Correo Argentino
Argentina's state-owned postal operator and national provider of postal, parcel, money-transfer, and related logistics services.
Last updated August 31, 2026
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Overview
Correo Argentino, formally known as Correo Oficial de la República Argentina, is Argentina's state-owned postal operator. It provides the country's principal national postal network, serving individuals, public institutions, and businesses through letter post, parcels, registered and declared-value consignments, money-transfer services, courier and logistics offerings, postal retail, and other services associated with a universal postal system. The company operates as a sociedad anónima under the authority of Argentina's Office of the Cabinet Chief and is generally identified in public life by the shorter name Correo Argentino. The organization's institutional history reaches back well before the modern corporate brand. A colonial postal administration for the Spanish territories in the Americas was established in 1514, and a dedicated service began operating in Buenos Aires on 1 July 1769. The network later expanded to other important cities in the Río de la Plata region. Postal communications became politically important during the May Revolution of 1810, when letters carried orders and reports for the revolutionary authorities. In 1826, the postal service was nationalized and reorganized as the Dirección General de Correos, Postas y Caminos. During the nineteenth century, the administration introduced or expanded postal boxes, regulated delivery work, adjusted postal rates, and developed services such as money orders, registered letters, courier deliveries, and declared-value shipments. A major institutional change occurred in 1944, when the government granted the postal administration greater autonomy and created the Dirección General de Correos y Telecomunicaciones. In 1972, this structure was replaced by ENCoTel, the Empresa Nacional de Correos y Telégrafos, a state-owned enterprise responsible for postal, telegraph, and money-related services. Although private participation in postal activities was permitted during the period beginning in 1976, the state continued to manage the universal postal service. The modern Correo Argentino name became prominent after the privatization of the national postal service in 1997 during the administration of President Carlos Menem. The concession was awarded to a company associated with Sociedad Macri, or SOCMA, owned by businessman Franco Macri. The arrangement made Argentina an early example of postal privatization in the region. The concessionaire subsequently accumulated substantial obligations to creditors and the state and entered reorganization proceedings in 2001. The government moved the service back into state administration in 2003 while considering a new private operator. That re-privatization process was halted in 2004, when the state created Correo Oficial de la República Argentina Sociedad Anónima. The concession was formally withdrawn from the Macri-linked operator in 2005, completing the return of the national postal business to state ownership. The current institutional identity therefore combines a long-running national postal administration with a corporate structure created after the end of the privatization process. Correo Argentino's historic Buenos Aires Central Post Office was also central to the service's public identity. Construction of the monumental building began in 1889 and it was inaugurated in 1928. The building was declared national heritage in 1997. Postal operations largely left the site in 2002, after which the building was eventually redeveloped as the Kirchner Cultural Centre, while a limited postal presence remained on Sarmiento Street. Today, Correo Argentino remains focused on nationwide postal access and the movement of correspondence, parcels, and related transactions across Argentina.
History
Argentina's postal history predates the Correo Argentino corporate identity by several centuries. The colonial Correo Mayor de Indias was established in 1514 with its headquarters in Lima. As Spanish administrative arrangements changed and the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata developed, the growth of commercial activity led to the organization of a postal service in Buenos Aires. Arrangements associated with Domingo Basavilbaso enabled the service to begin operating officially on 1 July 1769. Its reach later extended to cities including Potosí and Santiago de Chile. Bruno Ramírez became the first officially recognized postman in Argentina in 1771, and his appointment later became associated with Argentina's Day of the Postman. The postal network played a practical role in the political events surrounding the May Revolution. Letters carried orders and reports issued by the Primera Junta, making postal circulation part of the communications infrastructure of the emerging Argentine state. Melchor de Albín became the first manager of the service in June 1810. In 1826, during the presidency of Bernardino Rivadavia, Congress nationalized the postal system and organized it as the Dirección General de Correos, Postas y Caminos. Juan Manuel de Luca directed the institution for approximately three decades before being succeeded by Gervasio Antonio de Posadas. During the nineteenth century, the administration broadened and standardized its operations. Posadas introduced post boxes in Buenos Aires, established rules for postal workers, and reduced certain postal charges. Eduardo Olivera, appointed director in 1874, revised the operating regulations and promoted legislation intended to modernize the service. Later administrations introduced or expanded money orders, courier delivery, registered correspondence, and declared-value services. These developments transformed the postal service from a basic letter network into a broader public communications and financial-services system. The growth of Buenos Aires led to the construction of a purpose-built central post office. Director Ramón Cárcano proposed such a building in 1888, and French architect Norbert-Auguste Maillart designed the project. Construction began in 1889, but the building was not completed until 1928, when President Marcelo T. de Alvear formally inaugurated it. Known as the Palacio de Correos, it became one of the most recognizable physical symbols of the Argentine postal system. It was declared national heritage in 1997 because of its architectural and historical importance. Institutional autonomy increased in June 1944, when the government created the Dirección General de Correos y Telecomunicaciones as an autonomous postal and telecommunications administration. In 1972, the state established ENCoTel, the Empresa Nacional de Correos y Telégrafos. ENCoTel handled postal, telegraph, and money-related services. During the National Reorganization Process beginning in 1976, private firms were permitted to participate in parts of the postal market, but the state retained responsibility for universal postal services. The decisive modern turning point came in 1997, when the Carlos Menem administration privatized the national postal service through a concession to a company linked to Sociedad Macri, or SOCMA, controlled by Franco Macri. The concession was intended to place the service under private management for a long term. However, the concessionaire accumulated substantial debts to creditors and the state and entered reorganization proceedings in September 2001. This financial deterioration led to a change in government policy. In 2003, the administration of President Néstor Kirchner returned Correo Argentino to temporary state administration while officials considered a new international bidding process. The proposed re-privatization was abandoned in 2004. Instead, the government created Correo Oficial de la República Argentina Sociedad Anónima as a state-owned corporation. The concession was officially removed from the Macri-linked operator in 2005. The company now known as Correo Argentino thus represents the state-owned successor to a much older public postal institution, rather than a business founded solely at the time of the modern brand's adoption. The Palacio de Correos also changed function during this period. Most postal operations left the building in 2002, although a smaller postal facility and stamp-sales operation continued on Sarmiento Street. The building remained largely inactive until its conversion into the Kirchner Cultural Centre, which opened in 2015. Correo Argentino continues to provide national postal coverage and related parcel, courier, money-transfer, and logistics services within Argentina.
