The Argentine Army (Ejército Argentino, EA) is the land armed force branch of the Armed Forces of the Argentine Republic and the senior military service of the country. As of 2007, the army has 38,500 mlitary personnel. Under the Argentine Constitution, the President of Argentina is the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, exercising his command authority through the Minister of Defense.
The Army's official foundation date is May 29, 1810 (celebrated in Argentina as the Army Day), four days after the Spanish colonial administration in Buenos Aires was overthrown. The new national army was formed out of several pre-existent colonial militia units and locally-manned regiments (most notoriously the Patricios Regiment, which to this date is still an active Army unit). These units had previously fought the British invasions of the Río de la Plata in 1806 and 1807.
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“It is necessary to turn political crisis into armed crisis by performing violent actions that will force those in power to transform the military situation into a political situation. That will alienate the masses, who, from then on, will revolt against the army and the police and blame them for this state of things.”
—Carlos Marighella (d. 1969)