The document summarizes Argentina's foreign policy goals, geography, population, natural resources, and historical background. It discusses Argentina's alignment with Europe after independence and neutrality in World Wars I and II. It covers Juan Peron's presidency and influence on domestic politics. Later sections address the Cold War period, 1976-1983 military dictatorship, Falklands War, and return to democracy under presidents including Alfonsin, Menem, de la Rua, and the Kirchners. Argentina's foreign policy has emphasized relations with neighbors, non-intervention, economic independence, and recovering the Falkland Islands.

1. Group:
Maximiliano FILARDI: 636035
Sarah OIRO: 630302
Josephine WAWIRA: 633758

2. Goals of Argentina’s Foreign Policy
 Safeguard relations with neighbors.
 Policy of non-involvement in other countries national
politics.
 Increase economic independence
 Be a medium power in Latin America.
 Support for democratic governments in Latin America.
 Recover the Falklands/Malvinas island the through
diplomatic means.

3. Geographic Location
 Bordered by the Andes in the west and the South Atlantic
Ocean to the east, Chile to the west, Bolivia and Paraguay
to the north, Brazil and Uruguay to the northeast.
 Argentina’s climate varies because of her territory’s length.
 Largest among Spanish speaking countries
 2nd largest country of South America after Brazil & 8th
largest country in the world. Total area : approx. 2.7 million
km².
 23 provinces plus the autonomous city of Buenos Aires
 Argentina claims a section of Antarctica but has agreed to
suspend sovereignty disputes in the region as a signatory to
the Antarctic Treaty.
 Argentina also asserts claims to several South Atlantic
islands administered by the UK.

5. Argentina’s population
 Argentina became a magnet for European migration
beginning in 1850, while at the same time sustaining
population movements to and from neighboring countries,
mainly Italy and Spain
 At the end of 2012 Argentina’s population was at
41,086,927people.
Argentina’s Capital City is
the “Autonomous City of
Buenos Aires”, also known
as “Capital Federal”

6. Argentina’s Natural Resources
 Argentina is one of the world's major agricultural
producers and exporters of beef, citrus fruit, grapes, honey,
cereals (maize, sorghum, and wheat), soy and its
byproducts, mainly animal feed and vegetable oils,
soybeans, squash, sunflower seeds, oilseeds, wheat, yerba
mate, fine wine.
 On a lower scale, Argentina also produces leather,
biodiesel, strawberries, cotton, tobacco, olives, garlic,
tomatoes, peaches, round wood, eucalyptus, pine, elm,
organic farming, fine wine, and Argentine hake.
 Argentina’s mining includes the extraction of minerals
such as borate, copper, lead, magnesium, sulfur, tungsten,
uranium, zinc, silver, and gold. Argentina also extracts coal,
petroleum and gas.

7. Domestic factors of foreign policy
Dirty War (1976-1983’s dictatorship)
 The disappearance of 30,000 people made Argentina
embrace human rights.
Leadership
 Juan Domingo Peron: He influenced the Justicialista
party, which is one of the two main political parties within
the country. His influence made Argentina reaffirm her
position as a neutral country in the international arena.
Interest groups
 The Justicialista party: Applies ideals of Peronism, such
as favoring the working class, and embracing Democracy.
 UCR (Union Civica Radical) party: Initially perceived as
a conservative party, but later the party prioritized other
ideals such as Nationalism, and embracing Democracy.
Abandoning the conservative ideals has recently brought
this party closer to the Justicialista party.

8. External Factors of Foreign Policy
 Spanish Italian descendants: Initially, this caused
Argentina’s political alignment with Europe
 Economic Growth: It has encouraged the country’s
international neutrality in order to be able to sell national
products to an open market.
 Alliances: Especially with other South American
countries. It has helped the country to be less dependent
on the powerful states.
 Type of government: During dictatorships, Argentina
shifted from a neutral position to a more aggressive one.
(e.g. Falkland’s War).
 Falkland/Malvinas dispute: It has become the main
agenda in Argentina’s Foreign Policy.

