Government

Government type:
presidential republic
Capital:
name: Buenos Aires

Administrative divisions:
23 provinces (provincias, singular - provincia) and 1 autonomous city*; Buenos Aires, Catamarca, Chaco, Chubut, Ciudad Autonoma de Buenos Aires*, Cordoba, Corrientes, Entre Rios, Formosa, Jujuy, La Pampa, La Rioja, Mendoza, Misiones, Neuquen, Rio Negro, Salta, San Juan, San Luis, Santa Cruz, Santa Fe, Santiago del Estero, Tierra del Fuego - Antartida e Islas del Atlantico Sur (Tierra del Fuego - Antarctica and the South Atlantic Islands), Tucuman
note: the US does not recognize any claims to Antarctica
Independence:
9 July 1816 (from Spain)
National holiday:
Revolution Day (May Revolution Day), 25 May (1810)
Constitution:
several previous; latest effective 11 May 1853; amended many times, last in 1994 (2016)
Legal system:
civil law system based on West European legal systems; note - in mid-2015, Argentina adopted a new civil code, replacing the old one in force since 1871
International law organization participation:
has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; accepts ICCt jurisdiction
Citizenship:
citizenship by birth: yes
citizenship by descent: yes
dual citizenship recognized: yes
residency requirement for naturalization: 2 years
Suffrage:
18-70 years of age; universal and compulsory; 16-17 years of age - optional for national elections
Executive branch:
chief of state: President Mauricio MACRI (since 10 December 2015); Vice President Gabriela MICHETTI (since 10 December 2015); note - the president is both chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Mauricio MACRI (since 10 December 2015); Vice President Gabriela MICHETTI (since 10 December 2015)
cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president
elections/appointments: president and vice president directly elected on the same ballot by qualified majority popular vote for a 4-year term (eligible for a second consecutive term); election last held in 2 rounds on 25 October and 22 November 2015 (next to be held in October 2019)
election results: Mauricio MACRI elected president in second round; percent of vote in first round - Daniel SCIOLI (PJ) 37.1%, Mauricio MACRI (PRO) 34.2%, Sergio MASSA (FR/PJ) 21.4%, other 7.3%; percent of vote in second round - Mauricio MACRI (PRO) 51.4%, Daniel SCIOLI (PJ) 48.6%
Legislative branch:
description: bicameral National Congress or Congreso Nacional consists of:
Senate (72 seats; members directly elected in multi-seat constituencies by simple majority vote to serve 6-year terms with one-third of the membership elected every 2 years)
Chamber of Deputies (257 seats; members directly elected in multi-seat constituencies by proportional representation vote; members serve 4-year terms with one-half of the membership renewed every 2 years)
elections: Senate - last held on 22 October 2017 (next to be held in October 2019)
Chamber of Deputies - last held on 22 October 2017 (next to be held in October 2019)
election results: Senate - percent of vote by bloc or party - NA; seats by bloc or party - Cambiemos 12, UC 6, PJ 4, FRC 2
Chamber of Deputies - percent of vote by bloc or party - NA; seats by bloc or party - Cambiemos 61, UC 28, PJ 18, FR 7, FCS 3, FRC 2, other 8
Judicial branch:
highest court(s): Supreme Court or Corte Suprema (consists of the court president, vice-president, and 5 judges)
judge selection and term of office: judges nominated by the president and approved by the Senate; judges can serve until mandatory retirement at age 75
subordinate courts: federal level appellate, district, and territorial courts; provincial level supreme, appellate, and first instance courts
Political parties and leaders:
Cambiemos [Mauricio MACRI] (coalition of CC-ARI, PRO, and UCR)
Citizen's Unity or UC [Cristina FERNANDEZ DE KIRCHNER]
Civic Coalition ARI or CC-ARI [ Elisa CARRIO]
Civic Front for Santiago or FCS [Gerardo ZAMORA]
Dissident Peronists (PJ Disidente) or Federal Peronism (a right-wing faction of PJ which is opposed to the Kirchners) [Eduardo DUHALDE]
Front for the Renewal of Concord or FRC
Front for Victory or FpV (left-wing faction of PJ) [Cristina FERNANDEZ DE KIRCHNER]
Justicialist Party or PJ [Jose Luis GIOJA]
Progresistas [Margarita STOLBIZER]
Radical Civic Union or UCR [Lilia PUIG DE STUBRIN]
Renewal Front (Frente Renovador) or FR [Sergio MASSA]
Republican Proposal or PRO [Mauricio MACRI]
Socialist Party or PS [Antonio BONFATTI]
United for a New Alternative or UNA (includes FR)
numerous provincial parties