The Argentine Republic occupies almost the whole of South America south of the Tropic of Capricorn and east of the Andes. Throughout the 20th century government generally alternated between military and civilian rule. The so-called 'dirty war' between the military regime and its opponents in 1976–83 remained politically sensitive in the early 21st century. In 2001 economic disaster forced Fernando de la Rúa of the Unión Cívica Radical to resign as President. He was replaced by a succession of Presidents prior to the election of Peronist Néstor Kirchner in 2003. He was succeeded by his wife, Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, in 2007. She was re-elected in 2011. Argentina’s capital is Buenos Aires. The language is Spanish.