Argentina's First Lady Wins Presidency
BUENOS AIRES, Oct. 2007 -- The presidency of
Argentina was handed from husband to wife Sunday, as first
lady Cristina Fernández de Kirchner crushed 13 opposition
candidates on the promise of adhering to the political
principles that made President Néstor Kirchner one of Latin
America's most popular leaders.
Results with around 95 percent of polling
places reporting showed that Fernández de Kirchner had
received about 45 percent of the vote, nearly twice that of
the second place finisher and enough of a margin to avoid a
runoff.
The victory makes her the second woman to be
elected president in South America in the past two years, after
Chile's Michelle Bachelet.
Fernández de Kirchner, 54, was a nationally
recognized senator before her husband was elected president in
2003. But she pegged her presidential campaign to the successes
of his term, in which there were four years of strong growth
following the country's 2001 economic collapse and $100 billion
debt default. She offered few concrete proposals during the
electoral race, but promised to "deepen the change"
that her husband's government instituted.
"A little more than four-and-a-half years
ago, Argentines were living in difficult times of fragmentation
and of confrontation," she said during a victory speech
Sunday night in which she credited her husband with stabilizing
the country. "The man who today accompanies me, who has
been my companion all my life, assumed the presidency under very
different circumstances than we have today."
Like her husband, Fernández de Kirchner is a
fiery and often combative orator whose politics are rooted in
the brand of populism made famous here by former strongman
president Juan Perón and his wife, Eva. Néstor Kirchner's
government steered the country away from the free-market
policies of the 1990s that the Kirchners -- along with a large
percentage of the population -- blame for the economic crisis.
Fernández de Kirchner has vowed to remain defiantly opposed to
the advice of global lending institutions such as the
International Monetary Fund.
To her supporters, such declarations of economic
independence -- together with a long history of holding
Argentina's 1976-83 military dictatorship responsible for human
rights abuses -- count as the Kirchners' principle strengths.
Fernández de Kirchner's campaign literature drew parallels
between her and Eva Perón, who is revered here as a champion of
social justice and defender of the poor.
Cristina will lead a government that
represents all of the people, but the rest of the
candidates want to govern just for the elites," said
Néstor Arevalo, 38, who cast a ballot for Fernández de
Kirchner in the province of Buenos Aires on Sunday.
"She has proven herself to be a fighter for human
rights, and that is very important in a country with a
history like ours."
Raised in the provincial city of La Plata,
Fernández de Kirchner was a student activist in the 1970s
who supported the Perónist party and opposed a military
dictatorship that had no tolerance for dissent. She met
her husband while in law school there, and after the two
moved together to the Patagonian province of Santa Cruz,
they formed an alliance that soon dominated the region's
political landscape. He was elected the province's
governor, and she became its senator. After he was elected
president, she won a third term in the Senate in 2005,
this time representing the province of Buenos Aires, the
country's largest.
Her initial terms in the legislature
established her as an active lawmaker, regularly
challenging then-President Carlos Menem and championing
reforms calling for a more transparent government. But
aside from aggressively promoting reforms of the country's
Supreme Court, her most recent term has been comparatively
inactive and marked by reversals of some of her earlier
positions.
"After her husband became the
president, something changed in her," said Laura
Alonso, executive director of Poder Ciudadano, a Buenos
Aires-based organization affiliated with Transparency
International. "Before, she was a great defender of
the access of information law. And after he became
president, she hated that law."
The idea that the Kirchners seek to
accumulate power and stifle opposition is a handy dart
thrown often by their critics. Néstor Kirchner's
administration was led by a tight circle of close
advisers, including his wife, and he never held cabinet
meetings. When he announced this year that he would not
run for reelection and would instead support his wife's
bid, many interpreted it as a ploy by the couple to try to
alternate terms and occupy the nation's top office for as
long as 16 years.
"Nothing concerns them more than just
staying in power," said Guillermo Dacini, 47, a
banker who voted against Fernández de Kirchner on Sunday.
"She's the same as her husband -- very
authoritarian."
But the relative health of the economy --
which during Néstor Kirchner's term grew 8 percent
annually, with unemployment dipping to 15-year lows -- was
a key factor in preventing the complaints of the
opposition candidates from igniting voters' passions. The
early exit polls suggested that former congresswoman Elisa
Carrió came in second with about 25 percent of the vote,
followed by former economy minister Roberto Lavagna with
about 15 percent.
