Argentina: Government Structure

Argentina is governed as a federal presidential republic, dividing authority both among three branches of national government and between the federal state and its provinces. The 1853 constitution, revised several times since, most significantly in 1994, establishes this framework and enshrines a separation of powers among executive, legislative, and judicial branches, along with broad guarantees of provincial autonomy.

Executive power rests with the president, who serves as both head of state and head of government and commands the armed forces. Presidents are elected to four-year terms and may be re-elected once consecutively before sitting out a term. The president appoints a cabinet of ministers to oversee the executive branch's various departments.

The National Congress, Argentina's bicameral legislature, consists of the Senate, with representatives from each of the twenty-three provinces and the autonomous city of Buenos Aires, and the Chamber of Deputies, whose members are apportioned by population. An independent judiciary, headed by the Supreme Court, interprets the constitution and adjudicates disputes between the federal government and the provinces, which retain significant authority over local governance.