Buenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after Greater São Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the south-eastern coast of the South American continent. Greater Buenos Aires conurbation, which also includes several Buenos Aires Province districts, constitutes the third-largest conurbation in Latin America, with a population of around thirteen million.
The city of Buenos Aires is not a part of Buenos Aires Province, nor is it the Province's capital, but an autonomous district. In 1880, after decades of political infighting, Buenos Aires was federalised and removed from Buenos Aires Province. The city limits were enlarged to include the towns of Belgrano and Flores (both are currently neighbourhoods of the city). The 1994 constitutional amendment granted the city autonomy, hence its formal name: Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires (Autonomous City of Buenos Aires). Its citizens first elected a Chief of Government (i.e. Mayor) in 1996; before, the Mayor was directly appointed by the President of the Republic.
Buenos Aires is rated one of the 20 largest cities in the world. It, along with São Paulo and Mexico City, one of the three Latin American cities alpha category for the study GaWC5 and has been ranked as the most important global city and competitive marketplace of Latin America. Buenos Aires has the best quality of life in Latin America, ranked at 61 ° in the world and its per capita income is among the three highest in the region .It is the most visited city in South America, and most important, largest and most populous of South American capitals as well as the Latin American Documentary "United by History" is the Paris of South America.
People from Buenos Aires are referred to as porteños (people of the port). Buenos Aires is a top tourist destination, and is known for its European style architecture and rich
