1.
President of Argentina
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The President of the Argentine Nation, usually known as the President of Argentina, is both head of state and head of government of Argentina. Under the national Constitution, the President is also the executive of the federal government. Through Argentine history, the office of the Head of State has undergone many changes, current President Mauricio Macri was sworn into office on 10 December 2015. The Constitution of Argentina, along with constitutional amendments, establishes the requirements, powers, and responsibilities of the president and term of office. The origins of Argentina as a nation can be traced to 1776, the Head of State continued to be the King, but he was represented locally by the Viceroy. These Viceroys were seldom natives of the country, by the May Revolution of May 25,1810, the first Argentine autonomous government, known as the Primera Junta, was formed in Buenos Aires. It was later known as the Junta Grande when representatives from the provinces joined and this power was vested in one man when the position of Supreme Director was created by the 1813 National Assembly. The Supreme Directors became Heads of State after Independence was declared on 9 July 1816, in 1819, Congress declared Independence and composed a Constitution. This established a figure, named Supreme Director, who was vested with presidential powers. This constitution gave the Supreme Director the power of appointing Governors of the provinces, due to political circumstances, this constitution never came into force, and the central power was dissolved, leaving the country as a federation of provinces. A new constitution was drafted in 1826 and this constitution was the first to create a President, although this office retained the powers described in the 1819 constitution. This constitution did come into force, resulting in the election of the first President, because of the Cisplatine War, Rivadavia resigned after a short time, and the office was dissolved shortly after. A civil war between unitarios and federales ensued in the following decades, in this time, there was no central authority, and the closest to that was the Chairman of Foreign Relations, typically the Governor of the Province of Buenos Aires. The last to bear this title was Juan Manuel de Rosas, in 1852, Rosas was deposed, and a constitutional convention was summoned. This constitution, still in force, established a federal government. The term was fixed as six years, with no possibility of reelection, the first elected President under the constitution was Justo José de Urquiza, but Buenos Aires seceded from the Argentine Confederation as the State of Buenos Aires. Bartolomé Mitre was the first president of the country, when Buenos Aires rejoined the Confederation. In 1930, and again in 1943,1955,1962,1966 and 1976, in 1966 and 1976, federal government was undertaken by a military junta, where power was shared by the chiefs of the armed forces
2.
Argentine Army
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The Argentine Army is the land armed force branch of the Armed Forces of the Argentine Republic and the senior military service of the country. Under the Argentine Constitution, the President of Argentina is the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, the Armys official foundation date is May 29,1810, four days after the Spanish colonial administration in Buenos Aires was overthrown. Several armed expeditions were sent to the Upper Peru, Paraguay, Uruguay and Chile to fight Spanish forces and secure Argentinas newly gained independence. The most famous of these expeditions was the one led by General José de San Martín, however, the Army was briefly re-unified during the war with the Brazilian Empire. It was only with the establishment of a Constitution and a government recognized by all the provinces that the Army became a single force. The Army went on to fight the War of the Triple Alliance in the 1860s together with Brazil, after that war, the Army became involved in Argentinas Conquista del Desierto, the campaign to occupy Patagonia and root out the natives, who conducted looting raids throughout the country. The Army prevented the fall of the government in a number of Radical-led uprisings, meanwhile, the military in general and the Army in particular contributed to develop Argentinas unsettled southern frontier and its nascent industrial complex. The main foreign influence during this period was, by and large, partly because of that, during both World Wars most of the officers supported the Germans, more or less openly, while the Argentine Navy favored the British instead. In 1930, a group of Army forces deposed President Hipólito Yrigoyen without much response from the rest of the Army. This was the beginning of a history of political intervention by the military. Another coup, in 1943, was responsible for bringing an obscure colonel into the political limelight and it should be noted that political infighting eroded discipline and cohesion within the army, to the extent that there was armed fighting between contending military units during the early 1960s. The military government which ruled Argentina between 1966 and 1973 saw the activities of groups such as Montoneros and the ERP. During Héctor Cámporas first months of government, a moderate and left-wing Peronist, approximatively 600 social conflicts, strikes. But Isabel Perón herself was ousted during the March 1976 coup by a military junta, batallón de Inteligencia 601 became infamous during this period. It was a military intelligence service set up in the late 1970s, active in the Dirty War and Operation Condor. Its personnel collected information on and infiltrated guerrilla groups and human rights organisations, the unit also participated in the training of Nicaraguan Contras with US assistance, including from John Negroponte. It started the campaign with no more than 100 men and women of the Marxist ERP guerrilla force and ended with about 300 in the mountains, which the Argentine Army managed to defeat, but at a cost. On 5 January 1975, an Army DHC-6 transport plane was downed near the Monteros mountains, all thirteen on board were killed
3.
