26
October 1997 (next to be held NA October 1999)
election results: Senate--percent of vote by party--NA; seats by
party--PJ 39, UCR 1, others 32; Chamber of Deputies--percent of vote
by party--NA; seats by party--PJ 119, UCR 69, Frepaso 36, other 33

Judicial branch: Supreme Court (Corte Suprema), the nine Supreme
Court judges are appointed by the president with approval of the
Senate

Political parties and leaders: Justicialist Party or PJ [Carlos
Saul MENEM] (Peronist umbrella political organization); Radical
NA]; Front for a Country in Solidarity or Frepaso (a four-party

Political pressure groups and leaders: Peronist-dominated labor
movement; General Confederation of Labor or CGT (Peronist-leaning
umbrella labor organization); Argentine Industrial Union
(manufacturers' association); Argentine Rural Society (large
landowners' association); Argentine Association of Pharmaceutical
Labs (CILFA); business organizations; students; the Roman Catholic
Church; the Armed Forces

International organization participation: AfDB, Australia Group,
BCIE, CCC, ECLAC, FAO, G- 6, G-11, G-15, G-19, G-24, G-77, IADB,
IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO,
IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, LAES,
LAIA, Mercosur, MINURSO, MIPONUH, MTCR, NSG, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA,
RG, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNFICYP, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIKOM, UNITAR,
UNMIBH, UNMOP, UNPREDEP, UNTSO, UNU, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO,
WToO, WTrO

Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Diego Ramiro GUELAR
chancery: 1600 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20009
consulate(s) general: Atlanta, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami,
New York, and San Francisco

Diplomatic representation from the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant)
embassy: 4300 Colombia, 1425 Buenos Aires
mailing address: international mail: use street address; APO
address: Unit 4334, APO AA 34034

Flag description: three equal horizontal bands of light blue
(top), white, and light blue; centered in the white band is a
radiant yellow sun with a human face known as the Sun of May

Economy

Economy--overview: Argentina benefits from rich natural resources,
a highly literate population, an export-oriented agricultural
sector, and a diversified industrial base. However, when President
Carlos MENEM took office in 1989, the country had piled