Buenos Aires Warning: You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you log in or create an account, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.Anti-spam check. Do not fill this in! ===19th and 20th century=== [[File:Av. de Mayo y Lima (ca. 1915).JPG|upright|left|thumb|View of the [[Avenida de Mayo]] in 1915]] During most of the 19th century, the political status of the city remained a sensitive subject. It was already the capital of [[Buenos Aires Province]], and between 1853 and 1860 it was the capital of the seceded [[State of Buenos Aires]]. The issue was fought out more than once on the battlefield, until the matter was finally settled in 1880 when the city was [[Federalization of Buenos Aires|federalized]] and became the seat of government, with its mayor appointed by the president. The [[Casa Rosada]] became the seat of the [[President of Argentina|president]].<ref name="provincia"/> Health conditions in poor areas were appalling, with high rates of tuberculosis. Contemporaneous public health physicians and politicians typically blamed both the poor themselves and their ramshackle tenement houses (conventillos) for the spread of the dreaded disease. People ignored public-health campaigns to limit the spread of contagious diseases, such as the prohibition of spitting on the streets, the strict guidelines to care for infants and young children, and quarantines that separated families from ill loved ones.<ref>Diego Armus, ''The Ailing City: Health, Tuberculosis, and Culture in Buenos Aires, 1870–1950'' (2011)</ref> In addition to the wealth generated by [[Buenos Aires Customs|customs duties]] and Argentine foreign trade in general, as well as the existence of fertile [[pampas]], [[Rail transport in Argentina|railroad development]] in the second half of the 19th century increased the economic power of Buenos Aires as raw materials flowed into its factories. A leading destination for immigrants from Europe, particularly Italy and Spain, from 1880 to 1930, Buenos Aires became a multicultural city that ranked itself alongside the major European capitals. During this time, the [[Teatro Colón|Colón Theater]] became one of the world's top opera venues, and the city became the regional capital of [[Radio in Argentina|radio]], [[Television in Argentina|television]], [[Argentine cinema|cinema]], and [[Theater in Argentina|theater]]. The city's main avenues were built during those years, and the dawn of the 20th century saw the construction of South America's tallest buildings and its first [[Buenos Aires Underground|underground]] system. A second construction boom, from 1945 to 1980, reshaped downtown and much of the city. [[File:Buenos Aires - San Nicolás - Construcción del Obelisco.jpg|thumb|Construction of the [[Obelisk of Buenos Aires]] on the [[9 de Julio Avenue]], 1936.]] Buenos Aires also attracted migrants from Argentina's provinces and neighboring countries. [[Shanty town]]s (''[[villa miseria|villas miseria]]'') started growing around the city's industrial areas during the 1930s, leading to pervasive social problems and social contrasts with the largely upwardly mobile Buenos Aires population. These laborers became the political base of [[Peronism]], which emerged in Buenos Aires during the [[Loyalty Day (Argentina)|pivotal demonstration]] of 17 October 1945, at the [[Plaza de Mayo]].<ref name="Clarín guide">''Guía visual de Buenos Aires centro histórico'', [[Clarín (Argentine newspaper)|''Clarín'']] Viajes, 2001.</ref> Industrial workers of the Greater Buenos Aires industrial belt have been Peronism's main support base ever since, and Plaza de Mayo became the site for demonstrations and many of the country's political events; on 16 June 1955, however, a splinter faction of the Navy bombed the Plaza de Mayo area, killing 364 civilians (see ''[[Bombing of Plaza de Mayo]]''). This was the only time the city was attacked from the air, and the event was followed by a military uprising which deposed President Perón, three months later (see ''[[Revolución Libertadora]]''). In the 1970s the city suffered from the fighting between left-wing revolutionary movements ([[Montoneros]], [[People's Revolutionary Army (Argentina)|ERP]] and F.A.R.) and the [[Right-wing politics|right-wing]] paramilitary group [[Argentine Anticommunist Alliance|Triple A]], supported by [[Isabel Perón]], who became president of Argentina in 1974 after Juan Perón's death. The [[March 1976 coup]], led by General [[Jorge Videla]], only escalated this conflict; the "[[Dirty War]]" resulted in 30,000 ''[[Forced disappearance|desaparecidos]]'' (people kidnapped and killed by the military during the years of the junta).<ref name="Millions">''We are Millions: Neo-liberalism and new forms of political action in Argentina'', Marcela Lópéz Levy, Latin America Bureau, London, 2004. {{ISBN|978-1899365630}}</ref> The silent marches of their mothers ([[Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo]]) are a well-known image of Argentines' suffering during those times. The [[National Reorganization Process|dictatorship]]'s appointed mayor, [[Osvaldo Cacciatore]], also drew up plans for a network of freeways intended to relieve the city's acute traffic gridlock. The plan, however, called for a seemingly indiscriminate razing of residential areas and, though only three of the eight planned were put up at the time, they were mostly obtrusive raised freeways that continue to blight a number of formerly comfortable neighborhoods to this day. [[File:Buenos Aires, 1986.jpg|thumb|[[9 de Julio Avenue]], 1986.]] The city was visited by [[Pope John Paul II]] twice, firstly in 1982 and again in 1987; on these occasions gathered some of the largest crowds in the city's history. The return of democracy in 1983 coincided with a cultural revival, and the 1990s saw an economic revival, particularly in the construction and financial sectors. On 17 March 1992, a bomb [[1992 Israeli Embassy attack in Buenos Aires|exploded in the Israeli Embassy]], killing 29 and injuring 242. Another explosion, on 18 July 1994, [[1994 AMIA bombing|destroyed a building]] housing several [[Jew]]ish organizations, killing 85 and injuring many more, these incidents marked the beginning of [[Middle East]]ern [[terrorism]] to South America. Following a [[Pact of Olivos|1993 agreement]], the [[Constitution of Argentina|Argentine Constitution]] was amended to give Buenos Aires [[autonomy]] and rescinding, among other things, the president's right to appoint the city's mayor (as had been the case since 1880). On 30 June 1996, voters in Buenos Aires chose their first elected mayor, [[List of mayors and chiefs of government of Buenos Aires|Jefe de Gobierno]]. Summary: Please note that all contributions to Christianpedia may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. If you do not want your writing to be edited mercilessly, then do not submit it here. 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