fwo_591957 - ARGENTINE - RÉPUBLIQUE ARGENTINE Un peso (5 francs) 1883

ARGENTINA - ARGENTINE REPUBLIC

(since 1810)

Discovered in 1516 by Diaz de Solis, the Rio de Plata region was colonized during the 16th century. Buenos Aires was founded in 1580. In 1810, a revolutionary junta deposed the Spanish viceroy and independence was proclaimed in 1816, after a bloody war. The country developed in the second half of the 19th century, particularly in the economy, transport and public education. The country knows crises, a bankruptcy in 1890 and especially the crisis of 1929 which is hard felt. The 1943 putsch enabled Juan Peron to seize power and establish a Mussolinian-type dictatorship. He was overthrown in 1955 by a military junta and the country then experienced an alternation of elections and coups which culminated in 1982 with the failure of the landing in the Falkland archipelago (or Falklands). Since then, the country has experienced a slow democratization with the elections of Carlos Menem in 1989 and 1995. Since 2001, the country has been governed by President Fernando de La Rua.