Indigenous peoples in Argentina
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Argentina received 6.6 million immigrants, second only to the United States with 27 million, and ahead of countries such as Canada, Brazil and Australia. The earliest evidence of indigenous peoples yet discovered in what today is Argentina is the Piedra Museo archaeological site in Santa Cruz Province, the Cueva de las Manos, in the same province, is over 10,000 years old. By the year 1500, many different indigenous communities lived in what is now modern Argentina and they were not a unified group but many independent ones, with distinct languages, societies, and relations with each other. As a result, they did not face the arrival of the Spanish colonization as a block and had varied reactions toward the Europeans. The Spanish people looked down on the population, to the point that they held in doubt whether they had souls. For this reason, they kept very little information about them. In the 19th century major population movements altered the original Patagonian demography, between 1820 and 1850 the original Aonikenk people were conquered and expelled from their territories by invading Mapuche armies. By 1870 most of northern Patagonia and the south east Pampas were Araucanized, the expansion of European immigrant communities and the railways westward into the Pampas and south into Patagonia was met with Malón raids by displaced tribes. This led to the Conquest of the Desert in the 1870s, Indigenous cultures in Argentina were consequently affected by a process of invisibilization, promoted by the government during the second half of the 19th century and the early 20th. In addition to the population in Argentina, most Argentines are descended from indigenous peoples or have some indigenous ancestry. Many genetic studies have shown that Argentinas genetic footprint is not overwhelmingly European and it was also found there were great differences in the ancestry amongst Argentines as one traveled across the country. For example, the population in the North West provinces of Argentina were on average of 66% Amerindian, 33% European, and 1% of African ancestry. Similarly, the study showed that the population in the North Eastern provinces of Argentina were on average 43% of Amerindian, 54% European. The population of the Southern provinces of Argentina, such as Rio Negro and Neuquen, were on average 40% of Amerindian, 54% European, and 6% of African ancestry. The study indicated that Argentines were as a made up of 38% Amerindian,58. 9% of European. Again, there were huge difference in the ancestry from across the various regions of the country. For example, Argentines who hailed from Patagonia were 45% Amerindian, the population in the North West part of the country were made up of 69% of Amerindian, 23% of European, and 8% of African ancestry. The population in the Gran Chaco part of the country were 38% of Amerindian, 53% of European, the population in the Mesopotamian part of the country were 31% of Amerindian, 63% of European, and only 6. 4% of African ancestry
4.
War of the Pacific
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The War of the Pacific, took place from 1879 to 1883, with Bolivia and Peru on one side and Chile on the other. The war ended with the victory of Chile, which gained a significant amount of land from Peru, battles were fought in the Pacific Ocean, the Atacama Desert, Perus deserts, and mountainous regions in the Andes. For the first five months the war played out in a naval campaign, Chile protested and solicited to submit it to mediation, but Bolivia refused and considered it a subject of Bolivias courts. Chile insisted and informed the Bolivian government that Chile would no longer consider itself bound to the 1874 Boundary Treaty if Bolivia did not suspend enforcing the law. On February 14,1879 when Bolivian authorities attempted to auction the property of CSFA. On April 5, after Peru refused this, Chile declared war on both nations, the following day, Peru responded by acknowledging the casus foederis. On the other, there was the competition for economic and political hegemony in the region. Afterwards, Chiles land campaign bested the Bolivian and Peruvian armies, Bolivia withdrew after the Battle of Tacna on May 26,1880. Chilean forces occupied Lima in January 1881, Peruvian army remnants and irregulars waged a guerrilla war that did not change the wars outcome. Chile and Peru signed the Treaty of Ancón on October 20,1883, Bolivia signed a truce with Chile in 1884. Chile acquired the Peruvian territory of Tarapacá, the disputed Bolivian department of Litoral, as well as control over the Peruvian provinces of Tacna. In 1904, Chile and Bolivia signed the Treaty of Peace, the 1929 Tacna–Arica compromise gave Arica to Chile and Tacna to Peru. It is also known as the Saltpetre War, as the The Ten Cents War in reference to the controversial ten-centavo tax imposed by the Bolivian government, or as the The Second Pacific War. Not to be confused with the Saltpeter War, a pre-Columbian war nor the Guano War as the Chincha Islands War is sometimes named, wanu is a Quechua word for fertilizer. Potassium nitrate and sodium nitrate are nitrogen-containing compounds collectively referred to as salpeter, saltpetre, salitre, caliche and they are used as fertilizer with also other important uses. Hence the words oficina, or oficina salitrera for saltpeter works, the word Atacama had two meanings. It was and is a Chilean region, then province, South of the Atacama desert, the Atacama desert mostly coincides with the disputed Antofagasta province, also named Litoral in Bolivia. The dry climate of the Peruvian and Bolivian coasts had permitted the accumulation and preservation of vast amounts of high-quality guano deposits, in the 1840s, Europeans knew the guano and nitrates value as fertilizer and saltpeters role in explosives
5.
