(MENAFN- AFP) Argentina, which elects a new president Sunday, is Latin America's third most dynamic economic power, behind Brazil and Mexico. It has been led since 2007 by Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner.
- Kirchner, heiress of Peronism -
Argentina is still marked by the memory of president Juan Domingo Peron, the towering figure of its 20th-century history.
Elected in 1946, Peron, together with his charismatic wife Evita, is remembered for redistributing wealth to workers and the poor.
Blending nationalism and populism, Peron founded a political movement known as "Peronism" that continues to dominate Argentine politics.
Ousted in a 1955 coup, Peron staged a come-back in 1973 and ruled until his death the next year, when his third wife Isabel -- best known as Isabelita -- stepped into his shoes.
Isabelita, however, presided over a chaotic period of economic instability and violence until she was overthrown in a coup in 1976.
The ensuing military dictatorship, from 1976 to 1983, was a period of intense repression in which 30,000 people were killed or disappeared, according to humanitarian organizations.
In a move to bolster its popularity, in April 1982 the regime invaded the Falkland Islands, or Malvinas, which Argentina has historically claimed but has been under British control since 1833.
The British military recovered the islands in a brief but costly war, a defeat that led to the collapse of the dictatorship.
Buenos Aires continues to claim sovereignty over the Falklands.
Since democracy was restored in mid-1983, Argentina has gone through economic booms and busts and a series of political change-overs.
Elected in 2003, the Peronist Nestor Kirchner, along with his wife Cristina, quickly imposed themselves as Argentina's new power couple thanks to a spectacular recovery from the worst economic crisis in the country's history.
In 2007 Nestor Kirchner decided to stand down and back his wife for president.
She won re-election in 2011, the year after her husband died of a heart attack. Cristina Kirchner retains a healthy 50 percent approval rating, but must step down in December because the constitution limits the president to two consecutive terms in office.
- Agro power, vulture funds -
Argentina is a global agricultural powerhouse, one of the top exporters of soy products -- oil, flour and beans -- as well as corn and wheat. It is also a major beef producer.
The Argentine economy grew by eight percent on average from 2003 to 2011, but slumped to just 0.4 percent this year and is facing a contraction of 0.7 percent next year, according to International Monetary Fund forecasts.
The country suffers from high inflation, officially 23.9 percent in 2014, although private research institutes put it at around 35 percent.
Argentina, which went bankrupt in 2001, restructured its debt in 2005 and 2010.
While 93 percent of its creditors accepted the offer of a partial reimbursement, the remaining seven percent have refused, demanding full repayment plus interest.
Argentina has been embroiled in a long, losing legal battle with two US hedge funds demanding full repayment of $1.33 billion. Kirchner's government condemns them as "vulture funds" and has refused to obey a US federal court order to repay them.
- Pope's homeland -
About 76.5 percent of Argentina's 41.5 million inhabitants are Roman Catholic.
In March 2013, Argentine Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio was elected the first Latin American pontiff, becoming Pope Francis.
While Catholicism is the state religion, religious freedom is guaranteed by the constitution.
Argentina also has the most numerous Jewish community in Latin America, with 300,000 people.
- Government -
The government consists of an executive branch, a bicameral legislature and a judiciary. The president is elected for four year terms.
- Geography -
By area Argentina is the eighth largest country in the world, at 2,766,890 square kilometers (1,068,298 square miles).
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