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The Argentine Republic, more commonly known as Argentina, is a major South American nation, located in the southern part of the continent. It borders Chile to the West, Bolivia, Paraguay, and Brazil to the North, and Uruguay and the Atlantic Ocean to the West. To its south, on the other side of the Rio Negro, it borders the territory of the anarchist, Chile-backed Patagonian Rebellion, although this territory is legally still an integral part of Argentina.

Once known as the fastest growing economy in the world, mainly due to the long reign of the oligarchic and market liberal Partido Autonomista Nacional, Argentina went into decline in the late 1910s and early 1920s, when British-owned companies began squeezing the workers and resources for maximum profit and indirectly caused the uprising of anarcho-syndicalists in Patagonia. Years of economic trouble and political chaos have left the country in a dangerous and vulnerable position, with military coups being a common sight; The latest coup, performed by the far-right Liga Patriótica Argentina under Manuel Carlés, only happened a mere week ago on Christmas Day of 1935. Argentina's future seems more uncertain than ever and confrontation with the rebels in Patagonia increasingly inevitable.


History[]

La edad de oro (1880-1916)[]

Buenos aires 1910

Vibrant Buenos Aires during the Argentina Centennial, May 25, 1910

By the early 20th century, Argentina was enjoying a booming economic growth based on its meat and cereal exports. By 1905, the country had a higher per capita income than major European powers such as France, Germany and the Netherlands and surpassed Italy and Spain by 70% and 90%, respectively.

Immigrants from all over Europe flooded towards the Republic and vigorous entrepreneurship and a nascent industry quickly propelled Argentina forwards as one of the most prosperous nations on the planet. Trade relations were secure and exports to the United Kingdom and Germany kept increasing. By 1914 the Universal Suffrage law was passed, and the people were now in control of the country’s destiny. Everything seemed fine for the Argentine Republic - But then, the Weltkrieg struck the planet.

Downfall (1916-1920)[]

When the war began, Argentina strove to remain neutral, for it would not be good for her economy to side with either Great Britain, its main business partner, or Germany, its second most important business partner. By steering between the two, sanctions were brought down by the British, enforcing an embargo on trade with Germany. Argentina circumvented this by selling through third countries, but the sale profits were not the same as before.

The British always had a very strong economic presence in Argentina; In the early 1900s, Argentina had absorbed between 40% and 50% of all British investment outside the United Kingdom. Now, in the later stages of the war, this would come back to bite the Argentinians: Britain, as strained for resources as it was, ordered its companies to exploit as much as possible to support the war effort. And so the British-owned companies in Argentina began squeezing the workers and resources for maximum profit.

SemanaTragicaArgentina

Striking workers on the streets of Buenos Aires, 7 January 1919

Anarchist terror had been a common sight in Argentina since around 1900, mainly in form of the Argentine Regional Workers' Federation, but in early January of 1919 tension boiled over. At an English Argentine-owned plant in the suburbs of Buenos Aires, violent strikes broke out and clashes between workers and police forces occured; Eventually, the military stepped in, leading to the massacre of several hundred people. These events would be internationally known as Semana Trágica (Tragic Week) in the aftermath.

Around the same time, Manuel Carlés, a professor at the Argentinian Military College, founded the nationalist, xenophobic, anti-Communist and anti-Semitic Liga Patriótica Argentina. He viewed the left-leaning elements in the country (and everything related to them, including Jewish and Catalan immigrants) as the evil which would bring down the glorious nation of Argentina in the long-term and therefore actively began to set up militias to fight on the side of the police and military against the striking workers. The LPA became famous for their ruthlessness and would soon rise to prominence in the direct aftermath of the Tragic Week.

Patagonia Rebelde (1920-1922)[]

While the violent crackdown in Buenos Aires initially silenced the leftist opposition, it would strengthen it in the long-term. The successful revolutions in France and Italy had proved that a successful proletarian overthrow of the bourgeoisie was indeed possible and many Argentinian leftists therefore continued to fight for their aspirations. Patagonia, a region dependent on mining, whaling and agriculture, soon would become the next hotbed of labor strikes.

