [[Argentine general election, 1995|be elected for a second term]]. With the economy beginning to decline in 1995, and with increasing unemployment and recession,{{sfn|Epstein|Pion-Berlin|2006|p=9}} the UCR, led by [[Fernando de la Rúa]], returned to the presidency in the [[Argentine general election, 1999|1999 elections]].{{sfn|Galasso|2011|loc=vol. II|pp=551–573}}
[[File:Crisis_20_diciembre_2001.jpg|thumb|left|Protests in the city of Buenos Aires during the [[December 2001 riots in Argentina]]]]

De la Rúa left Menem's economic plan in effect despite the worsening crisis, which led to growing social discontent.{{sfn|Epstein|Pion-Berlin|2006|p=9}} Massive [[capital flight]] from the country was responded to with a [[corralito|freezing of bank accounts]], generating further turmoil. The [[December 2001 riots in Argentina|December 2001 riots]] forced him to resign.{{sfn|Galasso|2011|loc=vol. II|pp=575–87}} Congress appointed [[Eduardo Duhalde]] as acting president, who revoked the fixed exchange rate established by Menem,{{sfn|Epstein|Pion-Berlin|2006|p=12}} causing many working- and middle-class Argentines to lose a significant portion of their savings. By late 2002, the economic crisis began to recede, but the assassination of two ''[[piquetero]]s'' by the police caused political unrest, prompting Duhalde to move elections forward.{{sfn|Epstein|Pion-Berlin|2006|p=13}} [[Néstor Kirchner]] was [[Argentine general election, 2003|elected as the new president]]. On 26 May 2003, he was sworn in.<ref>{{cite news |title=Kirchner Sworn in as President of Argentina – 2003-05-26 |url=https://www.voanews.com/a/a-13-a-2003-05-26-30-kirchner/395751.html |work=VOA |language=en |access-date=16 August 2022 |archive-date=16 August 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220816113526/https://www.voanews.com/a/a-13-a-2003-05-26-30-kirchner/395751.html |url-status=live }}</ref>{{sfn|Galasso|2011|loc=vol. II|pp=587–95}}
[[File:Cristina con baston de mando (cropped).jpg|thumb|left|[[Néstor Kirchner]] and his wife and political successor, [[Cristina Kirchner]]]]

Boosting the [[neo-Keynesianism|neo-Keynesian]] economic policies{{sfn|Epstein|Pion-Berlin|2006|p=13}} laid by Duhalde, Kirchner ended the economic crisis attaining significant fiscal and trade surpluses, and rapid [[Gross domestic product|GDP]] growth.{{sfn|Epstein|Pion-Berlin|2006|p=16}} Under his administration, Argentina [[Argentine debt restructuring|restructured its defaulted debt]] with an unprecedented discount of about 70% on most bonds, paid off debts with the [[International Monetary Fund]],{{sfn|Epstein|Pion-Berlin|2006|p=15}} purged the military of officers with dubious human rights records,{{sfn|Epstein|Pion-Berlin|2006|p=14}} [[void (law)|nullified and voided]] the Full Stop and Due Obedience laws,<ref>{{cite Argentine law|l=25779|date=3 September 2003|bo=30226|p=1}}</ref>{{efn-ua|The Full Stop and Due Obedience laws had been abrogated by Congress in 1998.<ref>{{cite Argentine law|l=24952|date=17 April 1998|bo=28879|p=1}}</ref>}} ruled them as unconstitutional, and resumed legal prosecution of the Junta's crimes. He did not run for reelection, promoting instead the candidacy of his wife, senator [[Cristina Fernández de Kirchner]], who was [[Argentine general election, 2007|elected in 2007]]{{sfn|Galasso|2011|loc=vol. II|pp=597–626}} and [[Argentine general election, 2011|reelected in 2011]]. Fernández de Kirchner's administration established positive foreign relations with countries with questionable human rights records, including Venezuela, Iran, and Cuba, while at the same time relations with the United States and the United Kingdom became increasingly strained. By 2015, the Argentine GDP grew by 2.7%<ref>{{cite web |title=GDP growth (annual %) – Argentina |url=https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NY.GDP.MKTP.KD.ZG?locations=AR |website=The World Bank |access-date=7 April 2021 |archive-date=20 August 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230820141734/https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NY.GDP.MKTP.KD.ZG?locations=AR |url-status=live }}</ref> and real incomes had risen over 50% since the post-Menem era.<ref>{{cite web |title=GDP per capita (constant 2010 US$) – Argentina |url=https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NY.GDP.PCAP.KD?end=2017&locations=AR&start=2002 |website=The World Bank |access-date=7 April 2021 |language=EN |archive-date=23 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230423055935/https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NY.GDP.PCAP.KD?end=2017&locations=AR&start=2002 |url-status=live }}</ref> Despite these economic gains and increased renewable energy production and subsidies, the overall economy had been sluggish since 2011.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Bouchier |first1=Dewitt |title=Ruin redux: Argentina's Economy under Mauricio Macri |url=https://politicalmilitaryclub.home.blog/2019/01/22/ruin-redux-argentinas-economy-under-mauricio-macri/ |website=The Political Military Club |access-date=7 April 2021 |date=22 January 2019 |archive-date=14 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231014050045/https://politicalmilitaryclub.home.blog/2019/01/22/ruin-redux-argentinas-economy-under-mauricio-macri/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

