ARGENTINA: First anniversary of the death of former President Nestor Kirchner by inaugurating mausoleum housing his remains

Record ID: 446674

  • Title: ARGENTINA: First anniversary of the death of former President Nestor Kirchner by inaugurating mausoleum housing his remains
  • Date: 28th October 2011
  • Summary: SANTA CRUZ, ARGENTINA (RECENT) (REUTERS) GENERAL VIEW OF MAUSOLEUM VARIOUS OF MEN WORKING AT MAUSOLEUM GENERAL VIEW OF MAUSOLEUM
  • Embargoed: 12th November 2011 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Argentina, Argentina
  • Country: Argentina
  • Topics: Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVAD42AX28EZ3NYSRCJ305GMPY9B
  • Story Text: Argentines paid homage to former president Nestor Kirchner on Thursday (October 27), a year after his sudden death from a heart attack shocked the nation.
    Thousands marched through the streets of Buenos Aires, some carting a six-foot tall bronze statue of the leader crediting with pulling Argentina out of crippling 2001/02 economic meltdown.
    Kirchner was elected president as a virtual unknown in 2003 and, poised for re-election in 2007, he passed the baton to his wife, current President Cristina Fernandez amid rumours the two aimed to leap frog terms to prolong their dynasty.
    Still a powerful politician at the time of his death, his absence opened up a power vacuum and raised questions about Fernandez's future.
    People came to see him as a stabilizing force in crisis-prone Argentina, and many were devastated by his loss.
    "Last year for me it was very painful. I lost something inside me. That had never happened. The pain I felt was so big I felt like I was missing something. Today is a sad day. Now I know the worth he had," said activist Juana Pascual.
    Fernandez made an unlikely comeback after he husband's death and skated to landslide re-election last Sunday, often tearily evoking Kirchner during her campaign.
    Among those at the Thursday's march was Amado Boudou, her vice president-elect.
    Jose Machain said he was happy with the way the power couple have run the country, which has the fastest growing economy in Latin America.
    "I didn't vote for Kirchner in 2003, but when I took a concrete look at his term and the end of his government it was obvious we agreed on a lot. He's a guy who wouldn't have attracted my attention like the other, but I think on the strength of his politics and on a personal level he convinced me, and the current president a lot more," he said.
    Meanwhile, Fernandez travelled to the Patagonian province of Santa Cruz, where Kirchner rose to power as governor in the 1990s.
    It was here that Kirchner was rushed to the hospital last October after having a heart attack while the couple was vacationing.
    People gathered around the cemetery where a massive stone mausoleum in Kirchner's honour has also been constructed to hold his remains.
    Last Sunday (October 23), Fernandez, bolstered by sympathy for her widowhood, swept to one of the most resounding election wins in Argentine history, relying on the strength of Latin America's fastest-growing economy and a raft of popular social reforms.
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