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Provinces of Argentina

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Provinces and an Autonomous City of Argentina
CategoryFederated state
LocationArgentina
Number23 Provinces
1 Autonomous city
PopulationsSmallest: Tierra del Fuego Province, 190,641
Largest: Buenos Aires Province, 17,569,053
AreasSmallest: Tierra del Fuego Province, 21,263 km² (province), Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, 203 km²
Largest: Buenos Aires Province, 307,571 km²
Government
Subdivisions
Politics of Argentina
Executive
Legislative
Judiciary
Law
Administrative divisions
Recent elections
Foreign relations
flag Argentina portal

Argentina is divided into twenty-three federated states called provinces (Spanish: provincias, singular provincia) and one called the autonomous city (ciudad autónoma) of Buenos Aires, which is the federal capital of the republic (Spanish: Capital Federal) as decided by the Argentine Congress.[1] The provinces and the capital have their own constitutions and exist under a federal system.

History

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Main article: History of Argentina

During the War of Independence the main cities and their surrounding countryside became provinces though the intervention of their cabildos. The Anarchy of the Year XX completed this process, shaping the original thirteen provinces. Jujuy seceded from Salta in 1834, and the thirteen provinces became fourteen. After seceding for a decade, Buenos Aires Province accepted the 1853 Constitution of Argentina in 1861, and its capital city was made a federal territory in 1880.[2]

A law from 1862 designated as national territories those territories under federal control but outside the frontiers of the provinces. In 1884 they served as bases for the establishment of the governorates of Misiones, Formosa, Chaco, La Pampa, Neuquén, Río Negro, Chubut, Santa Cruz and Tierra del Fuego.[3] The agreement about a frontier dispute with Chile in 1900 created the National Territory of Los Andes; its lands were incorporated into Jujuy, Salta and Catamarca in 1943.[2] La Pampa and Chaco became provinces in 1951. Misiones did so in 1953, and Formosa, Neuquén, Río Negro, Chubut and Santa Cruz, in 1955. The last national territory, Tierra del Fuego, became the Tierra del Fuego, Antártida e Islas del Atlántico Sur Province in 1990.[2]

Political organization

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See also: List of provincial governors in Argentina and List of provincial legislatures in Argentina

Argentina is a federation of twenty-three provinces and one autonomous city, Buenos Aires. Provinces are divided for administration purposes into departments and municipalities, except for Buenos Aires Province, which is divided into partidos and localidades. Buenos Aires City itself is divided into communes (comuna) and non-official neighbourhoods (barrios).

Provinces hold all the power that they chose not to delegate to the federal government;[4] they must be representative commonwealths and must not contradict the Constitution.[5] Beyond this, they are fully autonomous: they enact their own constitutions,[6] freely organize their local governments,[7] and own and manage their natural and financial resources.[8] Thus, each province has its own set of provincial laws and justice system, a supreme court, a governor, an autonomous police force, and a congress; in eight provinces, the legislature is bicameral, comprising an upper chamber (the Senate) and a lower chamber (the House of Deputies), while in the remaining fifteen provinces and in Buenos Aires City, it is unicameral.[9][A]

In case of sedition, insurrection, territorial invasion, or any other emerging threats against the laws of the nation on any province or the federal capital, the Congress has the authority to declare a federal intervention on the compromised district,[11] even in the absence of a formal request by the affected part.[12] When Congress is in recess and thus unable to intervene, the President is entitled to decree such intervention, but this executive order is subject to Congressional override upon the Houses' immediate reassembly.[13] Once the intervention is declared the compromised district's government is immediately dissolved—in whole or in part depending on Congressional decision—and the President appoints a representative or intervenor, who will serve for a short time until the emergency is solved. Since 1983 four provinces were intervened, namely Catamarca, Corrientes (twice), Santiago del Estero (twice), and Tucumán.[14]

During the 20th century, some provinces have had governments that were traditionally controlled by a single family (i.e. the Saadi family in Catamarca, or the Sapag family in Neuquén); in one case, it is still the same situation as of 2009: the province of San Luis was ruled almost without a break by the Rodríguez Saá family since December 1983.[15]

Article 61 of the Constitution of the city of Buenos Aires states that "Suffrage is free, equal, secret, universal, compulsory and not accumulative. The foreign residents enjoy this right, with the correlative obligations, on equal terms with Argentine citizens registered in this district, in the terms established by the law."[16]

