
Argentina

Argentina is a mid-performing democracy that has one of the largest economies in Latin America. Although an upper-middle income country with one of the highest Gross National Product (GNPs) in the region, poverty and inequality remain high. Argentina is a leading food producer and exporter with large-scale agricultural and livestock industries. The state of democracy in Argentina remains stable at a mid-range level of performance, with notably above average regional and global scores on Clean Elections and Civil Liberties. However, challenges posed by a deteriorating economy, continuous diminution in adherence to the rule of law and widespread corruption have led to a decline in Checks on Government and Impartial Administration in the last five years.
The majority of Argentina’s population are of European descent (German, Italian and Spanish), and the country is home to Indigenous Peoples (Mapuche, Tehuelche, Qom, Wichí and Guaraní). The Indigenous Peoples have faced violent attacks, with many killed by Spanish colonizers. Since the middle of the 19th century, Argentina has faced repeated economic crises which have resulted in political instability, including several military coups d’état. Argentina is challenged by endemic corruption, low levels of public trust, political polarization and hyper-presidentialism, all of which have led to increasingly weak institutions. Over the years, Argentina’s democratic performance has varied in line with fluctuating economic shocks that have produced anti-government sentiments and great ideological swings in the population. This is exemplified by the democratic decline - when in one week, Argentina had five different presidents in office - that began with the country’s 2001 recession, which sparked a wave of protests against the government. The political instability and polarization witnessed in Argentina today is rooted in former President Juan Peron’s Peronist movement, which is often characterized as pro-poor and pro-working class. Peron’s approach to politics has had a lasting impact in a country where socio-economic factors such as education, income and class shape political identities. Divisions tend to fall between Peronists and non-Peronists, as well as within parties, between supporters of economically liberal and more conservative policies. While there are several emerging parties, Argentina’s political landscape is dominated by the centre-left Justicialist Party (JP), the centrist Radical Civic Union (UCR) and - over the last decade - the centre-right alternative front Change, who have become an increasingly important political actor in challenging JP supremacy. This has contributed to the persistence of strong class cleavages, and divisions in Argentine society have deepened with each economic crisis, as poverty rises and political polarization intensifies.
In the coming years, the government’s compliance to International Monetary Fund (IMF) agreement will need to be closely monitored, as any misstep could set the economy in default. Democracy is threatened by the growing economic crisis, which has been worsened by the Covid-19 pandemic. Corruption also remains a significant challenge, as systematic attempts to curb it have been undermined by politicization and ineffectiveness in the judicial system. The steep decline in adherence to the rule of law further challenges democratic governance in Argentina, especially following the use of emergency powers and the imposition of one of the strictest lockdowns in the world, which human rights organizations denounced for being violently enforced and for its disproportionate impact on marginalized communities. Limitations on freedom of expression have also been strongly criticized and caused journalists to raise concerns about the future of the free press in Argentina.
Monthly Updates
December 2022
Confrontation between Argentina's Executive power and the Judiciary continued as Vice-President Cristina Fernández was sentenced to six years in prison and a lifetime ban from holding public office in the ‘Vialidad’ corruption case. The government criticised the ruling, on the eve of which President Alberto Fernández delivered a national broadcast that sought to discredit the judiciary. Moreover, a potential constitutional crisis appeared to be developing after the federal Frente de Todos (FdT) coalition government led by President Alberto Fernández said it would not comply with a Supreme Court ruling on a tax revenue dispute in the city of Buenos Aires.
October 2022
Argentina’s federal security forces evicted several Mapuche families from a territory considered sacred by the Indigenous community. Community members had inhabited the areas while demonstrating for better treatment of Indigenous Peoples in the country – part of a long-time struggle by the Mapuche for recognition of their language and cultural heritage, as well as for better economic treatment from the government. The event highlights an escalation in the government’s pressure on the Mapuche community to force them off the lands they claim, as well as the discrimination they continue to face. The operation (ordered by President Alberto Fernández’s government) was widely criticized as arbitrary and as contrary to the Mapuche community's human rights. In protest, Argentina’s minister for women, gender, and diversity, Elizabeth Gómez Alcorta, resigned and expressed her opposition to the operation.
September 2022
The investigation into the assassination attempt of Argentina’s Vice President Cristina Fernández has shone a light on worrying radical groups that have emerged in Argentina out of hatred of the political class. This highlights how aggressive and radicalized politics has become in Latin America. The case has triggered further criticism from the government against the judiciary and media, which, it argues, is biased against Peronism. Some analysts see the attack as a step beyond political polarization, representing general disenchantment with politics as a whole rather than with a specific political position. They argue that mistrust and loss of legitimacy of the institutions of democracy are leading to anger with politicians, highlighting the importance for leading political figures to seek conciliation rather than stoke division.
August 2022
A federal prosecutor requested that Vice President Cristina Fernández be sentenced to 12 years imprisonment and be banned from public office for corruption in the ‘Vialidad’ case, in which she is accused of rigging public works contracts during her two-term presidency between 2007 and 2015. Thousands of supporters rallied near her home to oppose the corruption charges in a demonstration that turned into a violent situation. In the streets of Buenos Aires, thousands of people came out to defend VP Fernández against the corruption allegations. Reports indicate that protestors were violently contained by the police, who appear to have used tear gas and arrested some of those protesting.