events - Argentina

People

25 May 2003, Nestor Kirchner became President of Argentina, defeating Carlos Menem.

12 January 2003, Leopoldo Galtieri, former President of Argentina, died.

Economic crisis 2001

2 January 2002, Eduardo Duhalde was sworn in as Argentine President, replacing de la Rua.

20 December 2001, Thursday (+20,680) Argentine President de la Rua resigned amid violent protests at the country�s economic crisis

1 December 2001, The Argentine Government froze all bank accounts; depositors were only allowed to withdraw 250 Pesos a week (later raised to 300 pesos). US Dollar accounts were totally frozen, unless the depositor agreed to take Pesos. The Argentine Peso was nominally at par with the US$ but a devaluation was widely anticipated as the Peso was grossly overvalued. Then the Peso was devalued to 4 to the US$, and Dollar depositors had to accept the conversion of their Dollars to Pesos at the old 1:1 rate, effectively losing three quarters of their savings.

14 May 1995, Carlos Menem was elected as President of Argentina.

18 April 1995, Artuto Frondizi, former President of Argentina, died.

7 January 1993. The British Foreign Secretary, Douglas Hurd, became the first Cabinet Minister to visit Argentina since the Falklands War of 1982. He met Argentine President Carlos Menem, and the still disputed question of ownership of the Falkland Islands was avoided. Oil exploration and fishing issues were discussed,

3 December 1990, Argentinean President Carlos Menem foiled an attempted coup.

Economic crisis 1989

1989, Argentina suffered an economic crisis through the 1980s, with income per capita shrinking 1% each year 1976-89, culminating in inflation peaking at 7.000% per annum end 1989.

30 May 1989. Food riots in Argentina threatened the economic reforms of the new President, Carlos Menem.

15 May 1989, Carlos Menem won the presidential elections in Argentina.

6 June 1985, A skeleton, conformed on 21 June 1985 as that of Nazi Josef Mengele, was unearthed in Argentina,

22 April 1985, In Argentina, the trial began of nine former military leaders, including Galtieri.

30 October 1983, The first democratic elections were held in Argentina after 7 years of military rule. Peron ceded power to a new civilian government led by Raul Alfonsin. Alfonsin commenced prosecutions against senior army personnel� who had committeed atrocities. He succeeded in getting 50 Generals to retire, but revolts in the army forced him to halt legal proceedings and declare an amnesty.

26 August 1982, Argentina lifted the ban on political parties.

18 June 1982. Fourteen Argentinean Army Generals at an army base decided unanimously to depose General Galtieri, who had taken on the UK to claim the Falklands Islands. By declaring an end to all hostilities, the 10,600 Argentinean PoWs still held on the Falklands could be repatriated.

See Falkland Islands for Falklands War 1982

22 December 1981, General Leopoldo Galtieri became President of Argentina.

15 April 1977, In Argentina, Jacobo Timerman, publisher of a newspaper called La Opinion, was arrested and tortured as part of a campaign against dissidents.

1976, A harsh campaign now began in Argentina against the Left. Those suspected of Liberal tendencies could be simply snatched off the street, with no semblance of a legal trial; some 11,000 Argentineans disappeared trhis way between 1976 and 1982. Concerned at breaches of Human Rights, the USA under President Carter stopped supplying military aid to Argentina. See 20 October 1983.

Juan, Isabel, Peron administration (2)

24 March 1976, Isabel Peron, third wife of former President Juan Peron, was ousted as President of Argentina in a bloodless military coup.

13 January 1976, Argentina suspended diplomatic relations with the UK over the Falkland Islands.

1 July 1974. General Juan Peron, President of Argentina, died aged 78. He was succeeded by his wife, Maria Estela Peron. However she was deposed in a military coup in March 1976 and sentenced to five years in prison for alleged corruption.

28 May 1974, Angela Loij died, last full-blooded member of the Selk'nam people of Tierra del Fuego.

23 September 1973. General Juan Peron was elected President of Argentina.

20 June 1973, Juan Peron returned to Argentina as President after 18 years exile.

25 May 1973, The Peronist Hector Campora was elected President of Argentina.

11 March 1973, In Argentine general elections, the Peronist candidate, Hector Campora, won. On 13 July 1973 he resigned to make way for Peron.