On 22 November 2015, after a tie in the first round of [[Argentine general election, 2015|presidential elections on 25 October]], [[Juntos por el Cambio|center-right coalition]] candidate [[Mauricio Macri]] won the first [[Ballotage in Argentina|ballotage]] in Argentina's history, beating [[Front for Victory]] candidate [[Daniel Scioli]] and becoming president-elect.<ref>{{cite news |title=Argentina shifts to the right after Mauricio Macri wins presidential runoff |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/nov/22/argentina-election-exit-polls-buenos-aires-mauricio-macri |work=The Guardian |date=23 November 2015 |language=en |access-date=16 August 2022 |archive-date=23 November 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151123083643/http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/nov/22/argentina-election-exit-polls-buenos-aires-mauricio-macri |url-status=live }}</ref> Macri was the first democratically elected non-[[Justicialist Party|peronist]] president since 1916 that managed to complete his term in office without being overthrown.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.losandes.com.ar/article/mauricio-macri-el-primer-presidente-desde-1916-que-no-es-peronista-ni-radical|title=Mauricio Macri, el primer presidente desde 1916 que no es peronista ni radical|date=22 November 2015|publisher=Los Andes|language=es|access-date=10 December 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151125231834/http://www.losandes.com.ar/article/mauricio-macri-el-primer-presidente-desde-1916-que-no-es-peronista-ni-radical|archive-date=25 November 2015|url-status = live}}</ref> He took office on 10 December 2015 and inherited an economy with a high inflation rate and in a poor shape.<ref>{{cite news |title=Argentine President Mauricio Macri sworn in |url=https://www.france24.com/en/20151210-macri-argentina-president-inaugurattion-assumes-power-promises-change |work=France 24 |date=10 December 2015 |language=en |access-date=16 August 2022 |archive-date=15 August 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220815150949/https://www.france24.com/en/20151210-macri-argentina-president-inaugurattion-assumes-power-promises-change |url-status=live }}</ref> In April 2016, the [[Presidency of Mauricio Macri|Macri Government]] introduced neoliberal austerity measures intended to tackle [[inflation]] and overblown public deficits.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Carrelli Lynch|first1=Guido|title=Macri anunció medidas para amortiguar la inflación|url=http://www.clarin.com/politica/Macri-anuncio-medidas-amortiguar-inflacion_0_1559844404.html|access-date=25 June 2016|work=Clarín|language=es|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160616232749/http://www.clarin.com/politica/Macri-anuncio-medidas-amortiguar-inflacion_0_1559844404.html|archive-date=16 June 2016|url-status = live}}</ref> Under Macri's administration, economic recovery remained elusive with GDP shrinking 3.4%, inflation totaling 240%, billions of US dollars issued in sovereign debt, and mass poverty increasing by the end of his term.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Alcalá Kovalski |first1=Manuel |title=Lessons learned from the Argentine economy under Macri |url=https://www.brookings.edu/blog/up-front/2019/09/05/lessons-learned-from-the-argentine-economy-under-macri/ |website=Brookings Institution |access-date=7 April 2021 |language=EN |date=5 September 2019 |archive-date=10 June 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230610010840/https://www.brookings.edu/blog/up-front/2019/09/05/lessons-learned-from-the-argentine-economy-under-macri/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Rabouin |first1=Dion |title=Argentine president leads economy to debt, inflation and mass poverty |url=https://www.axios.com/argentina-economy-tanks-under-mauricio-macri-20995628-5475-4bf8-b21b-c6cba9aeb8a8.html |website=Axios |access-date=7 April 2021 |language=EN |date=3 September 2019 |archive-date=27 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220327153336/https://www.axios.com/argentina-economy-tanks-under-mauricio-macri-20995628-5475-4bf8-b21b-c6cba9aeb8a8.html |url-status=live }}</ref> He ran for re-election in 2019 but lost by nearly eight percentage points to [[Alberto Fernández]], the Justicialist Party candidate.<ref>{{cite news |title=Argentina election: Centre-left Alberto Fernández wins presidency |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-50203727 |work=BBC News |date=28 October 2019 |access-date=23 November 2021 |archive-date=4 June 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230604183854/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-50203727 |url-status=live }}</ref>