Paraguayan War
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With an estimated 400,000 deaths, the war was the deadliest and bloodiest in Latin Americas history. According to some estimates, Paraguays pre-war population of 525,000 was reduced to 221,000, the war began in late 1864, as a result of a conflict between Paraguay and Brazil caused by the Uruguayan War. Argentina and Uruguay entered the war against Paraguay in 1865, the war ended with the total defeat of Paraguay. The guerrilla war lasted 14 months until President Francisco Solano López was killed in action by Brazilian forces in the Battle of Cerro Corá on March 1,1870, Argentine and Brazilian troops occupied Paraguay until 1876. Estimates of total Paraguayan losses range from 21,000 to 200,000 people and it took decades for Paraguay to recover from the chaos and demographic losses. There are several theories regarding the origins of the war, before the war Paraguay had experienced rapid economic and military growth. A strong military was developed because Paraguays larger neighbors Argentina and Brazil had territorial claims against it, Paraguay had recurring boundary disputes and tariff issues with Argentina and Brazil for many years during the rule of Carlos Antonio López. Since Brazil and Argentina had become independent, their struggle for hegemony in the Río de la Plata profoundly marked the diplomatic, Brazil was the first country to recognize the independence of Paraguay in 1844. At this time Argentina still considered it a break-away province, as no roads linked the inland province of Mato Grosso to Rio de Janeiro, Brazilian ships needed to travel through Paraguayan territory, going up the Paraguay River to arrive at Cuiabá. However, Brazil had difficulty obtaining permission from the government in Asunción to freely use the Paraguay River for its shipping needs and this last intervention would lead to the Paraguayan War. Flores wanted to overthrow the Blanco Party government of President Bernardo Berro, Paraguayan President López sent a note on 6 September 1863 to the Argentine government asking for an explanation, but Buenos Aires denied any involvement in Uruguay. From that moment, mandatory service was introduced in Paraguay and in February 1864. Uruguayan President Atanasio Aguirre from the Blanco Party rejected the Brazilian demands, presented his own demands, Brazilian soldiers on the northern borders of Uruguay started to provide help to Flores troops, harassed Uruguayan officers, while the Imperial Fleet pressed hard on Montevideo. During the months of June–August,1864 a Cooperation Treaty was signed between Brazil and Argentina at Buenos Aires, for assistance in the Plate Basin Crisis. Brazilian Minister Saraiva on August 4,1864, sent an ultimatum to the Uruguayan government, either comply with the Brazilian demands, or the Brazilian army would retaliate. Despite the Paraguayan notes and ultimatums, on October 12,1864 Brazilian troops under the command of Gen. João Propício Mena Barreto invaded Uruguay thus marking the beginning of the hostilities. On 12 November 1864, the Paraguayan ship Tacuarí captured the Brazilian ship Marquês de Olinda, news of the wars end was brought by Pereira Pinto and met with joy in Rio de Janeiro. Brazilian Emperor Dom Pedro II found himself waylaid by a crowd of thousands in the streets amid acclamations, but public opinion quickly changed for the worse when newspapers began running stories painting the convention of 20 February as harmful to Brazilian interests, for which the cabinet was blamed
6.
