LegiStorm

Summary:

A South American nation with a population of around 40 million, Argentina returned to elected civilian democracy in 1983 after seven years of harsh military rule. In 2001-2002, the democratic political system experienced considerable stress as the country experienced a severe economic crisis, but ultimately weathered the storm. Current President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, elected in October 2007, succeeded her husband President Néstor Kirchner (2003-2007), who had made popular policy moves regarding human rights, institutional reform, and economic policy that helped restore Argentines' faith in democracy. In her first year in office, President Fernández has faced several major challenges, including an energy crisis in early 2008 followed by a series of farmers strikes that led to the defeat of her proposed agricultural export tax increase. More recently, the government has faced the challenge of dealing with the effects of the global financial crisis. The rapid decline in prices for several of Argentina's key exports will have an impact on economic growth and government revenue. U.S.-Argentine relations generally have been strong since the country's return to democracy in 1983 and were especially close during the Menem presidency (1989-1999). There was some friction in relations when the United States did not support Argentina during its 2001-2002 financial crisis, and under the Kirchner presidency when Argentina moved toward closer relations with Venezuela. There was expectation that the tenor of relations with the United States would improve under President Fernández. This was thwarted, however, by the so-called suitcase scandal involving the arrest of four foreign nationals from Venezuela and Uruguay in Miami for the attempted delivery of funds to benefit Fernández's presidential campaign. Nevertheless, the United States and Argentina continue to cooperate on many areas of mutual interest, including anti-drug and anti-terrorism efforts. In the 110th Congress, several initiatives regarding Argentina were adopted or introduced. The House adopted two resolutions for the anniversary of the 1994 Argentine-Israel Mutual Association bombing: H.Con.Res. 188 approved in July 2007, and H.Con.Res. 385, approved in July 2008. The House also adopted H.Res. 435 in November 2007 that emphasized the importance of eliminating Hezbollah's financial network in the tri-border area of South America. The House version of the FY2009 Intelligence Authorization Act, H.R. 5959, included a provision requiring a Central Intelligence Agency report on human rights violations committed by Argentine military and security forces during the military dictatorship (1976-1983). In September 2008, a bill was introduced, H.R. 7205, that would bar access to U.S. capital markets to foreign states that fail to satisfy U.S. court judgments, and specifically cited Argentina as an egregious example. The Senate version of the FY2009 agriculture appropriations bill, S. 3289, contained a provision prohibiting funds from being used for the importation of fresh meat from Argentina until the Secretary of Agriculture certifies to Congress that every region of Argentina is free of foot and mouth disease; the provision was not included in the FY2009 continuing appropriations resolution. Separate bills, S. 3238 and H.R. 6522, were also introduced on the issue. This report, which may be updated, summarizes political and economic conditions in Argentina and issues in Argentine-U.S. relations.