The World According to Boyer - Argentina

The World According to Boyer – Argentina

            Geographically speaking, Argentina is 1/3 the size of the United States. It is a coastal, river and plains area, which give the rise to the Andes Mountains. It is the largest country on earth. It is generally mid-latitude climate. It has 2936 miles of coastline. Politically speaking, it is a federal constitutional republic, and a representative democracy. (Basically the United States in South America). There are 23 provinces, which are similar to our states. There are also three branches of government. There are 42.6 million people. 97% of the population is white, where 92% are Catholic. Most immigration after the United States, most coming from Italy or Spain. 92% of the country is urban, which is more than the United States. The GDP is $755.3 billion, and GDP per capita is $18,400. Their fertility rate is 2.3, and the life expectancy is 77. More people live in cities than “fully developed” countries. It is a member of the G20.

            Seven things you need to know if you want to understand Argentina:

1.    “Argentina ain’t got no rainforest.”

a.    This is part of a bigger ignorance of South America; the entire continent is not the Amazon rainforest, which is a common misconception. Latin America does have rainforest, specifically being the Amazon, in Brazil. They do not have a winter. There are higher temperatures and high precipitation levels. There are broad leaf evergreens, and a sparsely vegetated floor. There is a high diversity of plant and animal life.  More of Latin America is tropical savanna than tropical rainforest. There are distinct seasons of precipitation in these areas. The heaviest rainfalls occur during the summer months. Back to Argentina… It has mid-latitude climates. Most of Argentina and Southern America is moist sub-tropical. The weather is similar to that of the Eastern United states. They have four distinct seasons, with long hot summers. This is all similar to Washington D.C., Tokyo, Hong Kong, and Sydney. There is a diversity of different vegetation and landscapes though. The Pampas is fertile grassland, similar to the mid-west in the United States. It is rich in cattle and crops. Around 5% of the population works in agriculture. Buenos Aires is part of the Pampas. This is cowboy country, which is called gauchos. It is one of the largest producers of soy in the world. Big parts of the country are desert or steppe. They are deep in continental interiors, far from the oceanic sources of moisture. There are many regions in the rain shadows of high mountain ranges. This can extend over large latitude areas. Parts of Patagonia are complete desert, receiving less than ten inches of rain a year. Other parts of Patagonia are national glacier parks. The Andes are a very important mountain range. The Andes average around 15,000-20,000 peaks. The highest peak is Aconcagua, which is 22,837 feet tall, and is in Argentina. It is the highest in the Americas, and the Western and Southern Hemispheres. The mountain range is still responsible for the lack of communication between Chile and Argentina. It is a very rocky mountain range.

2.    “Argentina got some white-ass, white people, a result of its history”

