Argentina after Elections

The First Lady became President

Cristina Fernández has been often compared with Eva Peron and Hillary Clinton. She does share some of Eva Peron's tenacity and passion, but she more resembles more Hillary Clinton. Both married their law-school boyfriends, helped them become Governors and run for presidency, to finally become first ladies. Mrs. Fernández certainly hopes Hillary Clinton will join the growing number of women in top jobs in America, following not only her example but also Michelle Bachelet's and several women in senior government posts in Bolivia, Peru and Ecuador


By MARIA ENCINAR
from La Coruna, SPAIN


Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, the wife of Argentina's president Nestor Kirchner, became the first woman to be democratically elected in the country's history.

Mrs. Kirchner, representing the ruling "Front for Victory" party, won Presidential Elections on October 28th, with 45% of the votes and 22% lead over her nearest rival, Elisa Carrio, a center-left former deputy. Roberto Lavagna, the former Ministry of Economy, trailed 17% of the ballots.

In her first appearance after winning the election, she called on all Argentines to begin a period "without hatred or bitterness" in order to "rebuild the social and institutional fabric". A country, she said, could not be built by a government alone.

Felipe Noguera, a well-known political analyst and consultant, is convinced that the concern about a past crisis ensured success of the first lady. Argentines want to keep the economic recovery and none of the candidates was able to propose a better alternative than the Kirchners. Some consider this as the beginning of a dynasty, since the Kirchners will rotate the presidency, thereby avoiding the constitutional ban on holding more than two consecutive terms.

The challenges Mrs. Kirchner will have to face are all tied to the economy. The big issues are expected to be employment, the consolidation of growth and its fair distribution, a rising inflation and declining health and education systems. Most analysts do not expect great changes in domestic policies, however Mrs. Kirchner seems to be more interested in global affairs than her husband. During the campaign, she travelled widely to Spain, Mexico, Germany and most remarkably to the United States, with which Néstor Kirchner has rather cold relations.

Argentines are always difficult to keep interested when there's a foregone result, even though voting was mandatory for 27 million people. Electoral Commission could not find enough volunteers to work in the polling stations and many opened late. According to Felipe Noguera, "the vote has been one of the most chaotic in Argentina's recent history". There were large queues of voters and the stations were opened for an extra hour to allow everyone to cast their ballots.

Cristina Fernández has been often compared with Eva Peron and Hillary Clinton. She does share some of Eva Peron's tenacity and passion, but she more resembles more Hillary Clinton. Both married their law-school boyfriends, helped them become Governors and run for presidency, to finally become first ladies. Mrs. Clinton, like her Argentinean counterpart, is a senator running for the top job in the US. Mrs. Fernández certainly hopes Hillary Clinton will join the growing number of women in top jobs in America, following not only her example but also Michelle Bachelet's and several women in senior government posts in Bolivia, Peru and Ecuador.

The new president will be sworn in on December 10th. Mrs. Kirchner will easily find her way to the Casa Rosada or Pink House, which has been her husband's workplace since he took up Argentina's presidency in 2003. But what she has planned for the future of Argentina remains unclear.


(Published: 09.12.2007.)

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