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Argentina
Women in decision-making positions
No data on number of women in elected deliberative bodies
No woman is Head of State/Government
45%
Parliamentarians are women
22%
Ministers are women

Government organization

Argentina is a federal republic with three spheres of government: federal, intermediate (the provinces and the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires), and local.

One tier of central government, one tier of intermediate government composed of provinces/the autonomous city of Buenos aires and one tier of local government composed of municipalities and communes in the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires.
Central government
  • Head of State: The President is directly elected by voters.
  • Head of Government: The President is the Head of State and the Head of Government.
  • Legislative body: The National Congress is a bicameral legislature, with an upper house (the Senate) and a lower house (the Chamber of Deputies). Members of the National Congress are directly elected by voters.
  • Executive body: The Cabinet of Ministers is composed of the Chief of the Cabinet of Ministers and the secretary-ministers. Members of the Cabinet of Ministers are appointed by the President.
Provincial government
  • Legislative body: The provincial legislature is either unicameral or bicameral (with an upper house (the Senate) and a lower house (the House of Deputies)). Provincial legislature members are directly elected by voters.
  • Executive body: The provincial governor, assisted by a vice-governor, is directly elected by voters as the executive of the provincial level of government.
Autonomous city of Buenos Aires government
  • Legislative body: The Buenos Aires City legislature is a unicameral legislature whose members are directly elected by voters.
  • Executive body: The Chief of Government, assisted by the Vice-Chief of Government, is directly elected by voters as the executive of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires.
Local government
  • Organization: Local government is organized into one tier of 2,240 municipalities and the 15 communal-level local government units of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires.
  • Competencies: Local government is responsible for issuing municipal ordinances regarding health, social assistance, security, morality, culture, education, protection, promotion, and conservation within its constitutional competence andas well as coordinating with provincial and federal powers.
  • Ministerial oversight: Ministry of Interior

Overview of local government

Local government composition
Municipalities (municipios)

Deliberative body: The municipal council is composed of 3-25 elected members. A council president is elected by and from the municipal council to preside over it; the council president is not vested with executive powers.

Executive body: The intendent is the executive of the municipality.

Commune-level government (comunas)

Deliberative body: The community board is composed of seven elected members. The head of the winning party list presides over the community board.

Executive body: The executive department, led by the mayor, is the executive of the commune level of government.

Local government elections
Electoral system

Electoral system for local deliberative bodies: proportional representation (closed list)

  • Members are directly elected in accordance with the proportional representation regime. Each commune and municipality forms a single district. In some provinces, half of the council members are elected every two years; each council member serving a 4-year term.

Electoral system for intendents: majority/plurality (first-past-the-post)

  • Intendents are directly elected by voters using a majority (first-past-the-post) system.

Sources: Constitution of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, 1996, article 130; Constitution of the Province of Buenos Aires, 1994 (amended through 2013), articles 60 and 190; Constitution of the Province of Catamarca, 1988 (amended through 2019), article 247; Constitution of the Province of Chaco, 1994 (amended through 2013), articles 90.4), 90.6), 185 and 193; Constitution of the Province of Chubut, 2010, article 230; Constitution of the Province of Cordoba, 1987 (amended through 2001), articles 182 and 183; Constitution of the Province of Corrientes, 2007, articles 71, 220 and 221; Constitution of the Province of Entre Rios, 2008, articles 91, 234 and 236; Constitution of the Province of Formosa, 2003, article 180; Constitution of the Province of Jujuy, 1986, article 184; Constitution of the Province of La Pampa, 1994, articles 49; Constitution of the Province of La Rioja, 2008, articles 81 and 171; Constitution of the Province of Mendoza, 1916 (amended through 2007), articles 197 and 198; Constitution of the Province of Misiones, 1967 (amended through 2020), article 163; Constitution of the Province of Neuquén, 2006, article 301; Constitution of the Province of Rio Negro, 1988 (amended through 2010), article 228; Constitution of the Province of Salta, 1998 (amended through 2003), article 171; Constitution of the Province of Santa Fe, 1962, article 107; Constitution of the Province of San Juan, 2014, articles 244 and 245; Constitution of the Province of San Luis, 1987 (amended through 2011), articles 102 and 257; Constitution of the Province of Santa Cruz, 1998, articlenesmunicipales s 143 and 145; Constitution of the Province of Santiago del Estero, 2005, articles 44, 207, 209 and 210; Constitution of the Province of Tierra del Fuego, Antarctida e Islas del Atlántico Sur, 1991, articles 176, 177 and 180; Constitution of the Province of Tucuman, 2006, article 133.

Quotas

Gender quotas: candidate quota (except in the Catamarca province); partial ranking; partial sanctions.

