POLITICAL

EVOLUTION IN

Art. 3.-RECENT

ARGENTINA.

DISCOVERED and first occupied by the Spaniards early in the 16th century, the colony of Argentina was in the 18th transformed into a vice-royalty. Its history is uneventful until the commencement of the 19th century. The events which at that epoch agitated Europe had their counterparts in America. In 1806 an English military expedition laid siege to Buenos Ayres and twice occupied the city; but the invaders were finally beaten by Liniers, a French officer in the service of Spain. The invasion of Spain by Napoleon, in 1808, was the signal of independence for the Spanish colonies. A 'Junta' or provisional Assembly proclaimed the independence of the Argentine Republic on May 25, 1810, a date which was afterwards chosen for the celebration of the annual national festival.

In 1814 Uruguay, Santa Fé, Cordoba and other provinces constituted themselves into independent republics under the direction of D'Artigas. It was a period of anarchy between federals and unionists; the words 'liberty' and 'republic' remained for a long time a signal of discord, favoured by ambitious rivals. In 1825 war was carried on against Brazil. The Brazilians were beaten by General Alvear; and Uruguay seized the opportunity to declare her independence. The struggle between federalists and unionists continued even during the dictatorship of the sanguinary Rozas (1827-1852). He was succeeded by General Bartolome Mitre, and Mitre by Sarmiento. These two rulers did much for the material and intellectual development of Argentina; and progress continued under the presidency of Nicolas Avellaneda (1874-1880).

A popular rising drove President Celman from power in 1890; but since that year the Argentine Republic has been free from any revolutionary shock, the transmission of legislative and administrative power taking place in a normal and legal manner. The most remarkable name in the list of rulers is that of Dr Roque Saenz Pena, who took office in 1910. He was a man resolutely opposed to sterile political dissensions; and his integrity and honesty

of purpose were admitted even by his opponents. During his presidency of less than four years, ending with his untimely death after a prolonged illness, on Aug. 9, 1914, he managed to establish the important political transformations which we shall outline further on.

Within a week after the demise of Saenz Pena the Argentinos also had to mourn the death of General Julio A. Roca, ex-President of the Republic. General Roca had been for many years a prominent figure in Argentine national life. Born in the year 1843, much of his early military life was spent in fighting the Indian tribes who then infested the western parts of the province of Buenos Ayres, now among its most prosperous districts. He was President of the Republic from 1880 to 1886, and again from 1898 to 1904. The rapid rise of Argentina from a comparatively unknown State to one of world-wide importance is due to a considerable extent to his activity and influence among his countrymen. He was an ardent patriot and a sincere friend of England.

The present Chief of the State is Dr Victorino de la Plaza, formerly Vice-President under Saenz Pena. He is a barrister of distinction, and collaborated in the making of the Argentine Civil Code. He was elected a deputy in 1875, and since then has acquired considerable political experience, having been Minister of Finance under President Avellaneda, and successively Minister 'par interim' of Justice, of Public Instruction, of War and the Navy. Under President Roca he was in charge of Foreign Affairs and of Finance. During the international political crisis of 1908 he again acted as Minister of Foreign Affairs, and rendered his country good service by his calm and far-sighted diplomacy. Having been elected Vice-President for six years, in 1910, at the same time as President Saenz Pena, his Presidency will expire on Oct. 12, 1916. He has lived for some years in England, and is a great admirer of English institutions.

In accordance with the constitution voted in 1853 at Santa Fé, and somewhat modified in 1861, the country is governed on the federal representative system. Under this form of government the provinces composing the federation enjoy a limited autonomy. They nominate

their own governors, legislators and functionaries, and have their own tribunals; but certain classes of cases are decided by the supreme Federal Court. Penal, civil, commercial and mining laws, called national laws, are voted by the National Congress and applied throughout the Republic. The Federal Government alone has the right of coinage, the right to conclude treaties, to declare war or peace, to fix the limits of provinces, and to undertake large public works of national importance. It has also the right of intervention if the public order is seriously threatened or disturbed, and can declare martial law in the disturbed district.

The Republic is divided into fourteen provinces, all of which bear the names of their capitals, excepting Entre Rios, of which the chief town is Parana. These provinces comprise departments, further divided into districts. There are, moreover, ten territories or 'national governments,' and a 'federal district'-Buenos Ayres.

