After 13 years of so-called Kirchnerism, in which two politicians, Néstor and Cristina Kirchner, implemented measures that enabled Argentina to exit its worst economic crisis, general elections will be held October 25, with two diametrically opposed models contending at the polls.
Although there is agreement among analysts that polling in Argentina is unreliable - almost always carried out by firms linked to the local oligarchy - currently the Governor of Buenos Aires and candidate for the ruling Front for Victory (FPV), Daniel Scioli, appears as favorite among voters to lead the country over the next four years.
For the Argentine masses, Scioli is considered the safest option to continue the policy of the Kirchners, in addition to being one of the most popular candidates; a famous athlete who was a powerboat world champion eight times over. He lost his right arm in an accident when practicing the sport in 1989.
Born in the neighborhood of Villa Crespo, in the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, on January 13, 1957, to a middle class family, he graduated in Marketing from the UADE Business School.
The candidate for the FPV, the political party led by the current president, began his political career during the presidency of Carlos Menem - who introduced the neoliberal model that left the country in ruins - and between 2001 and 2003 was a deputy for the Justicialista Party led by Eduardo Duhalde.
He was later invited by Néstor Kirchner to accompany him on the FPV presidential election ticket and, upon winning, became his vice president, a position he held until 2007, when he ran for and won the governorship of Buenos Aires – the most important province in the country, home to a third of the electorate – a position he has held for the past eight years.
SCIOLI’S PROPOSALS
It is no secret that Argentina requires a turnaround in its economic development. Certain world economic situations have weakened the country. For example, soybeans, one of the sources of capital inflow, have seen their price fall by more than half on the world market. The country also has a large external debt, and although it is considered solvent, if economic forecasts continue as they have to date, in a few years another huge crisis could arise.
Hence the FPV candidate has set out proposals for the transformation of Argentina into “a productive paradise” and not a “financial or tax haven”, pledging to reduce inflation rates to single digits “without adjustment”, while attracting at least $30 billion dollars in investment per year.
At a gathering of the Argentine Development Foundation (DAR), accompanied by governors, national officials, legislators, mayors, trade unionists and businesspeople, Scioli set out the main principles of his government platform, which seek to “continue with everything built over the past 12 years, further deepening what was done well, and correcting the mistakes we made, but never going backwards.”
He recognized the administrations of Néstor Kirchner and his widow, President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, and clarified that “to develop is not to change, it is to build on what has been built,” with which he confirmed that he has no plans to distance himself from the strategies that allowed Argentina to emerge from economic ruin, but with budgets in line with the new national and global situation.
The Buenos Aires governor has proposed a dialogue with rural areas, small farmers, industrialists and workers, while calling on productive sectors “to plant and produce. I guarantee that you will be profitable,” he stated.
“Foreign currency, will be obtained by exporting, not indebting the country,” he added, noting the debt reduction policy developed over the last decade and the country’s contribution to “a world free of vulture funds.”
In the final days of his campaign, Scioli received the support of important Latin American political figures, with whom he met, such as former Presidents Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva of Brazil and José Mujica, of Uruguay. He also met with the current leaders of these two nations – also members of the Common Market of the South – Dilma Rousseff and Tabaré Vázquez, respectively.
Analysts agree on the importance that the Casa Rosada (executive headquarters) remain in the hands of a progressive president, even more so at a time when the regional right is attempting to reverse the process of change underway in Latin America for the past 15 years, and in which presidents Kirchner and Cristina played an outstanding role.
According to studies, the FPV candidate has just over 38% of the forecast vote for Sunday 25, but to win the presidency he needs to secure 40%, and 10% more than his nearest rival, or 45% or over, regardless of the difference between opponents.
If he fails to win that day, Scioli will face a new round on November 22, against those occupying second place among the opposition candidates, Mauricio Macri of the right wing political coalition Cambiemos (Let’s Change), and Sergio Massa of the Una Nueva Alternativa (A New Alternative) coalition.
Macri, an engineer aged 56, heir to an immense fortune and former president of the Boca Juniors soccer club, is the candidate of a conservative coalition that seeks, if he wins, to resume the outdated and failed neoliberal policies of former president Carlos Menem, of whom he is a personal admirer.
Massa, a lawyer and also from a wealthy family, was born in 1972 and is devoted to the right wing of Peronism and represents, given his economic advisers and references, some of the most industrialist aspects of Kirchner's first term. Economically he is presented as a less regressive option.
He defends the so-called dissident Peronism, and is former chief of staff of President Cristina. In 2013 he distanced himself from Kirchnerism.
The coming polls will also see 129 parliamentary candidates elected - half of the House; 24 senators, one third of that chamber; and 43 aspiring Mercosur parliamentarians. 32 million of the over 42 million citizens of Argentina are set to go to the polls. (Excerpts from Cubahora)
EXTRA:
Kirchnerism: Peronist political movement, born in 2003, includes the main ideological principles embodied in the administrations of Presidents Néstor Kirchner (2003-2007) and Cristina Fernández de Kirchner (2007-present).
Elections are held every two years to elect the legislature in the Argentine Republic and, since 1995, every four years to elect the executive.
In Argentina two types of primary elections are held: national, to elect the country's federal authorities and provincial or local to elect the authorities of each province.
