ARGENTINA: President Nestor Kirchner's wife wins a resounding victory in Argentina's legislative elections helping him consolidate his power base in Congress

Record ID: 448013

  • Title: ARGENTINA: President Nestor Kirchner's wife wins a resounding victory in Argentina's legislative elections helping him consolidate his power base in Congress
  • Date: 24th October 2005
  • Summary: VARIOUS OF RAFAEL BIELSA (FRONT FOR VICTORY)
  • Embargoed: 8th November 2005 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Argentina
  • Country: Argentina
  • Topics: Domestic Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVA4AZLIXDBCVV4GOZDEWF4RE0RI
  • Story Text: President Nestor Kirchner's wife won a resounding victory in Argentina's legislative elections on Sunday (October 23)), helping him consolidate his power base in Congress and the ruling Peronist party.
    Sen. Cristina Kirchner defeated her opponent, Hilda Duhalde, in a Senate race to represent Buenos Aires province, the country's largest and a Peronist stronghold.
    "The people went with a project that is beginning to change the lives of Argentines. That is why the people support it," Sen. Kirchner told cheering supporters in her victory speech.
    The result amounted to a clear victory for the president, who described the balloting to choose half of the seats in the lower house and a third in the Senate as a plebiscite on his rule.
    Many candidates for other legislative offices backed by Kirchner were also headed for victories, exit polls showed. The wins help position Kirchner and his allies as power brokers in Congress two years after he took office with only 22 percent of the popular vote and lay the groundwork for his possible re-election in 2007 should he decide to run.
    The contest in Buenos Aires province pitted Sen. Kirchner against the wife of former President Eduardo Duhalde in a battle between rival factions struggling for control of the fractured governing Peronist party. Although official results were just beginning to trickle in, Hilda Duhalde conceded defeat after exit polls by Argentine television showed Kirchner holding a commanding lead of more than 20 percent. Duhalde was still expected to win a seat as the second top vote-getter under election laws.
    In another prominent race, Mauricio Macri, a businessman who leads Argentina's popular Boca Juniors soccer club, finished first in the voting for a House seat in Buenos Aires, beating Foreign Minister Rafael Bielsa, backed by Kirchner.
    Halfway into his four-year term, Kirchner's approval ratings are around 50 percent as the economy rebounds from a 2001-2002 economic crisis that saw a bruising currency devaluation and record debt default.
    A left-of-centre president, a former governor of a remote Patagonian province, Kirchner has won over many Argentines with tough talk against the International Monetary Fund and foreign investors, widely seen here as responsible for the crisis.
    He has pushed a reform agenda, overhauling the country's military high command and the Supreme Court and tackling human rights abuses during the 1976-83 dictatorship.
    Kirchner campaigned for months ahead of the vote, arguing that his economic policies based on a weak currency and budget surpluses have helped lead Argentina's recovery. The economy is expected to expand by 7.8 percent this year for a third straight year of growth. The economy grew by 9 percent in 2004 and 8.8 percent in 2003, rebounding from a 20 percent contraction during a 1999-2002 recession.
    Kirchner's sister, Alicia, the social development minister, was also headed for a Senate post representing the president's native Santa Cruz province, exit polls indicated.
    Former President Carlos Menem was also seeking a Senate seat, trying to return to politics after a failed presidential bid two years ago. Early results showed him running second.
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