It increasingly looks as if de Kirchner's rule might come to an end. A populist ruler, De Kirchner preyed on the gullibility of those that thought that free markets and capitalist ideals could finally right the constantly sinking ship that is the Argentine economy even though those reforms were made under the banner of the Peronist party.
For a while Cristina de Kirchner was the darling of both the Argentines and the south american economists. Her 'reforms' however, soon turned into a power grab. Many remember how she took control of pension funds that had been privatized in order to show a positive balance in what otherwise would have been a bankrupt year for Argentina.
Increasingly, De Kirchner became the paladin of big business, but her actions did not seem to diminish Argentina's instability. In fact, her aggressive tactics backfired woefully earlier this year, when she threatened the few, large foreign investors, with expropriation and even incarceration if they pulled out of Argentina altogether. The outcome, of course, was dismal. Not only did foreign investment grind to a halt, but the move caused the fragile Argentine currency to spiral out of control.
Argentines would like nothing more than stability. The country is not without resources, but exploitation, graft, nepotism and corruption have kept it from becoming a major player in the world economy, the way that Brazil and Chile have managed to do.
Although the runoffs are a prelude to the elections, the actual voting is not slated to take place until 2015. A long time, for a country on the brink.
But the primaries have at least put a damper on the ruling party to which de Kirchner belongs. The result of the primaries mean that she can no longer represent the nation at will, and she no longer pass legislation at will, either.
The opposition leader, Sergio Massa, is gaining more and more followers at each rally. Although he too, is a business friendly candidate, he seems to be more in touch with the needs of the people. De Kirchner, on the other hand, seemed to become more and more autocratic and insular after her re-election in 2011.
Argentina, furthermore, is no longer just an agricultural powerhouse. And although grain is seen as it most valuable output, many have lamented that De Kirchner is in the pocket of giant agribusiness Monsanto, from which some have rumored she had taken 'incentives'. But in many regions of Argentina, the use of Monsanto crops has created illness and even suspicion of birth defects. Yet, de Kirchner's approach to the adoption of Monsanto seeds is almost authoritarian. And many see this kind of attitude from a would be Peronist, as an example of the type of corruption that has always been present in Argentine politics.
But the news is that Argentina is developing the Patagonian range for exploration of gas and shale oil, something that could devastate the pristine lands, but which could lift the country out of its economic quagmire. Whether or not the newly elected president will be able to do such exploration without exploitation, personal or otherwise, remains to be seen.
Partial data Source : al Jazeera/ 10.28.13
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