Pampas
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These vast plains are a natural region only interrupted by the low Ventana and Tandil hills near Bahía Blanca and Tandil, with a height of 1,300 m and 500 m, respectively. The climate is warm, with precipitation of 600 to 1,200 mm, more or less evenly distributed through the year and this area is also one of the distinct physiography provinces of the larger Paraná-Paraguay Plain division. These plains contain unique wildlife because of the different terrains around it, some of this wildlife includes the rhea, the pampas deer, several species of armadillos, the pampas fox, the white-eared opossum, the elegant crested tinamou, and several other species. The climate of the Pampas is generally temperate, gradually giving way to a subtropical climate in the north. Summer temperatures are more uniform than winter temperatures, generally ranging from 28 to 33 °C during the day, however, most cities in the Pampas occasionally have high temperatures that push 38 °C. This occurs when a warm, dry, northerly wind blows from southern Brazil, autumn arrives gradually in March, and peaks in April and May. In April, highs range from 20 to 25 °C and lows from 9 to 13 °C, the first frosts arrive in mid-April in the south, and in late May or early June in the north. Winters are generally mild, although cold waves do occur, normal temperatures range from 12 to 19 °C during the day, and from 1 to 6 °C at night. With strong northerly winds, days of over 25 °C can be recorded almost everywhere, whereas during cold waves, frost occurs everywhere in the Pampas, although it is much more frequent in the southwest, and less so around the Parana and Uruguay Rivers. Temperatures under −5 °C can occur everywhere, whereas values of −10 °C or lower are confined to the south, snow never falls in the northernmost third, and is rare and light elsewhere, except for exceptional events where depths have reached 30 cm. Springs are very variable, it is warmer than fall in most areas, violent storms are more common, as well as wide temperature variations, days of 35 °C can give way to nights of under 5 °C or even frost, all within only a few days. Precipitation ranges from 1,200 mm in the northeast, to about 500 mm in the southern and western edges. In the west, it is seasonal, with some places recording averages of 120 mm monthly in the summer. The eastern areas have small peaks in the fall and in the spring, however, where summer rain falls as short, heavy storms, winter rain falls mostly as cold drizzle, so that the amount of rainy days is fairly constant. Very intense thunderstorms are common in the spring and summer, and it has among the most frequent lightning, the severe thunderstorms produce intense hailstorms, and both floods and flash floods, as well as the most consistently active tornado region outside the central and southeastern US. Frequent wildfires ensure that only small plants such as grasses flourish, the dominant vegetation types are grassy prairie and grass steppe in which numerous species of the grass genus Stipa are particularly conspicuous. Pampas grass is a species of the Pampas. Vegetation typically includes perennial grasses and herbs, different strata of grasses occur because of gradients of water availability
7.
Caudillo
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A caudillo is a type of personalist leader wielding political power. There is no definition of caudillo, which is often used interchangeably with dictator. The term is associated with Spain, and with Spanish America after virtually all of that region won independence in the early nineteenth century. The term is used pejoratively by critics of a regime. However, Spains General Francisco Franco proudly took the title as his own, during, Spanish censors during his rule went after publishers who applied the term to Latin American strongmen. Caudillos exercise of power is a form considered authoritarian, most societies have had personalist leaders at times, but Latin America has had many more, the majority of whom were not self-described caudillos. However, scholars have applied the term to a variety of Latin American leaders, the roots of caudillismo may be tied to the framework of rule in medieval and early modern Spain during the Reconquest from the Moors. During the colonial era, the Spanish crown asserted its power, historian John Lynch argues that the rise of caudillos in Spanish America is rooted not in the distant Spanish past but in the immediate context of the Spanish American wars of independence. Those wars threw off colonial rule and left a vacuum in the early nineteenth century. Caudillos were very influential in the history of Spanish America and have a legacy that has influenced political movements in the modern era, since Spanish American independence in the early nineteenth century, the region has been noted for its number of caudillos and the duration of their rule. Brazils transition to independence was the establishment of the Brazilian Empire, weak nation-states in Spanish America fostered the continuation of caudillismo from the late nineteenth century into the twentieth century. The formation of Mexicos Institutional Revolutionary Party in 1929 effectively ended caudillismo there, men characterized as caudillos have ruled in Cuba, Panama, the Dominican Republic, Paraguay, Argentina, and Chile. Caudillos have been the subject of literature in Spanish America, Latin America is not unique in having strong leaders emerge during times of turmoil. Historian John Lynch states that “Before 1810 the caudillo was unknown… The caudillo entered history as a local hero whom larger events promoted to a military chieftain. ”He gained in power by his success as a military leader. In a rural area that lacked any institutions of the state, and where the environment was one of violence and anarchy and his local control as a strongman needed to be maintained by assuring the loyalty of his followers, so his bestowing material rewards reinforced his own position. Caudillos could also maintain their position by protecting the interests of regional elites, a local strongman who built a regional base could aspire to becoming a national caudillo, taking control of the state. In this situation, caudillos could bestow patronage on a large retinue of clients, in general, caudillos’ power benefited elites. But these strongmen were also mediators between elites and the classes, recruiting them into the power base, but also restraining them from achieving power themselves
8.