a.    No other country around Argentina has such a profound amount of white citizens. Latin America, pre European contact around 500 years ago, had around 30 million people. This compares to the only 2 to 5 million that were in North America. There were around 600 to 1000 tribes and ethnicities. Many of them were quite advanced civilizations, such as the Caribs, Tupi, Maya, Toltec, Inca, and Aztec. The Aztecs had around 15 million people in a continent that no one knew about. The city of Tenochtitlan had around 250,000 people, which was largest than any city in Europe of the time. This is a big city by today’s standards! This is where chocolate originated from. The Incans were the other large civilization, which was a South American civilization in Peru. This civilization had around 6 million people. This civilization had a system of roads and postal service around the Andes as well. The conquistadors decimated around 10% of the 30 million people that inhabited Latin America. Around 80% of the people that survived died of disease within 100 years, but most was within 20-50 years. Today, there are around 40 million indigenous people. Major concentrations are in Mexico, Peru, Guatemala, Bolivia, and Ecuador, but not Argentina. Only 10 years ago did the original indigenous people reach their original 30 million people that lived there around 500 years ago. The indigenous count in Argentina is around 1.7% of the population. Columbus discovered the area in 1492. In 1499-1502, Amerigo Vespucci “discovers” more of South America. America derives from his name. He is one of the first people to suggest that they did not find India. In 1519-1521, Hernando Cortes and kill the Aztecs. In 1528-1533, Francisco Pizarro plunders Peru, which affects the Incans. All of these explorers were concerned about God, gold, and glory. The dispute for land became so large that the Pope had to get involved. In 1494, the Treaty of Tordesillas was created. This created a line between the continent for Spanish and then Portugal. Spain received much more land than Portugal. By 1550, the coastal claims are set. The interior spaces are solidifying, and the indigenous are decimated. Although Brazil speaks Portuguese, the remainer of Southern America speaks Spanish, which is due to the Treaty of Tordesillas. Although during this time, the slave trade was rampant with millions of people leaving Africa, they did not come to Argentina. A majority of the slaves went to Brazil instead. Slaves did not go to Argentina because the crops did not require them, whereas they went to Brazil because of the sugar grain crops. In 1516, Juan Diaz de Solis “discovered” the Rio de la Plata, which is one of the world’s largest estuaries, but Argentine’s call it a river. The people who lived in what is now Argentine of the time ate Juan upon arrival. For nearly 300 years, Rio de la Plata colony was ruled by Spain. Buenos Aires revolted in 1810. The northern and eastern regions had declared their independence as separate nations, Paraguay in 1811 and Uruguay in 1815. In 1816, the provinces that now form much of Argentina declared independence from Spain. The new country was called the United Provinces of La Plata. Argentina became its present form in 1860. It gained territory in the north in 1874 after a war with Paraguay. Patagonia became part of Argentina in 1881. The great European immigration occurred during 1880 and 1920. Around 6.6 million people came to Argentina between 1880 and 1950, most of which were northern European. The government was promoting this immigration because they wanted to populate Patagonia. They wanted people to work, be in the military, and take up the space. It was really easy for people from Europe to go there because they were similar climates. It was a much easier transition than traveling to Brazil, which is similar to Florida and Caribbean climates. Most immigrants came through the port of Buenos Aires. Buenos Aires is very similar to the New York City of South America. It is a premier point of entry city. There are more Jewish people in the United States and Argentina than in Israel, which is evidence of the great migration from Europe. In 1895, around 52% of Argentina’s population is immigrants. Many towns throughout Argentina only speak Italy, German, or Swiss. Around 100 years ago, Argentina was one of the richest countries in the world.

3.    “Argentina loves these Peron peeps”

a.    Peronism is a political party that has so many different beliefs. If you ask a group of people what the party stands for, they will all give you different answers. In 1943, the repressive and unpopular government of Ramn S. Castillo was overthrown by the military. Juan D. Peron, an army colonel and an ultranationalist, was elected president in 1946 and was reelected in 1951 with the support of labor. Peron came to power through promises of liberal reforms, but soon became a fascist-style dictator. He was a mix between fascist and communist. His second wife, Eva, was beloved. She was a famous actress who died young. She loved the poor, and was not from royalty. She was similar to Mother Theresa in the way that she would kiss all types of people, even those with leprosy. In 1955, Peron was overthrown by the armed forces and fled the country. He became president again in 1973. He died in 1974, where his third wife, Isabel Martinez de Peron, took over as president. Isabel was the first elected woman leader of the Western Hemisphere. Nestor Kirchner was president 2003 to 2007, but died in office. Cristina Kirchner has been president since 2007, when she took over for her husband.

4.    “Argentina got dirty…”

a.    This was state sponsored terrorism, which was caused by the government, in order to keep the citizens in line. The secret police went after the college students, because they were educated. They were targets because they might figure out what was going on. There were many people tortured in the city of Buenos Aires. They did not keep this a secret because they wanted the fear to spread. A common thing would be to take people up in helicopters and throw them out over the ocean, alive. This was a part of the biggest picture of Operation Condor, which wanted to suppress leftist movements. This was supported by the United States because America was anti-communism during this period because of the Cold War.

5.    “Argentina ain’t got no f***ing islands...”

a.    The Falkland Islands, that is. There is more sheep on the island than there are people. This war was the beginning of the end of the military regime.

6.    “Argentina is rich, urban, and developed.”

7.    “Argentina got wine”

a.    It is the fifth leading wine producer in the world. The major wine regions are located in the western part of the country among the foothills of the Andes Mountains. The high altitude and low humidity is good for the crop. It is unique; there is an absence of phyllorexa. It is known for Malbec, Bonarda, and Torrontes. Mendoza and San Juan province cover 92% of the total area planted in vineyard. There have been vineyards since 1550, when it was only used for communion. Mendoza receives around eight inches of rain per year. Around 2/3 of the wine production is from this area. Malbec thrives there.