this post was submitted on 18 Nov 2025
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Does anyone know why Argentina was/is so progressive compared to its neighbors like Brazil and Chile?
My guess: Larger % of people living in city centers vs rural areas. A quick glance at population data over time seems to back that up, but you know what they say about correlation.
It's a really good question, I'm from Argentina and I don't have a solid answer. Like someone else said the colonization and history is likely to be part of the reason, but I would like to remark that Argentina has a lot more influence from Italy, Spain, Germany and France, and also Jewish ( iirc Buenos Aires used to be the city with the largest jewish population after New York in the 90's). It's a very different cultural melting pot compared to any other country in South America.
Interesting! How are the county's vibes regarding immigrants? Im always looking for a backup county in case my current one goes to shit again :)
In general the culture is very much 'you do you'. People mind their own business and don't discriminate much. There is some animosity towards immigrants from some neighboring countries, but you would already know if that was your demographic. Occasionally you find some disdain towards English-speaking immigrants, but I would say that's overshadowed by admiration in general.
Overall I'd say the vibe is positive.
The main concern with Argentina isn't discrimination but economic instability, corruption, and high crime rates. Buenos Aires, its capital, is rough. If you are seriously considering it, my suggestion would be pick another province and ideally bring your own work as a freelancer or similar, because making money can be challenging.
Maybe has something to do with the type of colonisation in each country. Argentina had its first university in 1613, while Brazil had its first in 1808. Brazil as a colonial project kept its extractivist nature for a lot longer.
Argentina used to be first world as well, for whatever that's worth.
It's confusing what you mean, because while "is first world" has come to mean "is a developed nation" for some reason, "used to be a first world" ambiguously summons the prior definition of the word, "an ally of the United States in the cold war." Ideally this problematic phrase should be avoided.
You're probably right, but "was a developed nation" seems confusing it it's own way, given that the definition of "developed" is pretty starkly different across times (there is no country left in the world with infant mortality as bad as best performer US in 1900, for example). In long form, it was at the same level as familiar W.E.I.R.D countries like the US, New Zealand and France, and then later fell behind.
Three worlds wasn't a great classification system when it was first devised, even. First world and second world made sense, lumping everything else into one category was pretty eurocentric and dismissive.
It wasn't a classification, it was a declaration. It was what side you were on in the Cold War.
I mean, Br and CL made a lot more progress. What gets to me is Mr Latam LGBT is behind Argentina by one measily point