Geopolitical and Economical Review of Argentina

Argentina, the South American country extending to the continent’s southern tip, is managed by a government style known as a presidential republic. Argentina runs under three branches of government, the executive, legislative, and judicial branches, like the United States. Within the executive branch of Argentina’s presidential republic, the president, Mauricio Macri, plays the role of both chief of state and head of government. So far, Mauricio Macri has served in office as Argentina’s president for 2 years and 1 month (since December 2015). Similar to the United States, the president is elected by the people for a four year term, where he or she can be elected for a second consecutive term once the first is completed, meaning Macri still has approximately another 2 years until his term is up. The legislative branch is overseen by the bicameral National Congress, which consists of the 72 members of the Senate, and Chamber of Deputies, which contains 257 members.

The last branch, the judicial branch, is headed by the Supreme court, made up of the seven judges. There are lower courts as well that serve under the judicial branch on the federal, provincial, district, and territorial levels, helping to establish and uphold the country’s laws. These courts determine what is right and what is wrong by forming laws and expecting Argentines to follow them. Voting in Argentina is a little different because of their voting requirements. First off, since 2009, Argentina has held mandatory elections as all Argentines must vote or else they could be fined for not participating. Also, in 2012, Argentina passed a law setting the voting age in Argentina to 16 instead of 18. Voting is optional for those 16 and 17 years old but is mandatory for those 18 to 70 years old. Another requirement is that voters must be citizens of the country they are voting in. In the last Argentine election, in October 2015, between Mauricio Macri and Daniel Scioli, 81% of all qualified Argentines voted. One important aspect of Argentina is their economy. Argentina uses a mixed economic system as many countries do today in order to create a balance between economic freedoms and government involvement. Argentina currently holds an unemployment rate of 6.7%. Argentina’s main economic sectors include agriculture and industry, as the country is rich in natural resources. Argentina’s main exports are soybeans (including soybean-related products), corn, and delivery trucks.

Agriculture dominates Argentina’s economy, yet advances in industry is rapidly growing throughout the country. Argentina has a military divided into an army, navy, and air force. In Argentina, there is no draft, all members of the military are solely volunteers between the ages 18 and 24. The government does have the power to create a draft if there are not enough recruits signing up for the military one year. The role of the military is to protect the nation and its citizens from any countries who may try to attack or hurt the country in one way or another. Healthcare in Argentina is both national and individual as the public sector provides free medical care to the poor, but there are also mutual plans and private sectors were people pay for their own healthcare or the healthcare of their workers.

The educational structure in Argentina is similar to that in America where they go from primary (Grades 1-6), Secondary (Grades 7-9), Upper Secondary (Grades 10-12), and college after completing the 12th grade. For college, public university tuition is free. Private universities cost money; however, extending from approximately $5,000-$15,500.