An overview of Argentine history

To avoid having you all think that I am just down here enjoying the sights, sounds and smells of Argentina, I want to share a bit about Argentina and the context in which I am working. My next blog will be completely devoted to my work.

This is going to be a very brief summary and will not capture most of the nuances in any country’s history----but here goes: the Spanish colonized Argentina, resulting in the majority of their indigenous population being wiped out. From 1860 until 1930, Argentina was a rapidly expanding economy, with an influx of 5 million immigrants and new investment. However, with the onset of the Great Depression, that “meteoric rise” interrupted both the economy and their history of civilian rule. Until 1976, Argentina had several military coups and a mainly sporadic and unstable economy. Perhaps the most famous leader who emerged in those years was Juan D. Peron, who was elected in 1946. Peron continues to be a very controversial figure in this country, with many believing him to be a visionary leader and others who suspect that his intentions were not always so positive. Under his regime, they nationalized the railroads, utilities and promoted industrialization. And of course, by his side was his lovely wife, Eva Duarte Peron. Her charisma and empathy for the people, “el pueblo” garnered an enormous amount of support.

I am going to skip all that occurred between Peron’s two different terms in office and go straight to the “dirty war” and the dictatorship that accompanied that era in history. This internal war was framed y the military as a war between national security and the “subversives”. Using this language, the military launched missions against civilians, mainly leftists, that resulted in the killings of tens of thousands of people and even more that simply “disappeared”. You still see advertisements in the newspaper on the anniversary of these disappearances from family and friends who are searching for their loved ones. It is truly torture to never know what happened to them. I cannot do justice to all that people suffered during these 7 years, but it obviously made an incredible impact on the country and resulted in many intellectuals, Jews, and other marginalized communities fleeing the country. The presidents following the dictatorship failed to punish the military officers involved and it has only been recently that they are being brought to justice.

In 1994, the government created a new constitution, which is quite progressive and based more on positive rights than in the United States where we are only granted negative rights. It mandates that international pacts (such as those from the UN regarding human rights) supersede national law, guarantees civil rights and equality for all inhabitants (not just citizens!). Obviously, this means the government has obligations to provide a great deal for its inhabitants, something that is often not done. However, both my internships work to support and challenge the government to “cumplir” with its promises. It is an exciting time to be in Argentina: they have their first elected female president, who is married to the former president (apparently the people have a thing for power couples), cases are being brought to court about same sex marriage, access to information and transparency is being demanded by the people and they are working to revitalize their economy. The inequality in the country continues to be stark and many people live without access to clean water, transportation and other vital public services. The gap between rich and poor is widening---just as it is in all of Latin America and there is still much work to be done!

Phew….and that was my brief summary. I will put my work information in the next one, but I hope that gave you a picture of the political environment in which I am working.