Argentine Society:

• Argentina was divided into an Upper, Middle, and Lower Class.

• The upper class’s wealth came from taking advantage of the export

economy.

• A lot of these upper class members were large landholders before the

economic boom.

• The most powerful elites were cattle fatteners for both, the domestic, and

foreign markets.

• There were 400 different families who were a part of this business, and they

were all connected.

• Wealth was found mostly in cattle and cereal regions of the Pampas, near

Buenos Aires.

• 1880 – 1912: the elites controlled land, wealth, and politics.

• They manipulated the system to gain many benefits.

• The Military, as well as the church, both reflected views of elites.

• (See map of Argentina).

• As Argentina grew, a new urban middle class arose…

• (See diagram of social structure).

• A new urban middle class arose.  Bureaucracy + Professions  Radical

Party.

• The lower class divided into: workers (Buenos Aires  Small factories) and

urban marginals (Railroads + Tramways + Port of Buenos Aires).

• The Socialist Party failed, due to its leaders mainly being members of the

middle class.

• Workers’ unions = railroad workers + dock workers.

• Many strikes during 1st radical regime (1916 - 1922).

• Labor movement ↓, due to opponents: Socialists, Anarchists, Syndicalists.