Recent History of Argentina Trivia Quiz

Answer: Three

Juan Domingo Perón was elected president of Argentina three times. He governed from 1946 to 1955 (he was re-elected in 1951). In September 1955, however, a military coup removed him from power and he went into exile. In October 1973 he was elected again, but he died a year later.

Answer: Peron's wife

Perón and Evita met after an earthquake in San Juan. At that time, Perón was the chief of the Secretaryship of Work. They then started a relationship that lasted until the death of Evita, in 1952.

Answer: Revolucion Libertadora

The military coup of 1955 was called "Revolución Libertadora" and, as all military coups, proved to be a complete failure. The miliatary régime lasted only three years until, in 1958, they called elections.

Answer: Yes

Originally formulated in the US during the presidence of Johnson in order to fight communism, in Argentina it was based on controlling "filters" of political ideologies, through the military in charge of controlling an "internal enemy", that is to say, to repress any kind of political manifestation.

In Argentina it was applied in 1966-1970 (Revolución Argentina) and 1976-1983 (Proceso de Reogranización Nacional), both military dictatorships.

Answer: Arturo Illia (1963-1966)

Arturo Illia, elected in 1963, devoted 25% of the national budget to education and culture. In fact, educational levels increased as well as the GDP (19,5% in 2 years). He redistributed the earnings without altering what each sector earned and brought unemployment down from 8% to 4%.

The problem was that big employers and opposition parties did not like this. So they started an "anti-Illia" campaign which ended in the military coup of 1966.

Answer: 1966

In 1966 the military, headed by Juan Carlos Onganía, overthrew Illia and started a military dictatorship that would last only four years. Another military failure.

Answer: Cordobazo

The "Cordobazo" was a massive protest of workers and students which ended with the dictatorship of Onganía. It happened in 1969, with the motto "Down with the dictatorship".

Answer: 1976-1983

The "Proceso de Reorganización Nacional" was the last military coup in Argentina. It was also the worst of them all because of its 'genocide methods', secret killings (30,000) and the fraudulent indebtedness (foreign debt rose from eight billion to forty billion dollars). It lasted from 24th March 1976 to 10th October 1983.

Answer: True

Carlos Saúl Menem was one of the worst presidents in Argentinian history. He gave the amnesty to the genocides of the Proceso, duplicated the foreign debt until the unpayable limit, raised poverty from 9% to 30%, sold most of the state-owned companies, was an accomplice of a embezzlement of funds for the poor, reduced the salaries of workers, teachers, and the police.

His period was known as "la fiesta menemista" (the Menemist party) because of the frivolity he displayed to the public while Argentina was going down hill.

Answer: 20th December

On 20th December 2001 a massive protest all over the country - but especially in Buenos Aires - forced the resignation of De la Rúa and his government.
Up to that moment, the state was being led by a president that wasn't doing anything at all to put an end the "Menemist party". Argentina is now (late 2002) in a state of popular rebellion and there is an invitation for a show of solidarity with this country.