elected president; percent of
vote - 48.5%

Legislative branch: bicameral National Congress or Congreso Nacional
consists of the Senate (72 seats; formerly, three members appointed by
each of the provincial legislatures; presently transitioning to
one-third of the members being elected every two years to six-year
terms) and the Chamber of Deputies (257 seats; one-half of the members
elected every two years to four-year terms)
elections: Senate - transition phase will begin in 2001 elections when
all seats will be fully contested; winners will randomly draw to
determine whether they will serve a two-year, four-year, or full
six-year term, beginning a rotating cycle renovating a third of the
body every two years; Chamber of Deputies - last held 24 October 1999
(next to be held NA October 2001)
election results: Senate - percent of vote by bloc or party - NA;
seats by bloc or party - Peronist 40, UCR 20, Frepaso 1, other 11;
Chamber of Deputies - percent of vote by bloc or party - NA; seats by
bloc or party - Alliance 124 (UCR 85, Frepaso 36, others 3), Peronist
101, AR 12, other 20

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: Action for the Republic or AR [Domingo
CAVALLO]; Alliance (UCR, Frepaso and others) ; Front for a
Country in Solidarity or Frepaso (a four-party coalition) [Carlos
ALVAREZ]; Justicialist Party or PJ (Peronist
umbrella political organization); Radical Civic Union or UCR [Raul
ALFONSIN]; several provincial parties

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

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,
UN Security Council (temporary), UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNFICYP, UNHCR,
UNIDO, UNIKOM, UNITAR, UNMIBH, UNMIK, UNMOP, UNTAET, UNTSO, UNU, U