Argentina Timeline
Argentina ’ s Current President
Page 1 Reagan Thomas
Argentina History
Argentina Timeline
1516 : Juan Díaz de Solis discovered Rio de la Plata . Spain later claimed it and the surrounding region .
1776 : Spain creates a large colony called the Viceroyalty of the Rio de la Plata . It covers present-day Argentina , Uruguay , Paraguay and Southern Bolivia . Buenos Aires was then named its capitol .
1810 : On May 25 th , armed citizens of Buenos Aires kick out the Spanish Viceroyalty and establish a government
1816-1817 : Argentina declared its independence from Spain . José de San Martín defeats Spanish forces in Chile
1880 ’ s : Argentina becomes a major exporter of wool , wheat and beef . Richest nation in Latin America .
Juan Perón
1946 : Colonel Juan Perón is elected president , promising higher wages and better working conditions . His wife was put in charge or labor relations , becoming a powerful political figure .
1982 : Argentina goes to war with Britain over control of the Falkland Islands . Argentina ’ s military government collapses , ending a period of repression .
1991 : Government makes the peso equal to the U . S . dollar . This stabilizes the Argentine economy .
2001 : Thousands protest unemployment and increased poverty . December 20 th , President Fernando de la Rua resigns . Congress names Eduardo Duhalde president .
2007 : Cristina Fernández de Kirchner becomes the first woman to be elected president ; she succeeds her husband , Nestor Kirchner .
2009 : Argentina claims a vast territory including as far as Antarctica and islands that are governed by the British . Britain refuses to negotiate its claims to the territory .
1943 : Military officers seize power .
Argentina ’ s Current President
Argentina ’ s current president , Cristina Kirchner , is the second woman to hold the position in Argentina , but the first woman elected to the spot . She is the 55th president of Argentina and she was born on February 19th , 1953 . She is the widow of former president , Nestor Kirchner . She studied at the National University of La Plata . She met her husband there in her studies . They moved to Santa Cruz together to be lawyers . In May of 1991 she was elected to the provincial legislature . She was elected several times to the Argentine National Congress , between 1995 and 2007 . In October of 2010 she was elected president . She was the national senator and deputy in Santa Cruz . She is part of the Front for Victory Justicialist party . She has two children : Maximo ( age 36 ) and Florencia ( age 23 ).
Cristina Kirchner