Southern Cone Under the British

Politics

     In the wake of the British takeover of much of the Viceroyalty of La Plata, in Auchmuty-Whitelocke World (AWW), what are now Argentina and Uruguay were a part of the British Empire, the only area in South America outside Guyana to be in that empire.  As such, the entire area was known as British South America up until 1880, the year of Confederation in Argentina; in 1880, Argentina obtained Dominion status.  Before 1880, British South America was a collection of British colonies, the leading one of which being the Plate Colony.  Since Uruguay opted out of Confederation for various reasons, it remained its own colony, and became a Dominion in 1903.  

     In 1931, the Statute of Westminster made Argentina and Uruguay independent countries within the British Commonwealth.  Both countries created their own citizenships, distinct from Britain's, in 1947 (the same year as Canada).  The position of governor-general represented Queen Elizabeth II as Sovereign in both countries until 1956 in Argentina and 1967 in Uruguay.  Those were the respective times when Argentina and Uruguay became republics; even today, however, both remain within the Commonwealth.

     Argentina’s political system today, in AWW, is republican but parliamentary, with a President being both the head of state and head of government, just like in South Africa; the President is, in effect, a prime minister.  The parliament is divided into the Senate and the Chamber of Deputies, the latter being elected by the people).  The New Pink House serves as the Government House and is the official residence of the President (and formerly of the Argentine Governor-General).  Griffon Manor was the Prime Minister's official residence before that post was removed in 1976.  Women were granted the right to vote in Argentina in 1927, though some provinces allowed female suffrage sooner.   

     It is a federal democracy, consisting of 16 provinces, one territory (Fireland, Antarctica, and the South Atlantic Islands), and the federal Capital Territory of Wilsonton.  The provinces are run by premiers, much like those in the South African provinces.  The provinces and territory can be further divided into counties except in Plate Province, which consists of administrative areas (in Spanish, partidos administrativos).  

     Within the city (technically, administrative area) of Buenos Aires, districts were the main units of local government.  Since 1994, boroughs (which are larger but more functional and hence more decentralized) make up the local government.  Wilsonton has been an autonomous city since 1994, and the city of Rosario has been thinking of doing the same.  In general, counties and administrative areas, along with municipalities, and with townships  and/or other municipal organizations in some provinces, are headed by a mayor.
 

     Political parties include the Civic Union Party (more liberal; aka the Civic Party) and the National Party (more conservative), along with scores of smaller ones, including a few hispanoparlant nationalist parties calling for independence (especially in the west) or joining up with Chile or Bolivia.  Concerning the armed forces, the President is also the commander-in-chief.  Service is voluntary, and in the early 1990s, 153,000 men served in the army (along with a few women in non-combat jobs).  The Supreme Court is the highest court in the land; the President appoints its members, of which the leading member is the Chief Justice.  The President also appoints judges of the federal Courts of Appeals.  Each province has its own Supreme Court and lower courts system.  Provincial premiers appoint the provincial court judges. 

     Argentina’s legal system, federally, is a mix of English common law and Spanish civil law (the latter based on the Napoleonic Code).  In Patagonia, however, common law prevails on the provincial level, and in the western part of the country (from Cordova and Mendoza northwards), Spanish civil law is predominant provincially.  In provinces with large concentrations of Aboriginal people, especially in the northwest, there is also some input from the native traditions. 

     The presence of English common law is a major reason why Argentina is much more developed, democratic, and less corrupt than most of its neighbours.  The English system ensures economic and political stability because such a system spawns freedom, respect for the rule of law, trial by judge/jury, and a strong civil society (all of which minimize corruption), along with democratic and British-inspired institutions, and capitalist, free-market economies – just look at the United States, Canada, or Australia.  The predominantly white population of Argentina, just like in those three other countries, adds to the high degree of development there, since whites have historically tended to be more economically powerful (not to be racist here).

     The intelligence agency is called the Secretariat of Intelligence (SI), or Secretaria de Inteligencía in Spanish – formerly the Secretariat of State Intelligence (SSI), or Secretaria de Inteligencía del Estado (SIDE) in Spanish.  This is part of the National Intelligence System (NIS), or Sístema de Inteligencía Nacional in Spanish (formed in 2001 during a reorganization of the intelligence system in Argentina).  The national police forces in Argentina, in charge of such things as riot control, are the Argentine Federal Police (AFP), or Policia Federal Argentina in Spanish, and the Argentine National Gendarmerie (ANG), or the Gendarmería Nacional Argentina in Spanish.  There are individual police forces for each province, including the important Plate Province Police (PPP).

