The Official Post Service of the Argentine Republic (, mostly known as Correo Argentino since it was privatized in 1997) is the

state-owned company A state-owned enterprise (SOE) is a business entity created or owned by a national or local government, either through an executive order or legislation. SOEs aim to generate profit for the government, prevent private sector monopolies, provide goo ...

that covers the

postal service The mail or post is a system for physically transporting postcards, letters, and parcels. A postal service can be private or public, though many governments place restrictions on private systems. Since the mid-19th century, national postal sy ...

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

. The company is a S.A. under the country's Office of the Cabinet Chief.Una militante de la Cámpora, al correo
by Andrés Sanguinetti, iProfesional, 8 Jan 2020

History

The beginning: Viceroyalty

On 14 May 1514 the "Correo Mayor de Indias", headquartered in

Lima, Peru Lima ( ; ), founded in 1535 as the Ciudad de los Reyes (, Spanish for "City of Biblical Magi, Kings"), is the capital and largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón River, Chillón, Rímac River, Rímac and Lurín Rive ...

, was created. Under the mandate of Carlos III of Spain the post service became part of the

Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata The Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata or Viceroyalty of Buenos Aires ( or Virreinato de Buenos Aires or ) meaning "River of the Silver", also called the "Viceroyalty of River Plate" in some scholarly writings, in southern South America, was ...

depending on the

Kingdom of Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

. With the commercial activity increasing considerably, it was decided to create a post service at Buenos Aires. Domingo Basavilbaso made the arrangements to establish a post service in the region. It would be managed by a senior lieutenant designed by the head office at Lima. On 1 July 1769, the service began its activities officially. Through the years it extended to the cities of Potosí and Santiago (Chile). Bruno Ramírez was the first postman of Argentine post, when the profession did not still exist in the country. Ramírez officially became post employee on 14 September 1771. Years later that would be promulgated as the Day of Postman in Argentina.

Evolution

Post service in Argentina played a key role during the

May Revolution The May Revolution () was a week-long series of events that took place from 18 to 25 May 1810, in Buenos Aires, capital of the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata. This Spanish colony included roughly the territories of present-day Argentina, ...

because of orders and reports from the

Primera Junta The Primera Junta ("First Junta") or ''Junta Provisional Gubernativa de las Provincias del Río de la Plata'' ("Provisional Governing Junta of the Provinces of the Río de la Plata"), is the most common name given to the first government of what ...

were distributed through letters. The first manager of the service was Melchor de Albín, designed in June 1810. In 1826, during the presidency of

Bernardino Rivadavia Bernardino de la Trinidad González Rivadavia (May 20, 1780 – September 2, 1845) was the first President of Argentina, then called the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata, from February 8, 1826 to June 27, 1827. He was educated at th ...

, the service was nationalised by a Law passed by the Congress of Provincias Unidas del Río de la Plata. Since then, the post service was named "Dirección General de Correos, Postas y Caminos", with Juan Manuel de Luca in charge. De Luca remained during 32 years, being succeeded by Gervasio Antonio de Posadas. It was Posadas who placed the first post boxes in the city of

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− glob ...

, wrote the rules for postmen and established lower prices for post rates. Eduardo Olivera was chosen as director in 1874 replacing Posadas. Olivera wrote the new rules and sent a project for the Law of renew of post services, n° 816. During successive administrations, money orders, courier services, registered letters and declared values were implemented. After being an agency depending on the Ministries of Finances and Interior, in June 1944 the

Government of Argentina The government of Argentina, within the framework of a federal system, is a presidential system, presidential Representative democracy, representative democratic republic. The president of Argentina is both head of state and head of government. ...

established the post service autonomy, naming it "Dirección General de Correos y Telecomunicaciones" (National Direction of Post and Telecommunication)

Palacio de Correos

Due to the increasing demand for post services in Argentina, in 1888 the Post Office director, Ramón Cárcano, proposed a specific building as seat for the postal service. French architect Norbert-Auguste Maillart designed the building, inspiring in the City Hall Post Office of

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. Works started in 1889, not being finished until 1928 when the building was officially inaugurated by president of Argentina Marcelo T. de Alvear.

ENCoTel

The "Empresa Nacional de Correos y Telégrafos" (ENCoTel) (in English: "Post and Telegraph National Company") was a state-owned company established in 1972 for post, telegraph and money services. During the National Reorganisation Process started in 1976, private companies were allowed to take part in post services, although the universal post services continued being managed by the state post.

Privatisation

In 1997, during the

Carlos Menem Carlos Saúl Menem (2 July 1930 – 14 February 2021) served as the 50th president of Argentina for ten years, from 1989 to 1999. He identified as Peronism, Peronist, serving as President of the Justicialist Party for 13 years (from 1990 to 200 ...

administration, ENCoTel was privatised. The service was granted in concession to "Correo Argentino", a company part of Sociedad Macri (SOCMA), owned by businessman

Franco Macri Francesco Raùl Macri (15 April 1931 – 2 March 2019) was an Italian-Argentine contractor, developer, industrialist and father of former Argentine President Mauricio Macri. Life and career Childhood in Italy Macri was born in Rome, to Giorgio M ...

. In that way, Argentina became one of the first countries to privatise its post service. The contract of concession set a term of 30 years, also establishing that SOCMA would pay a six-monthly rent of A$ 51.6 million to the state. Nevertheless, the consortium built up a debt of nearly US$900 million to private creditors and the state as well. In September 2001, SOCMA entered into a reorganization proceeding."De la patria contratista al control mismo del Estado"
, Infoleg, 31 Jan 2013"Correo Argentino: la primera empresa re estatizada"
, Primera Página Bonaerense, 31 May 2013 The ''Palacio de Correos'' was declared National Heritage by Law 12,665 in 1997. considering its architectural style and historic relevance. In 2002 the building ceased operations as seat of Correo Argentino. Only a small part of the building continued its activities as a post office and sale of

stamps Stamp or Stamps or Stamping may refer to: Official documents and related impressions * Postage stamp, used to indicate prepayment of fees for public mail * Ration stamp, indicating the right to rationed goods * Revenue stamp, used on documents to ...

, on Sarmiento street. The rest of the building became inactive until became the

Kirchner Cultural Centre The Libertad Palace, Domingo Faustino Sarmiento Cultural Center () is a cultural centre located in Buenos Aires, Argentina. It is the largest of Latin America, and the third or fourth largest in the world.La Presidenta inauguró el “Centro Cultural Néstor Kirchner”
on Argentina.gob.ar, 22 May 2015

Renationalization

The Kirchner administration decided in 2003 that Correo Argentino would go back to state administration for 180 days, while a new private administrator would be sought for in an international public bid. In 2004, the re-privatization plan was halted, and a new state-owned S.A. corporation was created: ''Correo Oficial de la República Argentina Sociedad Anónima''. In 2005, the concession was officially taken from Macri. Franco Macri, a supporter of the Kirchner administration, claimed he received an unworthy treatment during the process.

References

External links

* {{Authority control Philately of Argentina Communications in Argentina Companies of Argentina Companies based in Buenos Aires Companies established in 1826 Argentine brands

Argent In heraldry, argent () is the tincture of silver, and belongs to the class of light tinctures called "metals". It is very frequently depicted as white and usually considered interchangeable with it. In engravings and line drawings, regions to b ...

1826 establishments in Argentina