President Alberto Fernández and Vice President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner took office in December 2019,<ref>{{cite news |title='We're back': Alberto Fernández sworn in as Argentina shifts to the left |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/dec/10/argentina-alberto-fernandez-inauguration |work=The Guardian |date=10 December 2019 |language=en |access-date=16 August 2022 |archive-date=28 July 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210728090448/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/dec/10/argentina-alberto-fernandez-inauguration |url-status=live }}</ref> just months before the [[COVID-19 pandemic in Argentina|COVID-19 pandemic hit Argentina]] and among accusations of [[corruption]], [[bribery]] and [[The Route of the K-Money|misuse of public funds during Nestor and Cristina Fernández de Kirchner's presidencies]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.afip.gob.ar/english/|title=''Administracion Federal''|website=AFIP|access-date=1 June 2014|archive-date=31 December 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151231075127/http://www.afip.gob.ar/english/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Mercopress">{{cite web|url= http://en.mercopress.com/2013/05/15/allegations-of-a-network-of-corruption-money-involves-former-president-kirchner|title= Allegations of a network of corruption money involves former president Kirchner|date= 15 March 2013|publisher= Merco Press|access-date= 27 March 2020|archive-date= 7 April 2014|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20140407072817/http://en.mercopress.com/2013/05/15/allegations-of-a-network-of-corruption-money-involves-former-president-kirchner|url-status= live}}</ref> On 14 November 2021, the center-left coalition of Argentina's ruling Peronist party,  [[Frente de Todos]] (Front for Everyone), lost its majority in Congress, for the first time in almost 40 years, in midterm [[2021 Argentine legislative election|legislative elections]]. The election victory of the center-right coalition, [[Juntos por el Cambio]] (Together for Change) limited President Alberto Fernandez's power during his final two years in office. Losing control of the Senate made it difficult for him to make key appointments, including to the judiciary. It also forced him to negotiate with the opposition every initiative he sends to the legislature.<ref>{{cite news |title=Peronists may lose Argentina Congress for first time in 40 years |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/11/15/argentinas-peronists-looks-set-to-lose-senate-control |work=www.aljazeera.com |language=en |access-date=16 November 2021 |archive-date=20 August 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220820224116/https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/11/15/argentinas-peronists-looks-set-to-lose-senate-control |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Bronstein |first1=Hugh |last2=Misculin |first2=Nicolás |title=Argentina's Peronists on the ropes after bruising midterm defeat |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/argentines-vote-midterm-trial-by-fire-president-fernandez-2021-11-14/ |work=Reuters |date=15 November 2021 |language=en |access-date=16 November 2021 |archive-date=17 November 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211117231933/https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/argentines-vote-midterm-trial-by-fire-president-fernandez-2021-11-14/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

In April 2023, President Alberto Fernandez announced that he will not seek re-election in the next [[2023 Argentine general election|presidential election]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Argentina's President Fernandez will not seek re-election |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/4/21/argentinas-president-fernandez-will-not-seek-re-election |work=www.aljazeera.com |language=en |access-date=3 June 2023 |archive-date=7 September 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230907063725/https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/4/21/argentinas-president-fernandez-will-not-seek-re-election |url-status=live }}</ref> The 19 November 2023 [[2023 Argentine general election|election]] run-off vote ended in a win for libertarian outsider [[Javier Milei]] with close to 56% of the vote against 44% of the ruling coalition candidate [[Sergio Massa]].<ref>{{Cite news |date=19 November 2023 |title=Javier Milei: Argentina's far-right outsider wins presidential election |language=en-GB |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-67470549 |access-date=24 November 2023 |archive-date=24 November 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231124015721/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-67470549 |url-status=live }}</ref>  On 10 December 2023, Javier Milei was sworn in as the new president of Argentina.<ref>{{Cite news |date=11 December 2023 |title=Javier Milei: New president tells Argentina 'shock treatment' looms |language=en-GB |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-67678276 |access-date=11 December 2023 |archive-date=11 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231211003316/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-67678276 |url-status=live }}</ref>