Chile
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Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a South American country occupying a long, narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, Chilean territory includes the Pacific islands of Juan Fernández, Salas y Gómez, Desventuradas, and Easter Island in Oceania. Chile also claims about 1,250,000 square kilometres of Antarctica, the arid Atacama Desert in northern Chile contains great mineral wealth, principally copper. Southern Chile is rich in forests and grazing lands, and features a string of volcanoes and lakes, the southern coast is a labyrinth of fjords, inlets, canals, twisting peninsulas, and islands. Spain conquered and colonized Chile in the century, replacing Inca rule in northern and central Chile. After declaring its independence from Spain in 1818, Chile emerged in the 1830s as a relatively stable authoritarian republic, in the 1960s and 1970s the country experienced severe left-right political polarization and turmoil. The regime, headed by Augusto Pinochet, ended in 1990 after it lost a referendum in 1988 and was succeeded by a coalition which ruled through four presidencies until 2010. Chile is today one of South Americas most stable and prosperous nations and it leads Latin American nations in rankings of human development, competitiveness, income per capita, globalization, state of peace, economic freedom, and low perception of corruption. It also ranks high regionally in sustainability of the state, Chile is a founding member of the United Nations, the Union of South American Nations and the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States. There are various theories about the origin of the word Chile, another theory points to the similarity of the valley of the Aconcagua with that of the Casma Valley in Peru, where there was a town and valley named Chili. Another origin attributed to chilli is the onomatopoeic cheele-cheele—the Mapuche imitation of the warble of a locally known as trile. The Spanish conquistadors heard about this name from the Incas, ultimately, Almagro is credited with the universalization of the name Chile, after naming the Mapocho valley as such. The older spelling Chili was in use in English until at least 1900 before switching over to Chile, stone tool evidence indicates humans sporadically frequented the Monte Verde valley area as long as 18,500 years ago. About 10,000 years ago, migrating Native Americans settled in fertile valleys, settlement sites from very early human habitation include Monte Verde, Cueva del Milodon and the Pali Aike Craters lava tube. They fought against the Sapa Inca Tupac Yupanqui and his army, the result of the bloody three-day confrontation known as the Battle of the Maule was that the Inca conquest of the territories of Chile ended at the Maule river. The next Europeans to reach Chile were Diego de Almagro and his band of Spanish conquistadors, the Spanish encountered various cultures that supported themselves principally through slash-and-burn agriculture and hunting. The conquest of Chile began in earnest in 1540 and was carried out by Pedro de Valdivia, one of Francisco Pizarros lieutenants, who founded the city of Santiago on 12 February 1541. Although the Spanish did not find the gold and silver they sought, they recognized the agricultural potential of Chiles central valley
9.