In late 1919, the young Spanish anarchist Antonio Soto arrived in Chubut, Central Patagonia. He had fled Spain to avoid inscription into the military to fight in the Rif War and had served in an Argentinian circus for several years. When he witnessed the outbreak of strikes in the town of Trelew, he began to agitate and support the striking workers. Even though he was arrested and expulsed from Chubut, he would become one of Argentina's most influential political figures only a few months later.

Marcha de peones rurales en el Puerto de Santa Cruz, 1921

Striking peasants in Puerto Santa Cruz, Southern Patagonia, 1921

In the summer of 1920, strikes would break out in Southern Patagonia as the price of wool had dropped significantly, provoking an economic crisis in the Chubut and Santa Cruz Provinces. Later that year, a general strike was declared, this time under the lead of Soto himself, and government troops began move south in early 1921. The unrest spread and the state of emergency was declared in several southern provinces. However, in the end, bloodshed could be avoided and the government worked out a deal with the strikers in May.

However, only a few months later, in October 1921, strikes broke out once again when ranch owners reneged on their promise of fairer working conditions. This time, the government did not act as benign as they did in May: LPA forces under the direct command of Manuel Carlés violently broke up demonstrations, leading to several deaths, and the cavalry departed once again from Buenos Aires. It was around the same time that neighboring Chile, a long-time rival of Argentina, began to support the Patagonian strikers as an attempt to weaken the Argentine position and take the lands for themselves in the future.

Initially, the strikers thought that the army was once again going to negotiate with them, as the approaching cavalry troops were led by Colonel Héctor Benigno Varela, the same man who had struck a deal with the strikers back in May. However, they were eventually informed by runners that Varela had instead come to crush them; This strengthened the strikers' will to fight. At Estancia La Anita, Soto's men met Varela's forces. Though the army had superior weapons and training, it proved insufficient when outnumbered ten to one and the rebels gained a decisive victory.

Héctor Benigno Varela

Héctor Benigno Varela, the man whose actions would escalate the Patagonia Rebelde strikes into an outright anarchist revolt.

The revolution would soon spread, bringing most of Argentinean Patagonia under the strikers' control. Government authority became more and more thinly spread, most landowners fled north or were taken hostage, killed or raped by anarchist rebels or bandits. Via telegraph, the strikers established contact with the Argentine Regional Workers' Federation (FORA) in Buenos Aires, where as a consequence a general strike was called as well, leading to a complete escalation of the situation. The FORA on the other hand contacted the Commune of France, asking for weapon supplies for their brothers in arms in Patagonia.

At this time, the strikes already had escalated into an outright revolution. With French weapons arriving in Patagonian ports, violent gunfights became a common sight. In Buenos Aires, LPA paramilitaries began to massacre the local Jewish and Catalan communities, and as a retaliation, strikers burned down whole villages in Patagonia which they had classified as "reactionary holdouts". The army, vastly outnumbered by the rebels and now occupied with unrest in the capital as well, eventually decided to withdraw in April 1922, leaving Patagonia behind in a complete state of anarchy. The rebels destroyed all bridges over the Rio Negro in the aftermath, cutting off Patagonia from the rest of the country - The unexpected revolution had succeeded, at least for the moment.

The troubled 1920s (1922-1930)[]

In a matter of only a few months, the Argentine government had went from bad to worse in their handling of the situation, and now the central government had lost complete control of the Santa Cruz, Chubut, and Rio Negro Provinces, almost 25% of the whole country. The economy was still struggling and political instability rampant. Ruling President Hipólito Yrigoyen was unable to navigate the country out of this situation and got replaced by his party colleague Marcelo Torcuato de Alvear after the 1922 elections.

ARA Rosario

Argentinian gunboat ARA Rosario after seizing Port Stanley, British Falkland Islands, 1925

However, in 1925, the British Revolution sent shock waves across the globe and lead to the crash of the New York Stock Exchange in April. The following Great Depression would cause a further deterioration of Argentina's political stability, which created a situation of social tension, with further decreases in salary and further increases in unemployment.