  • There are no gender quotas at the municipal level in the Catamarca province.
  • There is a 30% gender quota for women with the rejection of candidate lists that do not comply in the provinces of Tierra de Fuego and Tucumán. Ranking rules apply in Tucumán: one in three consecutive candidates must be a woman.
  • The other provinces (20 of them) and the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires have established the same dispositions of gender quota at the municipal/communal levels:
    • All lists must be composed of 50% female and 50% male candidates, respecting the principle of alternation and sequencing.
    • Lists that do not meet these requirements will not be made official.

Additional quotas: No

Sources: Constitution of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, 1996, article 36; Electoral Code of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, 2018, Transitional Clause 3; articles 73 and 101; Law on the Equitable political participation between genders for all elective public positions in the Province of Buenos Aires, 2016, articles 2 and 4; Provincial Electoral Regime of Chaco, 1995 (amended through 2018), article 55; Law on Provincial and Municipal Political Parties of Chubut, 2016 (amended through 2019), articles 2 and 4; Law on Parity between women and men of Corrientes, 2022, articles 2 and 3; Cordoba Law on the Principle of Equivalent Participation of Gender in Elections, 2000, articles 3, 4 and 5; Organic law of municipalities of the province of Entre Rios, 2011 (amended through 2021), article 61; Gender Parity Law of Entre Ríos, 2020, articles 5 and 11; Formosa’s law on Gender Parity in the candidacies for legislative elective positions both at the Provincial and Municipal levels and Development Commissions, 2019, article 2; Jujuy Gender Parity Law, 2021, article 2; Gender equality law of La Pampa, 2020, article 2; Gender Parity Law of La Rioja, 2020, articles 2 and 3; Law of Gender Equality in Electoral Matters of Mendoza, 2018, articles 1 and 5; Law 10 Modifying the Provincial Election law of Misiones, 2018, article 1; Electoral System Law of Neuquén, 2017, article 69; Electoral Code of Rio Negro, 2011 (amended through 2013), article 148; Electoral Law of the Province of Salta, 1987 (amended through 2016), article 38; Santa Fe Law on the Principle of gender parity in the composition of state agencies, political parties, associations, councils and professional associations, 2020 (amended through 2021), articles 2 and 3; Electoral Code of the Province of San Juan, 2014 (amended through 2021), article 134; San Luis law on gender equality in areas of political representation, 2020, article 8; Santa Cruz Law No. 2052, 1988 (amended through 2018), article 9; Law On Elective Positions-Female Quota-Political Parties of Santiago Del Estero, 2000, article 18; Law 408 of Tierra de Fuego, 1998, article 1; Electoral Regime of Tucuman, 2007 (amended through 2019), article 26bis

Term of elections
  • Term length: 4 years
  • Last local elections: 2019
  • Next local elections: 2023
Electoral management body