The executive power is in the hands of a President and Vice-President, who are elected for six years and cannot be re-elected except after an interval of six years. A Congress, composed of a Chamber of Deputies of 120 members and a Senate of 30 members, forms the legislative body. Each province, together with the federal district, is represented by a certain number of deputies, at the rate of one for every 33,000 inhabitants or fractions of that total not less than 16,500. The city of Buenos Ayres alone provides twenty members. The duration of the parliamentary mandate is four years; and onehalf of the members retires every two years. Every member receives a salary of 18,000 piastres per annum. The legislative assemblies of the provinces elect each two senators; and the same number is allotted to the federal capital. Eight Ministers or Secretaries of State divide with the President the duties of office. The stability of the Cabinet is generally safe during the six years' term of the President who has chosen its members.

Dr Roque Saenz Pena, the late President of the Argentine Republic, was born at Buenos Ayres in 1851. He was elected a deputy in 1876, and was President of the Chamber at the age of 26. He retired from that position in 1878, because his fellow-members opposed the application of rigorous rules to a member whom he wished to punish

for some breach of parliamentary etiquette. During the war between Chile and Peru, Saenz Pena joined the ranks of the Peruvian army and distinguished himself in various battles. As a Lieutenant-Colonel he fought together with Bolognesie and Moore during the heroic defence of Arica; his whole force was annihilated, and he himself, seriously wounded, was made prisoner by the Chileans, who kept him in captivity till the end of the war. Returning to Buenos Ayres at the end of the war, Saenz Pena was made Secretary for Foreign Affairs. Under Juarez Celman he was sent as Minister Plenipotentiary to Uruguay. He distinguished himself brilliantly at the South American Congress of Montevideo, and at the Pan-American Congress of Washington, where, in opposition to the famous Monroe doctrine America for the Americans'-meaning in realityAmerica for the North Americans'-he proposed America for Humanity.' Later on we find him representing the Argentine Republic at the marriage of King Alphonso of Spain, then for some time at Rome, and at the second Peace Congress of the Hague, in company with Luis M. Drago and Carlos Rodriguez Larreta. Dr Saenz Pena had thus lived and studied much outside his own country before he was elected President of Argentina.

From 1810 to 1853, every attempt at political reform was successfully resisted, owing to the instincts inherent in the race. Even after the introduction of a more liberal system of government, the people were for a long time unable to make a proper use of the freedom they had acquired. Indeed the will to do so was apparently lacking; for a long time they submitted peaceably to the tyranny which was moulding them to its own ends. They no longer fought against the idea of constitutional government, but, though they had risen to the point of accepting it, they were yet incapable of respecting and appreciating this great principle. For almost fifty years they lived under the constitution, out of sympathy with it and in many cases ignorant of its very existence. It was enough for them if they were left free to work in peace and were protected from political strife and agitation, things detrimental to their commerce and destructive of their national credit in the great markets of Europe. Their commerce and their credit were essential

to their material welfare; for the rest they were completely indifferent to politics and to the rise or fall of any political party. They were, also, completely indifferent to the fact that the federal councils had been brought under the control of one central government. A powerful coalition of various interests had been formed, which, though not officially recognised, possessed tremendous weight in all the affairs of the nation. Consisting as it did of the leading banks, the principal commercial companies, and all the most important industries, it soon acquired great power.

In elections to Congress, voting was not compulsory; and the great majority of the people abstained from this civic duty. The official party was always victorious, and it was useless to vote against it. Thus a spirit of callous indifference and of scepticism came into being; the people were indignant at nothing, because surprised at nothing. And this spirit of indifference finally became almost traditional; the excuses given for it were, 'It has always been so,' 'You cannot alter the habits of the people,' 'You cannot change public opinion,' and 'You must let people practise their politics in their own way'; and even men of the strictest honour and integrity came to share in these ideas as soon as they began to take part in the struggle. The people ended by coming to the conclusion that politics represented nothing more than a highly specialised profession; that all its manœuvring amounted to no more than a prodigious burlesque, well rehearsed beforehand; and that it was better to laugh in one's sleeve at all the intricate wire-pulling, the seriocomic crises,' and the almost farcical methods of the whole ingenious hypocrisy, than to attempt protests which they knew would be utterly futile. They saw, without apprehension, the same persons always in office; for they recognised the fact that the destinies of the country were beyond mere politicians. Though they were quite aware that genuine statesmen, acting in conjunction with politicians, could do much good, they realised that the politicians alone were incapable of doing much harm.

Eventually, however, a strong reaction, due no doubt to their inner sense of justice and to feelings of injured pride, set in against this usurpation of power and this