9. Historical background
 Spanish colony: The Spanish arrived in the region in 1502
for the first time. They later established the Viceroyalty of
the Río de la Plata in 1776.
 The May Revolution (Revolucion de Mayo): In 1810 the
May revolution established the First Junta, a new
government in Buenos Aires composed by locals, and one
that gave self-governance to the locals. The region was
named the UPRP “United Provinces of the Río de la Plata”
(Argentina & Uruguay).
 Independencia: The UPRP went to war with Spain in 1816,
and achieved independence on 09/7/1816.
 The civil war: It was a war between the Centralists, who
controlled the country and wanted most of the national
income to go to Buenos Aires, and the Federals who wanted
the national income to be equally distributed among all
provinces.

10. Cont’
 During 1820s’, Brazil declared war to the UPRP over its
province, Uruguay.
 In 1828, a treaty was signed (treaty of Montevideo),
whereby Brazil and the UPRP recognized Uruguay as an
independent state. This dissolved the UPRP, and gave birth
to what is known today as Argentina.
 In 1829, Federals won, and they established the
Argentinean confederation with a central power.
 In 1853 the Constitution of Argentina was sanctioned, and
the country’s form of government was finally consolidated
as a confederation of semi-autonomous provinces and a
national government.

11. From Independence to 1916
Political Alignment with Europe:
 At independence, the country’s population was
predominantly Spanish/ Italian therefore they
continued to have good relations with the “mother
country” and Italy.
 Commercial activity: The country’s exports to
Europe included meat, meat products (cow hide,
beef jerky), and grain.

12.  Argentina felt that the reasons for the war were not
clear and they were trying to rebuild after the civil war
so the leaders decided not to get involved in WWI.
 The development of the agricultural industry in the
country also informed the decision to stay out of the
war because Argentina wanted to sell her products to
an unlimited market.
 Argentina maintained neutrality, though this did not
affect her relations with Europe.
 After WWI, Argentina joined the League of Nations.
Non-involvement in WWI

13. From end of WWI to WWII
 Argentina wanted to establish herself as a Medium Regional
Power after WWI so they resisted US and Brazilian influence.
 Argentina took advantage of the depression in the US
economy and increased her power in South America.
WWII
 Alignment with Europe remained but ties with Italy became
strained because of Musolini’s alliance with Adolf Hitler.
 With the outbreak of World War II in 1939, the idea that
Argentina needed to gain economic independence was
strengthened.
 Argentina maintained the policy of neutrality though this
time it was a miscalculation because of the human rights
abuses involved and there was a free world to defend.

14.  The US offered an “American alliance” against the Axis, but
Argentina refused to join.
 After the war, there was a large immigration of Germans and
Italians who escaped from the war.
Juan Domingo Peron-1946-1952
 At the end of WWII, Juan Peron was elected president of
Argentina.
 Juan Perón is best known as the first political figure to address
effectively the many problems of the working class.
In 1939, Perón leaves Argentina for Europe on a military mission.
Outbreak of World War II (1939–45). Argentina becomes
neutral.
In 1944, Argentina breaks off her strained diplomatic relations
with Japan and Germany. Perón is appointed Minister of War
and Vice-President.
In 1945, Perón is pushed out of office and imprisoned in the island
of Martín García. Five days later, hundreds of thousands of
workers march to Casa Rosada to demand Perón’s release.

15. In 1946, Perón wins elections for the presidency.
In 1947, women are granted the right to vote.
In 1949, a new constitution gives more power to the President,
allows for his re-election and incorporates social rights.
In 1951, Perón is re-elected President with a huge majority.
In 1952, Eva Perón dies. Women vote for the 1st time in Argentina.
In 1955, a coup by all three branches of the armed forces leads to
the ‘Liberating Revolution’. Perón resigns and goes into exile.
In 1972, Perón makes a brief visit to Argentina.
In March 1973, the Perónist Party wins elections. Hector Cámpora
becomes President. Perón returns to Buenos Aires in June.
Cámpora resigns and Perón is elected President in September.
In 1974, Perón dies in July. His third wife, Isabel de Peron, succeeds
him. Terrorism from right and left escalates, leaving hundreds
dead. There are strikes, demonstrations and high inflation.