The main difference between the outgoing
and incoming presidents is one of style, according to
political analysts. Whereas Néstor Kirchner is often
brusque with world leaders and prone to gaffes of
protocol, Fernández de Kirchner has cultivated a more
diplomatic image and appears more concerned with courting
foreign investment and polishing Argentina's image abroad.
"He has appeared very domestically
oriented, whereas she appears much more prone to talk to
the outside world and to engage other people in
conversation," said Maria Victoria Murillo, a Latin
American political scientist at Columbia University in New
York. "She has been willing to meet with employers'
associations and entrepreneurs to a much larger extent
than he has been."
But when most people here speak about Fernández
de Kirchner's style, they have something more superficial
in mind. When she assumes office in December, the glamour
quotient behind Argentina's presidential podium will
instantly, and unapologetically, soar. Reporters here
write often about her generously applied mascara, the
prices of her luxurious Hermčs Birkin handbags and her
shopping trips to designer boutiques in Paris. The
apparent contradiction between her populist discourse and
her reputation as a fashionista is the same one that
defined Eva Perón, and Fernández de Kirchner appears
unconcerned by those who have tried to fault her for it.
She told journalist Olga Wornat, her
biographer, who has known her since her university days,
that others have no right to expect her to surrender her
femininity just because it doesn't conform to political
stereotypes.
Since she was 15 years old, Fernández de
Kirchner said, she had used a lot of makeup. "I love
being a woman. I make myself up like any other woman, and
it was always that way."
[Top of Page]
Country name:
conventional long form: Argentine Republic
conventional short form: Argentina
local long form: Republica Argentina
local short form: Argentina
Data code: AR
Government type: republic
Capital: Buenos Aires
Administrative divisions: 23 provinces (provincias, singular -
provincia), and 1 federal district* (distrito federal); Buenos Aires; Catamarca;
Chaco; Chubut; Cordoba; Corrientes; Distrito Federal*; Entre Rios; Formosa;
Jujuy; La Pampa; La Rioja; Mendoza; Misiones; Neuquen; Rio Negro; Salta; San
Juan; San Luis; Santa Cruz; Santa Fe; Santiago del Estero; Tierra del Fuego,
Antartica e Islas del Atlantico Sur; Tucuman
note: the US does not recognize any claims to Antarctica
Independence: 9 July 1816 (from Spain)
National holiday: Revolution Day, 25 May (1810)
Constitution: 1 May 1853; revised August 1994
Legal system: mixture of US and West European legal systems; has not
accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Executive branch:
chief of state: President Fernando DE LA RUA (since 10 December 1999);
Vice President Carlos Alberto ALVAREZ (since 10 December 1999); note - the
president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Fernando DE LA RUA (since 10 December
1999); Vice President Carlos Alberto ALVAREZ (since 10 December 1999); note -
the president is both the chief of state and head of government
cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president
elections: president and vice president elected on the same ticket by
popular vote for four-year terms; election last held 24 October 1999 (next to be
held NA October 2003)
election results: Fernando DE LA RUA elected president; percent of vote -
48.5%
Legislative branch: bicameral National Congress or Congreso Nacional
consists of the Senate (72 seats; formerly, three members appointed by each of
the provincial legislatures; presently transitioning to one-third of the members
being elected every two years to six-year terms) and the Chamber of Deputies
(257 seats; one-half of the members elected every two years to four-year terms)
elections: Senate - transition phase will begin in 2001 elections when
all seats will be fully contested; winners will randomly draw to determine
whether they will serve a two-year, four-year, or full six-year term, beginning
a rotating cycle renovating a third of the body every two years; Chamber of
Deputies - last held 24 October 1999 (next to be held NA October 2001)
election results: Senate - percent of vote by bloc or party - NA; seats
by bloc or party - Peronist 40, UCR 20, Frepaso 1, other 11; Chamber of Deputies
- percent of vote by bloc or party - NA; seats by bloc or party - Alliance 124
(UCR 85, Frepaso 36, others 3), Peronist 101, AR 12, other 20
Judicial branch: Supreme Court (Corte Suprema), the nine Supreme Court
judges are appointed by the president with approval of the Senate
Political parties and leaders: Action for the Republic or AR [Domingo