However, a coup could be prevented for the time being, as Alvear, in an unexpected move, ordered the navy to capture the British Falkland Islands and South Georgia, which were exposed and without protection due to the Collapse of the British Empire. While this would boost morale and trust in the government, it would also lead to the radicalization of the military, which had lost most of its prestige during the Patagonian Rebellion and now stood in the shadow of the celebrated navy.

The 1928 elections would be very controversial, as the Unión Cívica Radical decided to appoint former President Hipólito Yrigoyen as presidential nominee again instead of choosing the current, relatively popular Alvear for a second term. Nonetheless, Yrigoyen would be elected by a vast majority; Many scented election fraud, as Yrigoyen was mainly known as the man who had lead Argentina into economic stagnation and indirectly had caused the secession of Patagonia.

The most influential opposition to Yrigoyen however was rooted in the military; Many army officers despised Yrigoyen for his actions in the early 1920s and began to plot against him.

The Corporatist State (1930-1932)[]

In early 1930, former inspector general of the army José Félix Uriburu, with the support of Carlés and the LPA, launched a bloodless coup against Yrigoyen's government and proclaimed himself President of Argentina. In the aftermath of the coup, major changes to Argentinean politics and government took place, with Uriburu banning political parties, suspending elections, arresting democratic politicians and suspending the 1853 Constitution.

Uriburu-1930

President Uriburu in Buenos Aires, 1930. From the beginning, he strived for the creation of a corporatist, integralist and nationalist state, but his early death would lead to a return of democracy

At the time, Uriburu essentially represented Catholic neo-corporatist nationalism. Plans rooted in this ideology included a system in which there would be corporate chamber with representation from unions and businesses, and another chamber with political representation. This ideology was rooted in the Catholic nationalism which had been on the rise in Argentina since the 1920s and also was the main poltiical agenda of the Liga Patriótica Argentina.

Uriburu's coup would change Argentina's history forever: It was the first time that European-inspired ultranationalism rose its head in the continent; the first time in the history of the country that the Armed Forces took political power; the first time since the Tragic Week and the Patagonian Rebellion that the government assassinated union members; and the first time since 80 years that the Catholic Church had meddled in politics, this time with a distinctly integralist orientation.

Uriburu had been inspired by increasingly authoritarian regimes in the Romance-speaking Old World, most prominently Spain under de facto-dictator Miguel Primo de Rivera, Portugal under the rule of integralist Prime Minister José Hipólito Raposo or the French Republic under Philippe Pétain and his quasi-corporatist military clique. He firmly believed that only a strong, united and authoritarian state would be able to restore peace, prosperity and order in Argentina and reestablish control over Patagonia. Soon, he introduced the systematic use of torture against political opponents, particularly anarchists, syndicalists and radical Yrigoyenists. Behind closed doors, many opposition members were violently purged.

Uriburu's rule indeed stabilized the country at first, even though he failed to secure the support of the navy and therefore never was able to establish full control over the country. However, over the course of 1931, his health began to deteriorate due to stomach cancer. He planned to undergo a professional surgery in Europe, but died in early 1932 after mere two years of rule.

Shattered Hope (1932 - )[]

Following Uriburu's death, democratic elections were called again. The Partido Autonomista Nacional (PAN), forced underground during Uriburu's dictatorship, managed to win in a landslide. Julio Argentino Pascual Roca, the son of former President Julio Argentino Roca (1843-1914), was inaugurated as President. The PAN had been the most influential political party during Argentina's golden age and many were sure that President Roca would bring back the good times of old and strengthen Argentina's position on the global stage.

CarlesCoup

President Carlés shortly after the coup in his office at Casa Rosada, 26 December 1935

However, Roca's takeover would once again disgruntle the military and, associated with it, the LPA. Many had hoped that Uriburu would eventually march south and reclaim Patagonia, but now, with slow political liberalization arising, this dream would become more and more unlikely. Rumors were spread that there would be an imminent peace settlement with the FOP and many feared that this would strengthen the Chilean syndicalists in the west in the long-term.