16. PERÓNISM
 a populist ideology which in Argentinian politics is viewed
as the 3rd position(“no Yanks no Marxists”), an alternative
to communism and capitalism.
Descamisados (suitless)-term referring to the working class
 Under Perón’s rule the political influence of the large
landowners was diminished in favor of the lower-middle
and working classes.
 Evita, became the idol of the descamisados because of her
own poor origins and her reputation for using her great
influence to benefit the poor. Therefore, she hated by the
upper-middle, and high class.

17. When running for
the 1951 presidential
elections, the
working class
wanted Peron for
President, and Eva
for Vice-President.
Before the
announcement of
the official
candidates, Peron is
told that Eva has
Cancer. Eva could
not run for Vice-
President. The anti-
Peronist wrote “Viva
el cancer” (Long live
cancer) on the walls
of the hospital in
which she was
receiving treatment.

18. From WWII to the Falklands War (Islas Malvinas) 1982
The cold war
 The USSR objected to Argentina's joining the UN, they
(Stalin) believed they would not be together with
Argentina for their non involvement in the war.
 The US negotiated with the USSR to allow Argentina into
the UN.
 They made some concessions allowing Ukraine to join the
UN as a state party.
 Argentina could not continue to hold their alignment to
Europe, and Europe also let go of their soft power on Latin
America as the US continued to gain power.
 The US needed the support of Latin America during the
cold war (contention) so they poured money into Latin
America.
 Chile, Brazil, and Argentina were not so easy to buy as the
rest of central America.

19. Military coup 1976-1983
 After Peron’s death, Isabel’s
government was weak.
 This led to the overthrowing
of her government by the
military.
 It was a Right-Wing
government completely
aligned with the US.
 At that time, the US
sponsored military
governments all through
Latin America. Jorge Rafael Videla

20. Internal Issues
Montoneros
 It was considered an extremely radical group by the
military government.They were the extreme left wing of the
Peronist party, and wanted to take the armed revolution.
 The “Montoneros” committed crimes against the state.
 This led to extreme use of force by the military
government, which included curfews, persecution, torture,
and forced disappearances where even innocent people
were taken to clandestine detention centers.
 Today there is an estimate of 30,000 people who are still
missing.
 The atrocities of the military government were covered up
by the Football World Cup 1978 (in Argentina, with
Argentina as the Champion).

21. People’s perception of the World Cup

22. Falklands War (Islas Malvinas) 1982
 Legally within the Spanish dominion, it was occupied by
the French in 1764 until the British took the ruling of the
island in 1766.
 Spain forced the British to leave in 1811.
 With the independence of the “United Provinces of the
Rio de la Plata”, the island remained under the United
Provinces, until the British came back in 1832 and
occupied them.
 Up to 1833, the Falklands was not on top of the national
agenda as a result of the ongoing civil war.
 After national reorganization, Argentina claimed
sovereignty over the island
 This changed when the country was reorganized.

23.  Argentina diplomatically claimed for the island until
1976’s military government.
 The country suffered a socio-economical crisis, and
Galtieri decided to capture the island for popular support.
 Argentina deployed her troops to the island and the
British surrendered immediately.
 The UK had internal issues as well, and they could not
lose the islands.
 Thatcher declared war on Argentina.
 In order to gain public support, the Argentineananan
military misreported their winnings in the war.

24. Photo of Falklands War

25. From Falklands War to today
 The war ended with the defeat of the Argentina in June
1982, and triggered the end of the military government.
 Galtieri had to resign by public demand and call for
elections in which Raul Alfonsin, a civilian won
democratically.
 The claim for the island became a major factor which has
shaped the country’s Foreign Policy up to today.
 After the war, there has been a general mistrust of the US
and Britain, although they continued to do business (Real
Politik).
 Foreign policy moves from completely Western stand to
completely non-aligned position (in the 70’s parlance)
 No relation with the USSR.
 Friendly towards leftist governments.