CAVALLO]; Alliance (UCR, Frepaso and others) [leader NA]; Front for a Country in
Solidarity or Frepaso (a four-party coalition) [Carlos ALVAREZ]; Justicialist
Party or PJ [Carlos Saul MENEM] (Peronist umbrella political organization);
Radical Civic Union or UCR [Raul ALFONSIN]; several provincial parties
Political pressure groups and leaders: Argentine Association of
Pharmaceutical Labs (CILFA); Argentine Industrial Union (manufacturers'
association); Argentine Rural Society (large landowners' association); Armed
Forces; business organizations; General Confederation of Labor or CGT
(Peronist-leaning umbrella labor organization); Peronist-dominated labor
movement; Roman Catholic Church; students
International organization participation: AfDB, Australia Group, BCIE,
CCC, ECLAC, FAO, G- 6, G-11, G-15, G-19, G-24, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC,
ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat,
Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, LAES, LAIA, Mercosur, MINURSO, MIPONUH, MTCR, NSG,
OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, RG, UN, UN Security Council (temporary), UNCTAD, UNESCO,
UNFICYP, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIKOM, UNITAR, UNMIBH, UNMIK, UNMOP, UNTAET, UNTSO, UNU,
UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO, ZC
Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Guillermo GONZALEZ Enrique
chancery: 1600 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20009
telephone: [1] (202) 238-6400
FAX: [1] (202) 238-6471
consulate(s) general: Atlanta, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New
York
Diplomatic representation from the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant)
embassy: 4300 Colombia, 1425 Buenos Aires
mailing address: international mail: use street address; APO address:
Unit 4334, APO AA 34034
telephone: [54] (1) 777-4533, 4534
FAX: [54] (1) 777-0197
Flag description: three equal horizontal bands of light blue (top),
white, and light blue; centered in the white band is a radiant yellow sun with a
human face known as the Sun of May
(See Below Maps of Provinces)
[Top of Page]
Economy - overview: Argentina benefits
from rich natural resources, a highly literate population, an
export-oriented agricultural sector, and a diversified
industrial base. However, when President Carlos MENEM took
office in 1989, the country had piled up huge external debts,
inflation had reached 200% per month, and output was plummeting.
To combat the economic crisis, the government embarked on a path
of trade liberalization, deregulation, and privatization. In
1991, it implemented radical monetary reforms which pegged the
peso to the US dollar and limited the growth in the monetary
base by law to the growth in reserves. Inflation fell sharply in
subsequent years. In 1995, the Mexican peso crisis produced
capital flight, the loss of banking system deposits, and a
severe, but short-lived, recession; a series of reforms to
bolster the domestic banking system followed. Real GDP growth
recovered strongly, reaching 8% in 1997. In 1998, international
financial turmoil caused by Russia's problems and increasing
investor anxiety over Brazil produced the highest domestic
interest rates in more than three years, halving the growth rate
of the economy. Conditions worsened in 1999 with GDP falling by
3%. President Fernando DE LA RUA, who took office in December
1999, sponsored tax increases and spending cuts to reduce the
deficit, which had ballooned to 2.5% of GDP in 1999. The new
government also arranged a new $7.4 billion stand-by facility
with the IMF for contingency purposes - almost three times the
size of the previous arrangement. Key challenges facing the new
government include reforming the country's rigid labor code and
addressing the precarious financial situation of several highly
indebted provinces.
GDP: purchasing power parity - $367 billion (1999 est.)
GDP - real growth rate: -3% (1999 est.)
GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $10,000 (1999 est.)
GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 7%
industry: 29%
services: 64% (1999 est.)
Population below poverty line: 36% (1998 est.)
Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA%
Inflation rate (consumer prices): -2% (1999 est.)
Labor force: 15 million (1999)
Labor force - by occupation: agriculture NA%, industry NA%, services
NA%
Unemployment rate: 14% (December 1999)
Budget:
revenues: $44 billion
expenditures: $48 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA billion
(2000 est.)
Industries: food processing, motor vehicles, consumer durables,
textiles, chemicals and petrochemicals, printing, metallurgy, steel
Industrial production growth rate: -7% (1999 est.)