14 June 1956, Peronist revolt in the Argentine provinces of Santa Fe, La Pampa and Buenos Aires. The Argentine Government declared martial law and sent in troops to restore order. Many were killed and 2,000 arrests were made, of whom 38 were later executed. Peronists later stagesd numerous strikes, causing economic disruption.

13 November 1955, In Argentina, General Lonardi, who had succeeded Peron, resigned. He had been accused of being too lenient on the Peronistas, also on the trades unions who had been Peron main supporters. Lonardi was succeeded by General Pedro Aramburu. Persecution of the Peronistas intensified; the unions called a general strike, and Aramburu sent troops against them. Peronistas were imprisoned, along with some Catholics (despite these being anti- Peron). Many were internally exiled to the harsh terrain of south-eastern Argentina.

Juan Peron administration (1)

21 September 1955, Juan Peron, Presidential dictator of Argentina since 1946, resigned and went into exile, ousted by a military coup. He was born on 8 October 1895, son of a wealthy rancher. In 1930 he took part in an uprising against President Hipolioto Irigoyen A widower in 1945, he met and married Maria Eva Durate, known as Evita. Evita died in the early 1950s, and economic difficulties and labour unrest increased in Argentina. Peron disliked the Catholic Church in Argentina and sought to minimise its influence, which brought him into conflict with the military officers. In 1955 Peron arrested 85 priests and expelled the Bishop of Buenos Aires, which earned him an excommunication from Pope Pius XII. On 18 June 1955 officers from the Argentine air force and navy rebelled and fighter planes bombed government buildings at Plaza del Mayo. Over 300 civilians were killed in the attack and Peron placed Argentina under martial law. A full military coup was launched on 16 September 1955 by General Eduardo Lonardi. Peron fled to Paraguay, remaining in exile until 1973 when his party won Argentine elections. Peron retuned to a heroes welcome, becoming President until his death on 1 July 1974.

16 September 1955, In Argentina the garrison at Cordoba � a strongly Catholic city � rebelled against Juan Peron, a revolt led by General Eduardo Lonardi, a devout Catholic, Other garrison towns joined the rebellion, and Isaac Roja, a senior naval officer, threatened a naval bombardment of Buenos Aires unless Peron resigned. Peron now had no military support and had to resign.

16 June 1955, Civil strife continued in Argentina. A group of naval officers attacked Juan Peron�s headquarters at Government House and naval aircraft dropped bombs, killing several bystanders. Two warships were also shelling Government House. However the Army remained loyal to Juan Peron and the naval revolt failed..

20 May 1955, The Catholic Church was disestablished in Argentina.

19 September 1954, Juan Peron, President of Argentina since 1946, resigned and went into exile in Paraguay.

26 July 1952. Eva Peron (Evita), Argentina�s first lady, died of leukemia aged 33. She had been very photogenic, and was a popular figure in Argentina, with a large budget for opening facilities suich as new hospitals and schools. After her death, Peron�s popularity declined. Peron�s feud with the Catholic Church also lost him popularity.

11 November 1951, Juan Peron was re-elected President of Argentina.

13 April 1951, In Argentina Juan Peron closed down La Prensa (The Press) newspaper, which had been critical of his rule.

7 March 1948. Juan Peron won elections in Argentina.

4 June 1946. General Juan Peron became President of Argentina. He was backed by the military and by labour.

24 February 1946. Juan Peron was elected President of Argentina.

4 February 1931, Isabel Peron was born

8 October 1895, Juan Peron, Argentinean general and nationalist dictator, was born in Lobos.

16 January 1946, Argentinean business owners protested against the Government�s economic and social policies but it held firm.

26 January 1944, Argentina, under pressure from the United States, severed diplomatic relations with Germany.

5 October 1941, Eduardo Duhalde, President of Argentina, was born in Lomas de Zamora, Argentina

28 May 1935, The Central Bank of Argentina was established.

6 September 1930, In Argentina, demonstrations by the people and an army rebellion forced President Hipolito Irigoyen to resign. General Jose Uriburu was appointed President.

14 June 1928. Birth of the Argentine revolutionary, Che Guevara, at Rosario, Argentina.

9 June 1921, Maria Luis Drago, Argentine statesman (born 6 May 1859 in Buenos Aires) died in Buenos Aires.

1910, Railway workers strike in Argentina. Ths led to riots in Buenos Aires, which precipitated a verystrong military crackdown in the city.