26. Back to Democracy
Raul Alfonsin (1927-2009): UCR Party
 First democratic President after the 1976-1983 Coup d'état. He ruled
the country from 1983 to 1989.
 He created the “National Commission on the Disappearance of
Persons” (CONADEP) and the “Due Obedience” and “Full Stop” laws.
 His government was threatened by attempted coups d’ état.
 He suffered inflation, which led to his resignation in 1989.
Carlos Saul Menem (1989-1995); (1995-1999): Justicialista Party
 He fixed the Argentinean Peso value 1 on 1 with the Dollar at the
expense of national industries privatization in order to control the
inflation.
 Reformed the Argentinean constitution in 1994.
 Israeli embassy bombing (1992). 29 people died.
 AMIA Bombing in 1994 (Jewish community centre). 85 people died
(he was later suspected of covering up evidence against Hezbollah &
Jihad’s involvement).
 Good terms with Britain: Bilateral trade and investment.
 Allegations of illegal sale of weapons to Ecuador deteriorated
relations with Peru.

27. Fernando de la Rua (1999-2001): UCR Party
 Great Depression: Argentina suffered the
consequences of previous debts to the IMF,
inflation, and the Dollar went up to 3 Pesos.
 Corralito: A measure taken by the
government to forbid the withdrawal of the
Dollar currency.
 Riots took place in all over the country in
December 2001. Police repression ended up
with the death of 23 people, leading to his
resignation.
 He fled from “Casa Rosada” on a helicopter.
This was followed by 5 presidents in less than
a week.
Eduardo Dualde (Justicialista Party)
 Assumed in 2002 and continued until 2003.
Menem (left) handing over
the presidential power to
De la Rua (right).

28. Nestor Kirchner (2003-2007); Justicialista Party
 Argentina paid the IMF debts. He re-established the economic situation.
 Invalidated Due Obedience & Full Stop laws. Reopened trials against officers.
 He was not aligned with the US. However, he was not anti-american either.
 In the UN he said he opposed both, terrorism and the War on Terror.
 He promoted integration in Latin America.
 Allegations of embezzlement.
 He died in 2010 after a heart attack.
Cristina Fernandez (2007-2011); (2011-today); Justicialista
 First democratically elected female president of the country.
 Widow of the late Nestor Kirchner.
 In her 1st year in office, the relations with the US were not good because of
allegations of illegal campaign contributions from Venezuela to Argentina.
 She reestablished good relations with Peru.
 Argentina was elected President of the G-77.
 She is not in good terms with the local media.
 Nationalization of former national industries.
 She continues with the demand to recover the Falkland.

29. Nestor & Cristina

30. Relations with Major Powers
UK and Argentina:
 During the 1st British Invasion (in 1807) Britain successfully
invaded Buenos Aires, but failed to conquer Uruguay. During
the 2nd invasion (1809), the British succeeded to conquer
Uruguay, but they were defeated in Buenos Aires by civilian
resistance.
 The 2 countries continued having good relations until 1832.
Falkland Island:
 However, they maintained “good diplomatic relations” because
of trading interests.
 This changed with the war over the island in 1982, and the 2
countries did not establish relations until the return of
democracy in Argentina.
 Ever since the end of the war, Argentina has continued to
diplomatically claim the island to the international community.

31.  From Independence, Argentineans had a perception of
Americans as very primitive people.
 On top of that, there was competition between the 2
countries (especially agriculturally).
 Argentina had proposed an alliance to enter WWII, and
the US refused to get involved (1940)
 This time round, Argentina opposed the American
proposal to form an alliance after Pearl Harbour in the Rio
Conference (1942).
 After WWII, Argentinean politics were compelled to be
pro-western.
 During the Falklands war, the Argentinean military
mistakenly assumed that the US would support them.
 After Falklands, Argentina is cautious in her relations with
the US.
US and Argentina

32.  US allegations of illegal
campaign contributions were
dismissed by Cristina
Fernandez as an attempt to
divide Latin American
countries.
 As a result, she limited the US
Ambassador’s meetings with
Foreign Ministry Officials.
 The US ambassador said the
accusations did not come
from the US government.
 That improved relations
between the 2 countries.
US and Argentina
Obama and Cristina Fernandez

33. Spain: (Good relations)
 From independence there has been very good relations between
the 2 countries.
 Argentina was very supportive of Spain after WWII, even sending
free grain to prevent famine.
Italy: (Good relations)
 Population is of Italian descent. Peron was an admirer of
Mussolini.
 Argentina is an electoral district and there are MPs who are elected
by Argentinean voters who have dual citizenship.
Former USSR:
 Cold but friendly relations because Argentina is in the sphere of
influence of the US.
Russia:
 Same as USSR.
China:
 Argentina is trying to develop economically without he help of
Western powers, China is logical but relations are tough to
balance.
 There is a huge amount of commercial exchange.