- 2015
The former central post office becomes the Kirchner Cultural Centre
[1]The historic Palacio de Correos was redeveloped and opened as the Kirchner Cultural Centre.
- 2005
The private concession is withdrawn
[1]The government formally took the concession away from the Macri-linked operator.
- 2004
State-owned corporate successor is created
[1]The plan to re-privatize the service was halted and Correo Oficial de la República Argentina Sociedad Anónima was established.
- 2003
Temporary return to state administration
[1]The Kirchner administration placed the postal operation under state management while evaluating a new private concession.
- 2002
Most postal operations leave the historic central post office
[1]The Palacio de Correos ceased to function as the main operating headquarters, retaining only a limited postal presence.
- 1997
National postal service is privatized
[1]The government granted operation of the national postal service to a private concessionaire linked to Sociedad Macri and the Correo Argentino name became prominent.
- 1972
ENCoTel is established
[1]The state created the Empresa Nacional de Correos y Telégrafos to manage postal, telegraph, and money-related services.
- 1944
Postal administration receives autonomous status
[1]The government established the Dirección General de Correos y Telecomunicaciones as an autonomous postal and telecommunications administration.
- 1928
The Palacio de Correos is inaugurated
[1]The central post office building was completed and inaugurated during the presidency of Marcelo T. de Alvear.
- 1889
Construction begins on the Palacio de Correos
[1]Work began on a monumental central post office in Buenos Aires designed by Norbert-Auguste Maillart.
Products and positioning
A state-owned national postal and logistics provider responsible for broad postal coverage in Argentina, combining universal-service functions with parcel, courier, financial-postal, and business delivery services.
Postal services
Letter and document mail
Core correspondence services for sending letters, documents, and other paper communications through Argentina's national postal network. The historical postal administration also developed registered and declared-value formats that added proof of handling, delivery controls, or declared-value protection to ordinary correspondence.
Secure postal services
Registered and declared-value mail
Higher-control postal formats designed for correspondence or consignments requiring additional handling records, delivery evidence, or declaration of value. These services extend beyond ordinary letter post and reflect the operator's long-standing role in secure national communications.
Parcel logistics
Parcel and courier delivery
Domestic and related delivery services for packages and consignments. The offering connects postal branches and delivery infrastructure with household, institutional, and commercial shipping needs, including courier-style handling and logistics activities.
Financial-postal services
Postal money services
Money orders and related transfer services delivered through the postal network. Such services have been part of the Argentine postal system's broader remit alongside correspondence, telegraphy, and parcel handling.
Postal retail
Postal retail and stamps
Branch-based postal retail activities, including the sale of stamps and access to mailing services. A limited postal and stamp-sales operation remained at the historic Buenos Aires central post office after most activities moved elsewhere in 2002.
Brand decisions
2005
Formal withdrawal of the previous concessionOtherBackground
The state had already resumed direct administration and created a successor company after abandoning the re-privatization plan.
Action taken
The government formally removed the postal concession from the Macri-linked operator.
Aftermath
Correo Argentino continued as a state-owned national postal operator rather than returning to private concession management.
2004
Creation of a state-owned postal corporationStrategyBackground
After reassessing the future of the postal concession, the government halted the planned re-privatization.
Action taken
Argentina created Correo Oficial de la República Argentina Sociedad Anónima to operate the national postal service as a state-owned company.
Aftermath
The new corporate vehicle became the institutional basis of the modern state-owned Correo Argentino operation, and the previous concession was formally withdrawn in 2005.
2003
Temporary reversion to direct state administrationStrategyBackground
The private concession had deteriorated financially, and the government was evaluating how to preserve operation of the national postal service.
Action taken
The Kirchner administration assumed direct control for a temporary period while considering a new international public bidding process.
Aftermath
The proposed return to private management did not proceed; the government instead established a new state-owned corporate structure in 2004.
1997
Privatization through a long-term postal concessionStrategyBackground
The Carlos Menem administration pursued privatization of the national postal service as part of a broader policy of transferring selected public utilities and enterprises to private management.
Action taken
Operation of the postal service was granted to a company associated with Sociedad Macri, while the Correo Argentino name became the public-facing identity of the concession.
Aftermath
The concessionaire later entered reorganization proceedings after accumulating substantial obligations, contributing to the eventual return of the service to state control.
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