National Electoral Chamber

National legal framework on local government
National legal framework
  • Constitution of the Argentine Nation, 1853 (amended through 1994);
  • National Electoral Code No.19945, 1972 (amended through 2021);
  • Democratization Law 26571 of Political Representation, Transparency and Electoral Equity, 2009 (amended through 2021);
  • Constitution of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, 1996;
  • Law 1777A of Communes of Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, 2005 (consolidated in 2016);
  • Electoral Code 6031 of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, 2018;
  • Constitution of the Province of Buenos Aires, 1994 (amended through 2013);
  • Organic Law 6769 on Municipalities of the Province of Buenos Aires, 1958 (amended through 2021);
  • Law on the Equitable political participation between genders for all elective public positions in the Province of Buenos Aires, 2016;
  • Constitution of the Province of Catamarca, 1988 (amended through 2019);
  • Organic Law 4640 on Municipalities of the Province of Catamarca, 1991 (amended through 2020);
  • Constitution of the Province of Chaco, 1994 (amended through 2013);
  • Organic Law 4233 on Municipalities of the Province of Chaco, 1995 (amended through 2016);
  • Provincial Electoral Regime of Chaco, 1995 (amended through 2018);
  • Constitution of the Province of Chubut, 2010;
  • Organic Law on Municipalities of the Province of Chubut, 2010 (amended through 2011);
  • Law on Provincial and Municipal Political Parties of Chubut, 2016 (amended through 2019);
  • Constitution of the Province of Córdoba, 1987 (amended through 2001);
  • Electoral Code of the Córdoba Province, 2008 (amended through 2010);
  • Organic Law 8102 on Municipalities of the Province of Córdoba, 1991 (amended through 2020);
  • Cordoba Law on the Principle of Equivalent Participation of Gender in Elections, 2000;
  • Constitution of the Province of Corrientes, 2007;
  • Organic Law 2498 on Municipalities of the Province of Corrientes, 1964 (amended through 1988);
  • Law 6612 on parity between women and men of Corrientes, 2022;
  • Constitution of the Province of Entre Ríos, 2008;
  • Organic Law on Municipalities of the Province of Entre Ríos, 2011 (amended through 2021);
  • Gender parity law of Entre Ríos, 2020;
  • Constitution of the Province of Formosa, 2003;
  • Formosa’s law on Gender Parity in the candidacies for legislative elective positions both at the Provincial and Municipal levels and Development Commissions, 2019;
  • Constitution of the Province of Jujuy, 1986;
  • Organic Law on Municipalities of the Province of Jujuy, 1989 (amended through 2017);
  • Jujuy Gender Parity Law, 2021;
  • Constitution of the Province of La Pampa, 1994;
  • Organic Law on Municipalities of the Province of La Pampa, 1995 (amended through 2016);
  • Gender equality law of La Pampa, 2020;
  • Constitution of the Province of La Rioja, 2008;
  • Organic Law on Municipalities of the Province of La Rioja, 2000 (amended through 2005);
  • Gender Parity Law of La Rioja, 2020;
  • Constitution of the Province of Mendoza, 1916 (amended through 2007);
  • Organic Law on Municipalities of the Province of Mendoza, 1934 (amended through 2018);
  • Law of Gender Equality in Electoral Matters of Mendoza, 2018;
  • Constitution of the Province of Misiones, 1958 (amended through 2012);
  • Organic Law on Municipalities of the Province of Misiones, 1965 (amended through 2020);
  • Law 10 Modifying the Provincial Election law of Misiones, 2018;
  • Constitution of the Province of Neuquén, 2006;
  • Organic Law on Municipalities of the Province of Neuquén, 1950 (amended through 2002);
  • Electoral System Law of Neuquén, 2017;
  • Constitution of the Province of Rio Negro, 1988 (amended through 2010);
  • Organic Law on Municipalities of the Province of Rio Negro, 1989 (amended through 2015);
  • Electoral Code of Rio Negro, 2011 (amended through 2013);
  • Constitution of the Province of Salta, 1998 (amended through 2003);
  • Organic Law on Municipalities of the Province of Salta, 1933 (amended through 2018);
  • Electoral Law of the Province of Salta, 1987 (amended through 2016);
  • Constitution of the Province of Santa Fe, 1962;
  • Organic Law on Municipalities of the Province of Santa Fe, 1985 (amended through 2010);
  • Santa Fe Law on the Principle of gender parity in the composition of state agencies, political parties, associations, councils and professional associations, 2020 (amended through 2021);
  • Constitution of the Province of San Juan, 2014;
  • Organic Law on Municipalities of the Province of San Juan, 2015;
  • Electoral Code of the Province of San Juan, 2014 (amended through 2021);
  • Constitution of the Province of San Luis, 1987 (amended through 2011);
  • San Luis law on gender equality in areas of political representation, 2020;
  • Constitution of the Province of Santa Cruz, 1998;
  • Organic Law on Municipalities of the Province of Santa Cruz, 1958 (amended through 2019);
  • Santa Cruz Law No. 2052 on the Electoral System, 1988 (amended through 2018);
  • Constitution of the Province of Santiago del Estero, 2005;
  • Organic Law on Municipalities of the Province of Santiago del Estero, 1987 (amended through 2006);
  • Law On Elective Positions-Female Quota-Political Parties of Santiago Del Estero, 2000;
  • Constitution of the Province of Tierra del Fuego, Antarctica and South Atlantic Islands, 1991;
  • Law 408 of Tierra de Fuego amending the electoral law, 1998;
  • Constitution of the Province of Tucuman, 2006;
  • Organic Law on Municipalities of the Province of Tucuman, 1983;
  • Electoral Regime of Tucuman, 2007 (amended through 2019).
Constitutional provisions on local government

There are federal constitutional provisions that establish local government in Argentina. According to Article 123 of the Constitution of the Argentine Nation of 1853 (amended through 1994), “each Province dictates its own Constitution, in conformity with what is established in Article 5, assuring municipal autonomy and regulating its scope and content in the institutional, political, administrative, economic, and financial structure.”

Legislative provisions on local government

The National Congress, the Buenos Aires City legislature, and the provincial legislatures are responsible for establishing the legal framework on local government. The key pieces of legislation that regulate local government are the Provincial Constitutions and Laws of Municipalities.

Sources:

1. UN Women: Data on share of women in local government as of 1 January 2023.

2. UN Women: Information on Head of State and Government as of 3 October 2023.

3. Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU): Data on share of women in the single/lower chamber of parliament as of 1 January 2023.

4. IPU and UN Women: Data on share of women in ministerial positions as of 1 January 2023.

5. Information on local government organization as of 1 January 2023.