     The political system in Uruguay today is also parliamentary republican, although with less of a divergence from British political organization than in Argentina.  A unitary democracy, it has both a ceremonial President and a Prime Minister, just like in some other ex-British colonies like Ireland, Malta, and Trinidad and Tobago.  In Uruguay, the people elect a President through the Chamber of Deputies, then the President appoints a Prime Minister; the Prime Minister is the most powerful leader.  The country consists of 24 counties, with the same status as counties or administrative areas in Argentina.  These counties are led by a mayor.  Women in Uruguay got the right to vote in 1912. 

     The parliament is divided into the Senate and the Chamber of Deputies, the latter being elected by the people).  The main political parties are the conservative National Party (much like the Blancos in our world), and the Liberal Party (much like our world’s Colorados).  As for the armed forces, service is voluntary, and in the early 1990s, 32,000 people served.  The Supreme Court of Justice is the highest court in the land, and has 5 members who are elected by Parliament to 10-year terms.  The highest-ranking member is the Chief Justice.  There are also Appeals Courts, various lower courts, and justices of the peace.  The legal system in Uruguay is a blend of English common law and Spanish civil law; the English common law is a big reason for Uruguay’s advanced political and economic development, for the same reasons outlined above.  Uruguay’s police force is called the National Police (NP), or Policia Nacional in Spanish.

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    Some Governors for Selected Colonies

Plate Colony (established in 1807)

John Whitelocke	1807-1810
Stedman Rawlins	early 1810s
William Lumley	late 1810s
John Thomas Barber Beaumont	ca. 1820-1825
John Parish Robertson (acting)	ca. 1825
Woodbine Parish	ca. 1825-1828
William Brown	1828-1829
Woodbine Parish	ca. 1829-1831
Philip Yorke Gore	1832-1834
Charles Griffiths	1834-1835
Francis Leeson Ball	1842-1847
John Hobart Cradock	1847-1848
Robert Gore	1851-1853
George Rennie	1855-1860

Cordova Colony (established in 1826)

Francis Bond Head	1826-1835
Charles Griffiths	ca. 1839
James Lelley	early 1840s
Charles Hotham	1852-1853
Anthony Musgrave	1873-1877

Uruguay Colony (established in 1828)

Peter Campbell	1828-1832
Adolphus Turner	1843-1847
Robert Gore	1847-1851
Frederick W. Adolphus Bruce	1851-1853
GJR Gordon	1853-1854
William Lettsom	1859-1869

Tucuman Colony (established in 1834)

John Thomond O’Brien	1834-1842
Charles Griffiths	1842-1843
John Thomond O’Brien	1843-1845

Cuyo Colony (established in 1843)

William Walker	1843-1845
John Thomond O’Brien	1845-1849

Note: Since some places are named for any of the governors above, consult the gazetteer if you want to find out where they are.

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Political Leaders of Argentina since 1880

Prime Ministers of the Dominion (1880-1955)

Julius Rock	1880-1885
Michael Celman	1885-1891
Louis Sanford-Penn	1891-1895
José Evaristo Uriburu	1895-1898
Julius Rock	1898-1904
Milton Quayle	1904-1906
José Figueroa-Alcorta	1906-1910
Ronald Sanford-Penn	1910-1914
Victor (Vick) Placer	1914-1920
Harold Irwin	1920-1922
Marvin Alvin	1922-1927
Harold Irwin	1927-1930
José Félix Uriburu	1930-1932
Austin Judson	1932-1938
Robert Orton	1938-1940
Ramón Castillo (acting)	1940-1942
Ramón Castillo	1942-1943
Arthur Rawson	1943-1944
Elmer James Farrell	1944-1955

Prime Ministers of the Republic with Ceremonial Presidents (1956-76)

Elmer James Farrell	1955-1958
Arthur Fromm	1958-1962
José Maria Guido	1962-1963
Arthur Humphrey	1963-1966
John William Ogden	1966-1970
Robert M. Levingston	1970-1973
Héctor José Cámpora	1973-1974
Alexander Augustine Lanusse	1974-1976

Presidents of the Republic (1976-)

Alexander Augustine Lanusse	1976-1983
Ralph McAuliffe	1983-1989
Charles Saul Menem	1989-1999
Ferdinand de la Rúa	1999-2003
Neal Kirchner	2003-

Political Leaders of Uruguay since 1903

Prime Ministers of the Dominion (1903-1967)

Joseph Batshaw Sr.	1903-1911
Clarence Williman	1911-1916
Joseph Batshaw Sr.	1916-1919