Another Evita Emerges in Argentine Politics

In the run up to the Argentine presidential election on October 28, the new buzzword of Argentine politics is “monarKia.”

Competitors of Senator Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, a presidential hopeful and the wife of the incumbent President Néstor Kirchner, coined the word, using “K” from “Kirchner” to alert the public that the couple is attempting to create a dynasty together.

A Presidential Couple?-

Cristina is the runaway leader among the 14 candidates for the presidential election.

According to Argentine media outlet Angus Reid Global Monitor, an opinion poll released yesterday showed that Cristina, from the center-left Front for Victory (FV) Party, was favored by 44.3 percent of respondents, surpassing Elisa Carrio from the Civic Coalition Party (CC), who garnered 15.7 percent.

Her popularity has been steady since August. According to Argentine law, the country confirms the election of a winner in the first round of an election if he or she either garners more than 45 percent of the vote or obtains more than 40 percent of the vote and outperformed the candidate in the second place by more than 10 percentage points.

Even Diego Maradona, the country’s soccer legend, endorsed Christina on October 23, and there is a good chance that the election will be a landslide. If that happens, the era of presidential couples will begin.

Inflation Control Should Be Her First Priority-

Christina’s popularity is based on her husband’s economic achievements. The incumbent president pulled off nine-percent annual economic growth every year during his reign, lifting the country from the crisis of 2001 when it defaulted. However, experts say that the country’s economic recovery is not very solid.

The government said that this year’s GDP growth reached 8.7 percent, while inflation was maintained at 9.6 percent, which invited controversy and speculation over manipulation possibilities. The opposition camp argues that inflation is 25 percent in reality.

Bloomberg News reported, “Kirchner’s economic policy focuses on short-term growth at the expense of mid-to-long-term growth. There is a high chance that the next president will pay the price.” The Financial Times also predicted: “It would be hard for Argentina to greet a second ‘Evita’ without crying.”

It is unlikely that the Peronist couple would stay away from populism. In the face of a power shortage due to unusual cold weather in July, the government employed a populist policy of supplying electricity to households before industry. As a result, some 5,000 factories had to halt operations.

spear@donga.com