13 November 1901, Arturo Jauretche, Argentine politician, was born in Lincoln, Argentina (died 1974).

23 July 1881, Argentina and Chile agreed in a treaty that their mutual border should be �The line of highest peaks which divides the waters�. However subsequent exploration revealed that faster flowing westwards streams had, by headwaters erosion, established a watershead many miles east of the line of highest peaks of the Andes. The two countries asked Queen Victoria of Britain to arbitrate a border, which was done at the Courth of Arbitration in 1902, by best available mapping. Subsequently, improved mapping rendered that border ambiguous, and in 1965 the British Government was again asked to arbitrate. On 9 December 1966 the British Government set a new border, which was marked on the ground in early 1967. Argentina extended its political control southwards down to eastern Tierra del Fuego.

1878, Argentina began a campaign of mass slaughter against the pampas Amerindians, almost killing them all by 1883.

1877, Refrigerated ships enabled a meat trade from Argentina to Europe.

14 March 1877, Dictator Manuel Juan Rosas, having fled to Engfland, died in Swaythling near Southampton.

6 November 1874, Argentine troops under Sarmiento defeated an insurrection by Bartolome Mitre, who believed he had been deprived of victory in the 1874 Presidential elections by fraud.

1862, The short-lived Mapuche �Kingdom of Araucania and Patagonia� was suppressed, see Chile for more details.

17 September 1861,� In 1860, Buenos Aires had again decided to secede. At the Battle of Pavon this day the forces of Bartolme Mitre, leader of Buenos Aires, won an unexpected victory against Federal forces under Justo Jose de Urquiza (who had become Governor of Entre Rios Province after retiring from the Argentine Presidency in 1860). Mitre bow formed a new national Govermment and in 1852 was elected President of a united Argentina.

25 September 1860, The new Constitution of Argentina came intio force.

11 November 1859. The city of Buenos Aires, which broke away from the Argentine Federation in 1853, was compelled to rejoin today.

23 October 1859, President Justo Jose de Urquiza decided to use force against Bartolome Mitre, leader of independent Buenos Aires (see 1854). This day Urquiza was victorious at the Battle of Cepeda, against Mitre.

1857, Mass European immigration began, with 6 million arriving by 1930. Most went into farming and cattle ranching on the pampas.

1854, President Justo Jose de Urquiza became President of Argentina. With Buenos Aires remaining indpendent, his capital was at Parana, Entre Rios Province. However the independence of Buenos Aires was a hindranbce to Argentine trade, and the city retained tariff money on imported goods. See 23 October 1859.

1852, Dictator Juan Manuel de Rosas was overthrown.

1835, Start of the Rosas dictatorship, lasting until 1852. Citizens were even required to wear red, to show support for the regime.

8 December 1829, De Rosas made himself Governor of Buenos Aires.

26 February 1824, Carlos Calvi, Argentine historian (died 1906) was born in Buenos Aires.

9 July 1816. Argentina, as the �United Provinces of the River Plate�, formally declared independence from Spain (Congress of Tucuman). In practice independent government had been run since 25 May 1816.

9 July 1815, At the Congress of Tucuman, Argentina declared independence from Spain, after a long campaign by Jose de San Martin.

25 May 1810, Argentina formed a revolutionary government under General Manuel Belgrano, that was only nominally dependent on Spain.

8 August 1806, Spanish troops recaptured Buenos Aires from the British.

27 June 1806, The city of Buenos Aires, vice-Royalty of Rio de la Plata, surrendered to a small British force.

30 March 1793, Juan Manuel Rosas, dictator of Buernos Aires, was born in Buenos Aires.

25 February 1778, Jose San Marti, Argentine revolutionary who fought against Spanish rule, was born in Yapeyu (died 1850).

1776, Buenos Aires was separated from the Viceroyalty of Peru, and became the viceroyalty of Rio de la Plata, an entity that included Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay and part of Bolivia.

1 March 1565. The Portuguese established a colony at Rio de Janeiro.

1536, Buenos Aires was first founded by the Spanish.

1526, Sebastian Cabot sailed up the River Plate, to see if Spanish settlements could be founded there. He founded a fort at the Plate Estuary.

1516, Juan de Solis was killed by the indigenous inhabitants of Argentina after landing there.

Back to top