List of provinces

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Provinces of Argentina[17]
Flag Province Capital Secondary capital[18][B] HASC subdivision code Population (2022)[19] Area Density per
km2
Buenos Aires Autonomous City of
Buenos Aires 		N/A N/A DF 3,120,612 203 km2
(78 sq mi) 		15372.47
Buenos Aires Province Buenos Aires La Plata La Matanza and General Pueyrredón BA 17,569,053 307,571 km2
(118,754 sq mi) 		57.12
Catamarca Province Catamarca San Fernando del Valle de Catamarca Tinogasta CT 429,556 102,602 km2
(39,615 sq mi) 		4.18
Chaco Province Chaco Resistencia Presidencia Roque Sáenz Peña CC 1,142,963 99,633 km2
(38,469 sq mi) 		11.47
Chubut Province Chubut Rawson Comodoro Rivadavia CH 603,120 224,686 km2
(86,752 sq mi) 		2.68
Córdoba Province, Argentina Córdoba Córdoba Río Cuarto CB 3,978,984 165,321 km2
(63,831 sq mi) 		24.06
Corrientes Province Corrientes Corrientes Goya CN 1,197,553 88,199 km2
(34,054 sq mi) 		13.57
Entre Ríos Province Entre Ríos Paraná Concordia ER 1,426,426 78,781 km2
(30,418 sq mi) 		18.10
Formosa Province Formosa Formosa Formosa FM 606,941 72,066 km2
(27,825 sq mi) 		8.42
Jujuy Province Jujuy San Salvador de Jujuy San Pedro de Jujuy JY 797,955 53,219 km2
(20,548 sq mi) 		14.99
La Pampa Province La Pampa Santa Rosa General Pico LP 366,022 143,440 km2
(55,380 sq mi) 		2.55
La Rioja Province, Argentina La Rioja La Rioja Chilecito LR 384,607 89,680 km2
(34,630 sq mi) 		4.28
Mendoza Province Mendoza Mendoza Guaymallén MZ 2,014,533 148,827 km2
(57,462 sq mi) 		13.53
Misiones Province Misiones Posadas Oberá MN 1,280,960 29,801 km2
(11,506 sq mi) 		42.98
Neuquén Province Neuquén Neuquén Cutral Có NQ 726,590 94,078 km2
(36,324 sq mi) 		7.72
Río Negro Province Río Negro Viedma San Carlos de Bariloche RN 762,067 203,013 km2
(78,384 sq mi) 		3.75
Salta Province Salta Salta San Ramón de la Nueva Orán SA 1,440,672 155,488 km2
(60,034 sq mi) 		9.26
San Juan Province, Argentina San Juan San Juan Caucete SJ 818,234 89,651 km2
(34,614 sq mi) 		9.12
San Luis Province San Luis San Luis San Luis SL 540,905 76,748 km2
(29,633 sq mi) 		7.04
Santa Cruz Province, Argentina Santa Cruz Río Gallegos Caleta Olivia SC 333,473 243,943 km2
(94,187 sq mi) 		1.36
Santa Fe Province Santa Fe Santa Fe Rosario SF 3,556,522 133,007 km2
(51,354 sq mi) 		26.73
Santiago del Estero Province Santiago del Estero Santiago del Estero La Banda SE 1,054,028 136,351 km2
(52,645 sq mi) 		7.73
Tierra del Fuego Province, Argentina Tierra del Fuego Ushuaia Río Grande TF 190,641 21,263 km2
(8,210 sq mi) 		8.96
Tucumán Province Tucumán San Miguel de Tucumán Monteros TM 1,703,186 22,524 km2
(8,697 sq mi) 		75.61

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ The City of Buenos Aires is an autonomous city, but its local organization has similarities with the provinces: it has its own constitution, an elected mayor, a congress, and representatives to the Senate and Deputy chambers.[10]
  2. ^ Defined by law 27,589

References

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  1. ^ Constitution of Argentina, art. 3.
  2. ^ a b c Rey Balmaceda 1995, p. 19.
  3. ^ Rock 1987, p. 155.
  4. ^ Constitution of Argentina, art. 121.
  5. ^ Constitution of Argentina, arts. 5, 6.
  6. ^ Constitution of Argentina, art. 123.
  7. ^ Constitution of Argentina, art. 122.
  8. ^ Constitution of Argentina, arts. 124, 125.
  9. ^ "Legislaturas de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires y provinciales – República Argentina" (in Spanish). Universidad del Salvador. Archived from the original on 2013-05-15. Retrieved 2009-09-19.
  10. ^ Constitution of Argentina, art. 129.
  11. ^ Constitution of Argentina, art. 6.
  12. ^ Constitution of Argentina, art. 75 inc. 31.
  13. ^ Constitution of Argentina, art. 99 inc. 20.
  14. ^ "Intervenciones en la historia". La Nación (in Spanish). 11 April 2004. Archived from the original on 11 October 2012.
  15. ^ "Archivo Histórico – Gobernadores provinciales de la República Argentina 1983–2007" (in Spanish). Ministerio del Interior – Presidencia de la Nación. Archived from the original on 8 June 2009. Retrieved 8 June 2009.
  16. ^ "Constitución de la Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires" (in Spanish). Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires. October 1, 1996. Archived from the original on 2007-11-22. Retrieved 2007-12-13.
  17. ^ Gwillim Law (30 May 2015). "Provinces of Argentina". Statoids. Retrieved 28 September 2015.
  18. ^ INDEC and IGN. "División política, superficie y población" [Political division, area and population] (in Spanish). Instituto Geográfico Nacional. Retrieved March 21, 2024.
  19. ^ "Nuevos datos provisorios del Censo 2022: Argentina tiene 46.044.703 habitantes". Infobae. 31 January 2023. Retrieved 2023-02-04.

Bibliography

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Legal documents
Books
  • Rey Balmaceda, Raúl (1995). Mi país, la Argentina (in Spanish). Buenos Aires: Arte Gráfico Editorial Argentino. ISBN 84-599-3442-X.
  • Rock, David (1987). Argentina, 1516-1987: From Spanish Colonization to the Falklands War. University of California Press. ISBN 978-0520061781.
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