34. Israel and Argentina
 Argentina’s relations with Israel are contradictory.
 Argentina has the largest Jewish community in Latin America so they
have friendly ties with Israel.
 However there is a radical right wing portion of the population that
expresses strong anti-Semitic sentiments.
 so there are a lot of expressions of support of anti-Israeli position by
individual in government.
 The very strong tie between the US and Israel makes Argentineananan
government cautious about Israel.
 Menem’s administration was accused of covering up evidence about the
Israel Embassy and AMIA bombings.
 Alfonsin passed the Antidiscrimination Law of 1987, which favored the
Jewish and Gypsy communities.
Germany and Argentina
 Argentina had always good ties with Germany.
 Argentina showed neutrality in WWI & WWII.
 Many Germans immigrated to the country after the wars.

35. Relations with Latin American Countries
Paraguay: Paraguay was part of the Viceroyalty of the Rio de la Plata. They got
independent on their own, and segregated from Argentina.
 War of Paraguay (1864-1870): Paraguay supported a revolution in Uruguay,
causing a war against Argentina and Brazil, which support of the Uruguayan
government.
 The war caused a huge destruction in Paraguay, and there was a mild mistrust
ever since.
Chile: Though a small country, Chile has always been a militaristic and
economically advanced country.
 She resented the Brazilian and Argentineananan influence in Latin America.
 It has many border disputes with Argentina. Which at times escalated to near
war.
 During the Falklands war, the Chilean military government allegedly gave logistic
and intelligence support to the British.
Uruguay: There has always been close ties between the 2 peoples. However, there is
a subtle mistrust from the Uruguay government.
Cuba: There has always been a good relation based on the admiration for the
Cuban revolution, & rejection of the American embargo.
Venezuela: Recent close relations due to the ideological ties between the present
governments.
Brazil: Argentina resents Brazil’s leadership in the region. However, both
economies are interconnected. Brazil is Argentina’s 1st commercial partner in
Latin America.

36. Membership in the UN and other
International Organizations
 Argentina is a non-permanent member of the UN Security
Council since 2013 and abides by the UN Charter,
maintaining friendly relations with the different member
States.
 She respects the decisions emanated from the General
Assembly and the Security Council participating in UN
peacekeeping activities.
 In 1998, Argentina marked the 50th anniversary of the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and of the adoption
of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the
Crime of Genocide.
 The same year she marked 40 years of participation in
peacekeeping operations.

37.  Argentina also puts a lot of emphasis on economic relations with
other countries especially Latin America and the Caribbean
countries.
 Together with Brazil, Uruguay and Paraguay, Argentina formed
Mercado Común del Sur, the Common Market of the South,
(MERCOSUR) as a model of economic integration based on
freedom and democracy.
 Through the negotiation of a free trade agreement with the four
original members, Bolivia and Chile also joined MERCOSUR.
 As a demonstration of the excellent relations with neighbouring
countries in the area of security and defence, Argentina
proposed the adoption of the political declaration of
MERCOSUR, Bolivia and Chile as a zone of peace, which was
signed at the MERCOSUR summit held in Argentina on July 24th
1998.

38. Other International Organizations in which Argentina is a
member include:
 UNASUR-Unión of South American Nations
 Organization of American States
 International Atomic Energy Agency,
 World Trade Organization.
 Union Latina (observer)
 Paris Club (associate)
 G-15, G-20, G-24, G-77
 ICC (national committees)
 TIAR (Tratado Interamericano de Asistencia Recíproca)- Inter-
American Treaty of Reciprocal Assistance (commonly known as
the Rio Treaty, the Rio Pact).

39. Culture
 Argentina has culturally influenced
neighboring countries.
 However, certain aspects of its
culture are known beyond Latin
America.
 Tango
 Football
 Foods and Wine