Mendoza, Argentina
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Mendoza is the capital of the province of Mendoza in Argentina. It is located in the part of the province, in a region of foothills and high plains. As of the 2010 census, Mendoza had a population of 115,041 with a population of 1,055,679. Ruta Nacional 7, the road running between Buenos Aires and Santiago, runs through Mendoza. The city is a frequent stopover for climbers on their way to Aconcagua and for adventure travelers interested in mountaineering, hiking, horse riding, rafting, in the winter, skiers come to the city for easy access to the Andes. Two of the industries of the Mendoza area are olive oil production. The region around Greater Mendoza is the largest wine producing area in Latin America, on March 2,1561, Pedro del Castillo founded the city and named it Ciudad de Mendoza del Nuevo Valle de La Rioja after the governor of Chile, Don García Hurtado de Mendoza. Before the 1560s the area was populated by tribes known as the Huarpes and Puelches, the Huarpes devised a system of irrigation that was later developed by the Spanish. This allowed for an increase in population that might not have otherwise occurred, the system is still evident today in the wide trenches, which run along all city streets, watering the approximately 100,000 trees that line every street in Mendoza. It is estimated that fewer than 80 Spanish settlers lived in the area before 1600, but later prosperity increased due to the use of indigenous and slave labor, when nearby rivers were tapped as a source of irrigation in 1788 agricultural production increased. The extra revenues generated from this, and the ensuing additional trade with Buenos Aires and it was from Mendoza that San Martin, other Argentinian patriots and Chilean patriots organized the army with which they won the independence of Chile and Peru. Mendoza suffered an earthquake in 1861 that killed at least 5,000 people. The city was rebuilt, incorporating innovative urban designs that would tolerate such seismic activity. Mendoza was rebuilt with large squares and wider streets and sidewalks than any city in Argentina. Avenue Bartolomé Mitre and additional small squares are examples of that design, tourism, wine production, and more recently the exploitation of hard commodities such as oil and uranium ensure Mendozas status as a key regional center. Important suburbs such as Godoy Cruz, Guaymallén, Las Heras, Luján de Cuyo and Maipú have in recent decades far outpaced the city proper in population. Comprising half the population of 212,000 in 1947. Mendoza has several museums, including the Museo Cornelio Moyano, a history museum
10.
Santa Fe, Argentina
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Santa Fe de la Vera Cruz is the capital city of the province of Santa Fe, Argentina. It is situated in north-eastern Argentina, near the junction of the Paraná and it lies 15 kilometers from the Hernandarias Subfluvial Tunnel that connects it to the city of Paraná. The city is connected by canal with the port of Colastiné on the Paraná River. Santa Fe has about 500.000 inhabitants as per the 2010 census, the metropolitan area has a population of 653.073, making it the eighth largest in Argentina. The third largest city in Argentina is Rosario, also located in Santa Fe Province, Rosario has a population of 1.24 million and it is the largest city in Argentina not to be a provincial capital. Santa Fe was founded by Captain Juan de Garay in the site of Cayastá in 1573. The site is today a park containing the grave of Hernandarias. The settlement was moved to the present site in 1653 due to the constant flooding of the Cayastá River, Santa Fe is the commercial and transportation center for a rich agricultural area that produces grain, vegetable oils, and meats. The city is the site of the National Technological University – Santa Fe Regional Faculty, Catholic University of Santa Fe, a suspension bridge was completed in 1924, though severe flooding partially destroyed it in 1983. Santa Fes location is not immune to flooding, however. On April 29,2003, the Salado, which empties into the Paraná near Santa Fe, rose almost 2 m in a few hours following heavy rainfall, and caused a catastrophic flood. No fewer than 100,000 people had to be evacuated and that year, the suspension bridge was reopened, and in 2008, the citys historic grain silos were converted into the Los Silos Hotel and Casino, and San Martín Street was converted to pedestrian use. The citys historical role in the Argentine Constitution led national lawmakers to choose it as the site of Constitutional Conventions in 1949,1957, the city has a climate considered as Humid subtropical or Cfa by Köppen classification. Winters are generally mild, though temperatures can fall below 0 °C on cold nights during the winter. Summers are generally hot and humid, during the most extreme heat waves, temperatures have exceeded 45 °C. Temperatures have exceeded 35 °C in every season), rainfall can be expected throughout the year though summer is usually the wettest season. Thunderstorms can be intense with frequent lightning, powerful downdraughts and intense precipitation, the lowest record temperature was −8.2 °C on July 11,1988 while the highest recorded temperature was 45.6 °C on January 25,1986. Santa Fe has a lot of important commercial centres, busy life, interesting options in sports and tourism, numerous artistic and musical events
Argentina
Argentine Army
Lieutenant General