On Christmas Day of 1935, just two and a half years after Roca's election, Manuel Carlés and the Liga Patriótica Argentina, would stage a coup in Buenos Aires, supported by local garrison troops and the navy. The city soon found itself under total control of the military, President Roca and his ministers were put under temporary house arrest and Carlés proclaimed himself President. The coup sent shock waves through Argentina; Unlike Uriburu in 1930, Carlés did not have the full support of the Argentinian people, as many had been quite satisfied with Roca's liberalization attempts. This would make it much harder for the the new junta to establish their control over the country in the direct aftermath of the regime change.

As 1936 dawns, Carlés position is not completely stabilized yet and civil unrest is looming. While he and his LPA have most of the military behind them, political control outside of the capital is almost non-existent. Opposition in certain parts of the army (especially by the established army leadership, which looks upon Carlés as inferior and not able to efficiently run the government in the long-term) and populace is still deeply entrenched; Only the next few weeks will show if Carlés rule will endure or if he will fall again, just like all other dictators in Argentinian history before him. However, once total control has been established, there will be no going back, and confrontation with Patagonia and therefore Chile will be inevitable.

Politics[]

Political life in Argentina is currently in extreme upheaval. The Christmas Coup has thrown the fragile country into chaos; Buenos Aires is under martial law and in the firm hands of Carlés and his henchmen, but on the countryside, government control is thinly spread as most of the former administration remains in charge. The situation is tense at best, and chaotic at worst - anything could happen to this newly attempted coup, as many provinces have yet to recognize the primacy of the new government. Opportunistic countercoup plotters may already be lurking in the shadows - If Carlés and his junta want to endure, they will have to act fastly, efficiently and without mercy.

Political Parties[]

While political parties in Argentina technically exist, many of them have been diluted with corruption, nepotism and elitism in recent years, making most parties an indistinguishable mess, as no party acts in the interest of the Argentinian people. Most partisan politicians are simultaneously part of the LPA, an ultranationalist paramilitary group, and political opposition is practically non-existent.

WIP

Main article: Argentina/Parties

WIP


Military[]

The general status of the Argentine military is well provided for, and armed. Some issues come forth in the mid-tiers of command, where the hierarchy requires some deep restructuring. The navy, on the other hand, as supporters of Carlés and his associates in the LPA, are very much favoured by the new regime.

Army[]

The army, while well-equipped, has endured years of poor planning and several setbacks in its attempts to quell the Patagonian Uprising. More than just recovering its operational capabilities - crushing the Patagonians and restoring the morale of the Army as an institution will all be highly vital matters.

Navy[]

The Argentine Navy is well provided for and maintained, sporting a decently sized fleet, with two fully operational Battleships from the time of the South American Dreadnought Race.

Air Force[]

The Argentinean Air Force is small and underfunded.

Foreign Relations[]

The Argentine Republic is friendly with Peru, but has poor relations with Brazil, Paraguay and Bolivia, who claims some of it's territory. Its very hostile towards Chile, who has considered it a rival ever since the country backed a rebellion in Patagonia, which proclaimed a rival government. things got worse after the Chilean Revolution.

Economy[]

Argentina’s economy is well rounded all things considered, with a decent industrialisation process underway. Local companies such as SIAM and Volcán, export consumer goods to Latin-America and to Europe. YPF, the state-ran oil industry, is being set to provide a modest amount of oil for internal consumption and also for exports. Thanks to an impressive railroad system, the production from the inner provinces can reach out to the ports and export to its main partner, Germany. That is, until the newly attempted coup; now all foreign investors are eagerly and suspiciously watching.

Culture[]

WIP

A highly educated country, Argentina is at odds with itself. The more traditionalist groups under Carlés despise the previous government, and democracy itself, for their constant ineptitude in quelling the Patagonian Uprising. While the Revolutionaries gather south bidding their time for a future Argentine Commune, and many intellectuals and workers in the nation have varying degrees of sympathy for their cause.

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