ABSTRACT
On November 27, 1996, representatives of Argentina and Chile met to finalize a treaty settling a number of long-standing border disagreements between the two countries. Just before the treaty was signed, 20 deputies to the Argentine national assembly denounced the agreement, which they saw as favoring Chile, and announced their intention to oppose its ratification. In April, 1997, the governments of Argentina and Chile agreed to delay ratification of the treaty, as each country was scheduled to hold congressional elections that year and Argentina, in particular, hoped to see the opposition lose some influence. Instead, the Argentine opposition gained several seats in the elections and succeeded in forcing the government to reopen negotiations with Chile. While Chile objected to renewing discussions over what it considered to be a settled matter, the Argentine government ultimately convinced Chile that the existing treaty had no chance of ratification in the Argentine assembly. On December 16, 1998, Chile and Argentina signed a revised treaty that was more favorable to Argentina. That treaty was subsequently ratified by both countries.
