Argentina
In Latin America, the Jarl Hjalmarson Foundation cooperates with the Unión de Partidos Latinoamericanos (UPLA) – a cooperation organization for center-right parties in Latin America and a member of the International Democrat Union (IDU)..
Population: 41.8 million
Area: 2 780 400 km2
GDP (PPP): 596 billion dollar (2010 estimate)
GDP per capita (PPP): 14 700 $ (2010 estimate)
Rate of growth: 7.5 % (2010 estimate)
Head of state and head of government: Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner
Argentina gained its independence from Spain in 1816. In the aftermath of World War II, Juan Perón and his party ruled the country with an iron fist, until the coup d’état in 1976. Democracy returned to Argentina in 1983, but from then on, development has been turbulent. Carlos Menem, the president-elect of 1989, reformed the Argentine economy allowing it to develop for the greater part of the 90s. The privatization of state-owned companies was an integral part of this process. However, instead of resulting in increased competition, privatization often meant that old monopolies were transferred to private hands. This contributed to the turn of events that led to the collapse of what had been a relatively sound economy in 2001.
The government has violated proprietary rights by confiscating private property. Also, people are not allowed to freely dispose of their assests ever since the access to bank deposits was frozen during the collapse of 2001.
In terms of human rights, the situation is problematic. Argentina has ratified the principal conventions, but it has been slow in implementing them fully. Furthermore, rule of law is weak. Corruption and political interference is common within the legal system. The media in general is indepedent of the state, though there are a couple of state-run channels.
In May 2008, the Unión de Naciones Suramericanas (Unasur) was founded. It is a union of the South American nations modelled on the EU. The union already has twelve member states, though its function is, as of yet, mostly symbolic.
Partido Justicialista (PJ) and Union Del Centro Democratico (UCEDE) are former members of the UPLA. The UCEDE lost its membership since it no longer fulfills the criterion of parliamentary representation and the PJ was excluded due to its ideological estrangement. Therefore, the UPLA is currently looking into potential Argentinian partners for future collaboration.
In the autumn of 2011, elections will be held to both the parilament and the presidency.
It is a stated goal of the Jarl Hjalmarson Foundation to educate female decision-makers. In the autumn of 2010, the conference Empoderamiento de Mujeres took place in Honduras. The participants came from Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Paraguay, Venezuela and the Dominican republic. Concurrently with this conference a youth conference was arranged around a Jarl Hjalmarson publication entitled “Principles for a Free Society”.