Electricity - production: 75.237 billion kWh (1998)
Electricity - production by source:
fossil fuel: 42.71%
hydro: 47.55%
nuclear: 9.47%
other: 0.27% (1998)
Electricity - consumption: 75.57 billion kWh (1998)
Electricity - exports: 250 million kWh (1998)
Electricity - imports: 5.85 billion kWh (1998)
Agriculture - products: sunflower seeds, lemons, soybeans, grapes,
corn, tobacco, peanuts, tea, wheat; livestock
Exports: $23 billion (f.o.b., 1999 est.)
Exports - commodities: edible oils, fuels and energy, cereals, feed,
motor vehicles
Exports - partners: Brazil 24%, EU 21%, US 11% (1999 est.)
Imports: $25 billion (c.i.f., 1999 est.)
Imports - commodities: machinery and equipment, motor vehicles,
chemicals, metal manufactures, plastics
Imports - partners: EU 28%, US 22%, Brazil 21% (1999 est.)
Debt - external: $149 billion (1999 est.)
Economic aid - recipient: $2.833 billion (1995)
Currency: 1 peso = 100 centavos
Exchange rates: peso is pegged to the US dollar at an exchange rate of
1 peso = $1
Fiscal year: calendar year
[Top of Page]
Telephones - main lines in use: 7.5 million (1997)
Telephones - mobile cellular: 1.8 million (1997)
Telephone system: 12,000 public telephones; extensive modern system
but many families do not have telephones; despite extensive use of microwave
radio relay, the telephone system frequently fails during rainstorms, even in
Buenos Aires
domestic: microwave radio relay and a domestic satellite system with 40
earth stations serve the trunk network
international: satellite earth stations - 3 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean);
two international gateways near Buenos Aires; Atlantis II submarine cable (1999)
Radio broadcast stations: AM 260 (including 10 inactive stations), FM
NA (probably more than 1,000, mostly unlicensed), shortwave 6 (1998)
Radios: 24.3 million (1997)
Television broadcast stations: 42 (plus 444 repeaters) (1997)
Televisions: 7.95 million (1997)
Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 47 (1999)
[Top of Page]
Railways:
total: 38,326 km (160 km electrified)
broad gauge: 24,481 km 1.676-m gauge (134 km electrified)
standard gauge: 2,765 km 1.435-m gauge (26 km electrified)
narrow gauge: 11,080 km 1.000-m gauge (1999)
Highways:
total: 215,434 km
paved: 63,553 km (including 734 km of expressways)
unpaved: 151,881 km (1998 est.)
Waterways: 10,950 km navigable
Pipelines: crude oil 4,090 km; petroleum products 2,900 km; natural
gas 9,918 km
Ports and harbors: Bahia Blanca, Buenos Aires, Comodoro Rivadavia,
Concepcion del Uruguay, La Plata, Mar del Plata, Necochea, Rio Gallegos,
Rosario, Santa Fe, Ushuaia
Merchant marine:
total: 26 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 218,540 GRT/333,413 DWT
ships by type: cargo 9, petroleum tanker 11, rail car carrier 1,
refrigerated cargo 2, roll-on/roll-off 1, short-sea passenger 2 (1999 est.)
Airports: 1,359 (1999 est.)
Airports - with paved runways:
total: 142
over 3,047 m: 5
2,438 to 3,047 m: 26
1,524 to 2,437 m: 60
914 to 1,523 m: 44
under 914 m: 7 (1999 est.)
Airports - with unpaved runways:
total: 1,217
over 3,047 m: 2
2,438 to 3,047 m: 2
1,524 to 2,437 m: 63
914 to 1,523 m: 614
under 914 m: 536 (1999 est.)
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Military branches: Argentine Army, Navy of the Argentine Republic
(includes Naval Aviation, Marines, and Coast Guard), Argentine Air Force,
National Gendarmerie, National Aeronautical Police Force
Military manpower - military age: 20 years of age
Military manpower - availability:
males age 15-49: 9,287,499 (2000 est.)
Military manpower - fit for military service:
males age 15-49: 7,530,476 (2000 est.)
Military manpower - reaching military age annually:
males: 341,544 (2000 est.)
Military expenditures - dollar figure: $4.3 billion (FY99)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP: 1.3% (FY99)
[Top of Page]
Disputes - international: claims UK-administered Falkland Islands
(Islas Malvinas); claims UK-administered South Georgia and the South Sandwich
Islands; territorial claim in Antarctica
Illicit drugs: increasing use as a transshipment country for cocaine
headed for Europe and the US; increasing use as a money-laundering center;
domestic consumption of drugs has skyrocketed
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